TheRedDeath30 I have, at this point, seen almost every one of the Amicus anthology films created in the 60s and 70s. For those who are completely new to these movies, Amicus was sort of the welfare version of Hammer and made their name mostly by creating these portmanteaus, mostly known for being recreations of old EC Comics. That point, exactly, is where I think that TORTURE GARDEN pales in comparison to the best of Amicus' work, such as TALES FROM THE CRYPT or VAULT OF HORROR, but I digress and will get back there.Just about every horror anthology up to the VHS movies of the last decade tend to follow the same pattern. We have a "wraparound" framework story that introduces the theme of our tales, serves as a tool to interweave them and try to connect them in some explanatory way, then usually wrap them all up with one final twist for the viewer. In this case, Burgess Meredith basically plays The Penguin (from BATMAN) but is supposed to be a carnival barker, who leads our characters to the Greek goddess of fate. The premise is that our barker hypnotizes these characters so that the goddess can reveal their ultimate fates to them. This wraparound might just be the only memorable part of the movie, as Meredith does a great job in the role and the small set used also lends a dark, carnival atmosphere.The stories were written by Robert Bloch, the author of PSYCHO, and this should have been a home run, but it's in the execution of the stories that this anthology falls apart. As I mentioned in the intro, the best of the Amicus works were based on EC comics, which then gave the movie a perfect visual launching pad to bring a terrifying story to life. The stories in TORTURE GARDEN are much more akin to the short horror that was popular in pulp magazines in the early 1900s. Though each story may well have worked superbly as written media and could have made great short stories, they are mostly boring and dull as visual media and there is little that actually happens in any of them.The first story, "Enoch", tells the tale of a greedy young man who comes to his dying uncle's cabin to demand his share in the family fortune. He gets more than he bargained for when he finds that the fortune involves performing dark deeds for a captured witch, who will reward him with gold. It's a good premise that may have worked well with an actual witch of some sort. Unfortunately, most of the story involves the lead overacting, trying to look agonized, while the camera pans back and forth from him to the ordinary house cat in which our witch has assumed form. We get some minor bloodshed, but nothing else very exciting.The second segment, "Terror Over Hollywood", is about a young actress who will do anything to get ahead in the business. We instantly see that she is an unlikable character who will stab her friend in the back to further her own needs. When she meets a famous actor who helps her career, she winds up down a path that leads to her demise. I don't want to spoil too much, but the segment is basically a twist on THE STEPFORD WIVES. It really goes nowhere and ends in a surprise that has no shock value, at all. The worst of the lot is "Mr. Steinway", the next segment about.....a haunted piano...duh duh duh. Yes, a woman competes with a piano for the affection of their mutual lover and the piano wins. It may have made for an interesting Gothic horror short, but as a short film, it is boring and just plain stupid.The last segment is "The Man Who Collected Poe". It might be the best of the bunch, but mostly just for the presence of Peter Cushing and Jack Palance, who are worth seeing together even if most of the segment involves parlor dialog with little action. A man has collected just about all their is to collect on Poe, including the ultimate prize. There were so many things that could have been done right with this idea and so many chilling places it could have gone, but where Bloch took the script for this one is ultimately not very interesting.We get back to our wraparound the big Amicus twist at the end. This was one of the earliest, so I'll not knock it, but as a fan of these you can pretty much tell where it's going right from the beginning.I love Cushing, Palance, Amicus and cheaply shot 60s horror in general. I love spending an evening with a snack and a beer and just forgetting the day's worries in some mindless entertainment, so these movies will always have an appeal for me, but for those average fans just looking for a good 60s horror film, there are far better movies to choose from than this.

GL84 Entering a carnival attraction, five customers enter and have a carnival barker reveal their futures, hoping it will help them mend their ways.The Good Stor(ies): Enoch-Summoned out to meet him, a man finds his nearly-dead father hoarding cash, but before he reveals the location, passes on. Spending the night before the funeral, he searches the house systematically for the treasure, eventually finding it in the basement guarded by a devilish cat intent on seeing how far he will go to earn it. This was a highly enjoyable tale that really works. The Gothic atmosphere in the basement, with it's dirt-covered surroundings, coffin and the design of the rooms, are all fantastic and the interplay with the cat is fun. It's the greatest part, as the torture is fun and unnerving, with the final resolution to it all quite chilling. The murders are relatively bloodless, except for the last aftermath shot, but are rather brutal in execution and overall it's quite enjoyable.The Man Who Collected Poe-Meeting at an auction, two friends find a shared bond over a love of Edgar Allen Poe's work. Taking up an invitation to visit his house, he shows him his collection of Poe memorabilia, including many rare and hard-to-find pieces. When he's shown completely new and unknown works, he questions where they came from and finds an answer he wasn't expecting at all. This was a great way to end it all, with a strong showing that works well in here. The love affair is really shown through, with the basement scenes being absolutely prime material. Despite feeling entirely creepy on it's own, there's a big feeling to it that comes from how the artifacts are displayed out, and it's just a strong segment. The ending is Gothic horror at it's best, with the dusty bookshelves, littered surroundings, candle-lit passageways and the creepy realization of what's going on, ending in a climatic blaze with an absolute blast of a twist. This is a rather fantastic segment.The Bad Stor(ies): Terror Over Hollywood-Struggling to break into the movies, an actress and her roommate try to further her acting career with an important dinner. Accidentally ruining her chances, she goes out on the dinner instead and is offered the role, only for the original leading man to wind up murdered. When he returns to the film without a scratch on him, she discovers the real reason why stars never seem to age. There's really only a few moments of horror, all of which are contained at the end with the revelation about what's going on. Once they return to the set, it's all quite good, but unfortunately, what happens before is utter boredom brought about by the dullness of the rest of the segment showcases to set up it's twist. This has been done better in other segments, and is easily skip-able.Mr. Steinway-Arriving at his house, a woman finds that a reclusive piano prodigy is just as smitten with him as he is with her, despite his reluctance to spend time together. Rubbing off the feelings, they continue to see each other only to keep getting the feeling that something is wrong. Blaming it on the piano, she refuses to believe it until it starts to prove his stories true. There's again very little to like here, most of which is based around the final piano attack, which here is really incredible and well-done. The rest of the segment, though, is merely too short to mean anything or done in a haphazard way. The central idea is laughable and consists merely to find ways of getting the piano lid to slam loudly, which is all the segment has. Easily skip-able.Today's Rating/PG-13: Violence.

