As Torturas do Dr. Diabolo

After seeing "The Torture Garden" I have now seen every Amicus anthology. The wrap around story is particularly interesting; especially since I am a big fan of circus sideshows/midway attractions. Anyways; Burgess Merideth plays the evil carnival barker; ushering in 5 un suspecting people; and telling them to look into the shears of a wax figure. In the shears each person see's a sin that will be committed in their future; giving them an opportunity to stop it.

The problem with Torture Garden is that it's like a bad sandwich; the meat is so awful; it makes you want to throw it away and eat the bread. The first story and the last story are very good; but the two in the middle are very stale and boring.

Overall; this is definetly worth buying; especially for a fan of classic horror and while the second and third stories are infact "Torture"; the first and last make up for it. The wrap around story is superb and the ending is quite surprising.

Rating: 7.7/10

Dr. Diablo, a carnival horrors man, shows five people a "special" entertainment in a private showing. Each person looks carefully at the scissors held by a mannequin of one of the Greek fates and soon sees a fate that may or may not come to pass. These visions serve as the basis of the movie as we are entertained to four story adaptations of Robert Bloch stories. The first man sees a story about greed and a witch's familiar. The second story deals with android-like beings in Hollywood, the third story with a malicious piano. The last story is based on Bloch's story "The Man Who Collected Poe" and is about one man's obsession with the master of the macabre. All four stories are brought to screen with care and style, thanks in part to the workman-like direction of Francis. Burgess Meredith is exceptionally good as the devious Dr. Diablo in the frame story. The last story is the best and is highlighted by fine performances by both Peter Cushing and Jack Palance. Look for Michael Ripper in the frame story as well.

I'm a big fan of the horror anthology film in general. I'm an especially big fan of the ones made by Amicus. This is the second of their portmanteau films, following Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. This isn't their best but it's still entertaining. It's written by Robert Bloch and directed by Freddie Francis. There are four stories plus the linking/wraparound story.

The first story is "Enoch," about a no-account who causes the death of his uncle while trying to extort money from him. Later he discovers the bizarre source of his uncle's wealth: a telepathic cat named Balthazar with a peculiar appetite. A weird but unique tale. The next story, "Terror Over Hollywood," is the weakest. An ambitious (and unlikable) actress discovers the secret of how movie stars stay so youthful-looking. Lame. The third story is "Mr. Steinway," about a reporter who becomes involved with a concert pianist. Too bad his piano is the jealous type! A little silly but fun. Finally, there's "The Man Who Collected Poe," which is about two Edgar Allan Poe collectors (Jack Palance, Peter Cushing) and the extremes they go to for the sake of their obsession. This is my favorite story in the film.

The linking story has a sideshow showman named Dr. Diablo (Burgess Meredith) taking five people into a back room where they get to see their future. This leads into the other stories and finishes the movie with the expected twist about Diablo that, while amusing, will surely surprise no one. The best stories are the first and the last but the linking story is fun in its way, due to Burgess Meredith's performance. As I said, this isn't one of Amicus' better horror anthologies but it isn't bad either. The segments are interesting and feel fresh, not just rehashes of older stories. It's a good time-passer.

There is not very much to add here. Torture Garden is entertaining and has a good amount of atmosphere and some good performances but is also a rather uneven film, and there are stronger Amicus anthology films around (understandably as this was a reasonably early effort for them). Also agree with the general consensus that the first and last segments are the best and the second and third come up short.

The story linking the four segments is mostly very well done, it's suspenseful, it's fun, intriguingly written, ties the segments beautifully and succinctly and it has the bonus of having Burgess Meredith playing his tailor-made role with delicious relish. Some might find that the carnival setting's somewhat gaudy, but to me that was effective, it suited the atmosphere and carnivals are so in the first place anyway to an extent. It is a shame though that Diablo's real identity was a little too obvious and the ending can be smelt a mile off.

Of the four segments, The Man Who Collected Poe comes off the most successfully. It is very macabre, very intelligently written and has a good deal of suspense. It is also the best-looking segment of the four, with the Gothic atmosphere evoked wonderfully. Jack Palance is devilishly enjoyable here, he's over-the-top but also very menacing, vintage Palance really. Peter Cushing proves himself to be a great contrast, a more subtle performance but very dignified and urbane. Enoch has a very creepy ambiance and doesn't go through the motions at all with the scares. The cat didn't look too cute personally, and does bring the right amount of chills as the antagonist of the story.

Conversely, Terror over Hollywood and particularly Mr. Steinway don't fare anywhere near as strongly. Terror over Hollywood at least had a very intriguing subject, but it descend into weird silliness often and while striking Beverly Adams is rather too pretty and lightweight for the over-ambitious diva, when she does try to bring some menace or hard edge it feels very forced. Mr. Steinway is very dull from the get go and goes so overkill in the absurdity factor that it is really difficult to take seriously or be scared by it, only the piano's unsettling final attack prevents it from completely falling apart. John Standing is also rather bland here.

Visually, Torture Garden's not one of the better-looking Amicus anthology productions and it's less than beautiful-looking, but it doesn't look too cheap at all either. In fact, it's very competently made and gives off a very nice atmosphere. Some of the sets are a touch tacky, with the exception of The Man Who Collected Poe and the appropriate carnival setting and the editing occasionally may lack slickness, but it's very stylishly shot, that takes maximum Gothic effect to imaginative heights, and the lighting's not too garish, in fact the use of colour is very like watching a Mario Bava film. James Bernard's score is rousing, haunting and thrillingly booming, Robert Bloch's script is skillful and combines many horror elements with wit and creepy atmosphere without feeling too over-stuffed and Freddie Francis directs engagingly at least for the first and last segments and the linking story. And while the acting in Torture Garden is very varied, Palance, Cushing and Meredith are incredibly strong and are more than enough to make one stick with the film.

Overall, entertaining and above-decent but uneven, with one outstanding segment, one great segment and two misfires, along with a compelling story linking them together. Worth seeing also for the strong performances from Palance, Cushing and Meredith. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

A collection of short horror episodes where freak show proprietor Burgess Meredith invites a group of patrons to experience their own futures. The best, in my opinion, is the one with Jack Palance, who is a great admirer of Poe. He visits the private collection of the world's foremost collector of Poe memorabilia, only to find the true source of the collection.

Another character has his comeuppance, tortured by a cat--payment for his greed, irresponsibility, and impatience.

In another, a greedy, ambitious young woman plays her cards too well, but overlooks something which proves here undoing.

In the silliest, a young blonde gets between a man and his love for his "killer" piano. As a matter of fact, as killer piano movies go, it's one of the best.

The stories are uneven in quality, but are well produced and interesting. I would give this a marginal recommendation. It has a very good cast and reasonably good script.