Asylum

"You have nothing to lose but your mind."

1972 1h 28m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 203

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young psychiatrist applies for a job at a mental asylum and must pass a test by interviewing four patients. He must figure out which of the patients, is in fact, the doctor that he would be replacing if hired.

“You have nothing to lose but your mind.”

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Cast

Peter Cushing
Smith
Patrick Magee
Dr. Lionel Rutherford
Herbert Lom
Byron
Britt Ekland
Lucy
Barry Morse
Bruno
Charlotte Rampling
Barbara
Barbara Parkins
Bonnie
Robert Powell
Dr. Martin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roy Ward Baker
Writers: Robert Bloch, Robert Bloch
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roy Ward Baker, shot by Denys N. Coop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Douglas Gamley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Peter Cushing and Patrick Magee and Herbert Lom carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You have nothing to lose but your mind.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0068230 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roy Ward Baker directs. Denys N. Coop behind the camera. Douglas Gamley scores. Peter Tanner cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Roy Ward Baker, shot by Denys N. Coop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Douglas Gamley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Peter Cushing and Patrick Magee and Herbert Lom carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "You have nothing to lose but your mind.".
8IMDB entry: tt0068230 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 8 themes, including "asylum", "insane asylum", "anthology", "psychiatrist".

The technical file

Cinematography: Denys N. Coop
Original score: Douglas Gamley
Editing: Peter Tanner
Makeup / hair: Joan Carpenter
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Asylum (1972)

Also by

Roy Ward Baker

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Community reviews

What people are saying

veridical2015-12-30
★ 5.5/10
One of the better anthology films from England's other house of horror, Amicus. The framing story that leads into the final story with Herbert Lom and a really creepy (if a bit slow) robot doll is crazy and the basic idea I think holds up for a series. The other stories are a mixed bag. The first one is quite grisly, but it's unclear how the narrator knows all the details she tells. The second scores points for featuring Peter Cushing and a really bizarre story, but the ending is a bit confused. The penultimate story is unique only for it's casting, the idea of seeing Britt Ekland as Charlotte Rampling's murderous alter-ego seems like it should be reversed. Some of the music is overdone to the point of absurdity, cue the robot Herbert Lom slowing making his way to a dumbwaiter accompanied by a bombastic score that makes every inch it travels like a knife in the ear.
John Chard2018-10-02
★ 7/10
Creaky, funny and rather unsettling. The house of Amicus productions brings to us a horror anthology directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by "Psycho" scribe Robert Bloch. The four stories center around Robert Powell's job seeking Dr. Martin. Whom upon arriving at the classy, yet foreboding looking Asylum (New Lodge, Winkfield, Berkshire, England), is required to interview the four patients up on the top floor so as to prove his credentials for the position. As with all anthology horror pictures, the stories vary in quality, but what is consistent though is that the atmosphere and mystery element to it all never flags. Atmosphere that is somewhat boosted by Douglas Gamley's impacting construction of Modest Mussorgsky's music. 'Frozen Fear' sees a murdered wife come back to reek revenge on her husband and his lover. Not a bad trick since she was dismembered!. 'The Weird Taylor' has Peter Cushing as a grieving father who will do anything to bring his deceased son back to life. 'Lucy Comes to Stay' features Charlotte Rampling and Britt Eckland in a murderous spin on the "imaginary friend" angle. 'Manikins of Horror' is the last story which stars Herbert Lom as a maker of little robotic dolls that have worryingly realistic faces. All of which leads us to the finale where we get a nice and rewarding twist. It's a good production is this, the direction and writing is fluid and there are some genuinely creepy and unsettling moments. Perhaps not one to rush out for if you want to be scared on Halloween, but certainly a picture that achieves a high level of genre entertainment. 7/10
CinemaSerf2023-05-28
★ 6/10
Robert Powell (never the strongest character actor) is a young psychiatrist tricked into interviewing four patients in an asylum in order to get a job. Each have a fairly fantastic tale to recount that might explain their current predicament - or, maybe - just maybe, their recollections are true!? My favourite of the four stories features Peter Cushing as a tailor tasked with making a suit from a particularly pliable material, but the others are interesting too with their fair share of voodoo, nasty dolls and some good old family enmity. The narrative is structured well, with each story engagingly self-contained within the asylum environment. Keep an eye out for Charlotte Rampling, and an ear on the rather effective Douglas Gamley score that does much of the heavy lifting required to compensate for some pretty ropey dialogue at times. Made in 1972, I wonder if it might have been more effective had it been a few years earlier, with the additional atmospheric benefits of monochrome?