Theo Robertson TORTURE GARDEN is a Amicus horror anthology that seems rather forgotten . It rarely turns up on television but even so it's slightly puzzling why it's not fondly remembered . After seeing it I've come to the logical conclusion that whilst it isn't dreadfully camp like the rather dire THE MONSTER CLUB it lacks a morbid fun factor like VAULT OF HORROR has in abundance . There's also the feeling that the movie s marketed towards an American audience thereby making the TORTURE GARDEN lose much of its British charm the Amicus anthologies had in their favourThe stories themselves are rather hit and miss which leads to the train of thought that if you dislike one story then they'll be one along in a minute that you might prefer . And in these type of stories the old warning that be careful what you wish for because you might just get it are at the centre of the tale . The first and fourth stories are the best but none of them are outstanding - they're merely okay

manchester_england2004 TORTURE GARDEN is the second in a series of seven Amicus horror anthologies. If THE MONSTER CLUB is included as part of the series, this would make eight movies. Although, that movie is very different from the others.I look upon the Amicus anthologies with great memories as I used to love them when I was in my teens. My feelings for them today are just as strong.TORTURE GARDEN is a very misleading title for this movie because there is no torture and no garden.The movie has been unfairly maligned by IMDb users. I will put up an argument in its defence.The linking story in this movie is easily one of the best found in Amicus anthologies. It provides a long but highly interesting introduction that had me hooked from the first moment. Burgess Meredith gives a truly magnificent performance as the sinister showman, Dr. Diabolo. He persuades a group of fairground visitors that he can show them real horror. Four of the visitors have their futures predicted and this constitutes the framework for the stories.The first story sees Michael Bryant as a somewhat opportunistic young man who allows his uncle to die just so he can get his hands on his money. The uncle has a mysterious cat that leaves coins behind every time someone is killed. Bryant ends up going on a mini killing spree to get the money. In the end, he goes crazy and is locked up. He thinks he's free of the cat, but is he? Watch and see. This story provides a solid start to the movie. Michael Bryant gives a great performance as a greedy man who is driven to insanity.The second story takes a very different course to the first. In this quirky tale, Beverly Adams plays an actress determined to find out why other actors manage to stay young. This story is very much maligned. I admit that one really has to suspend disbelief when viewing this story but I found it entertaining and Miss Adams looked very glamorous in her part.The third story sees Barbara Ewing as a journalist falling in love with a pianist, played by John Standing. This strange piano with a mind of its own becomes jealous of their affair and decides to do something about it. This is easily the weakest story in the movie. It not only requires suspension of disbelief but is mostly boring to sit through. The end is unintentionally funny but not really entertaining enough to endure the rest of the story for. John Standing is very bland in his role and his performance is flat and lifeless. However, he can't really be blamed for that given the absurd story he has to work with. Barbara Ewing fares better, giving everything she's got, but even she can't save this story.The final story and easily the best puts the movie back on track. Jack Palance is a fanatic of Edgar Allan Poe's work. He meets a fellow fanatic, played by the late great Peter Cushing. Cushing lets him into a secret - Poe has come back from the dead and is writing new stories. The finale of this story is very confusing but interesting to watch. Jack Palance does little more than stand around smoking a pipe in this and the linking story. Another IMDb user has stated on the comments page that Christopher Lee would have been a better choice for the role. I certainly agree with that analogy.Freddie Francis directs the material he is given very well, adding a particularly unique effect at the end of each story. When the transition is made from a story back to the linking story, a pair of scissors is seen and heard cutting a ribbon. This creates the effect of snapping both the character and the audience out of what is presented as a kind of nightmare. Some excellent camera angles in the first story help to make it seem more macabre than it really is. Some intelligent editing is employed in the third story to try covering up its absurdity.Overall, TORTURE GARDEN has its flaws but is a must-see for fans of the Amicus anthologies, fans of other Amicus movies or fans of portmanteau horror movies. If my summary provides the movie with enough appeal in your eyes, check it out. You'll enjoy it!