The Amicus Collection

Standing in the shadows of their chief British studio rival Hammer Films (notable for their gory gothic horror flicks), Amicus Productions often specialized in anthology films, which helped forge the also-ran horror house's more modern identity. Dark Sky Films' The Amicus Collection features three previous DVD releases. Asylum (1972) compiles four tales of dread set inside a hospital for the incurably insane. The quartet—involving adultery and voodoo (“Frozen Fear”), a murderous suit (“The Weird Tailor”), split personality (“Lucy Comes to Stay”), and some creepy showroom dummies (“Mannequins of Horror”)—are all based on short stories by noted screenwriter/author Robert Bloch, and feature the proverbial twist endings. And Now the Screaming Starts (1972) is an 18th-century period piece, featuring ghosts, possession, moldy old family curses, a severed hand, an arranged marriage, and plenty of bodice ripping, solidly delivered by director Roy Ward Baker. The Beast Must Die (1973) is the odd man out in this otherwise solid boxed set: the notion of a big game hunter wanting to take down “the ultimate prey” (in this case, a werewolf) has potential, but the film employs an irritating gimmick (the audience is asked to guess which character is the beast—an intrusive “break” that disrupts the narrative). All three films boast fine transfers, with DVD extras including audio commentaries, featurettes, and biographies/filmographies. Recommended, overall. (B. Gibron)