Torture Garden

 

Dr. Diabolo’s Torture Garden rests within a amusement park and its host has something to offer those who find their way into it. This funhouse has the usual grotequeries. Torture devices with mannequins on display with Burgess Meredith showing his patrons the ghoulish results of them. Diabolo even operates a faux electric chair for their amusement. What he offers for certain patrons willing to go into another room is the ultimate horror revealed to them by a peculiar magic (a wax figure, supposedly, with the “shears of fate” and strings representative of the lives of those in its possession is Diabolo’s offering to the bunch who paid 5 pounds to attend this special part of his funhouse) that allows them to take a look at the evil within and a possible future that could occur if they tread the paths on the horizon; this particular glance says that gruesome fates might just be averted, but will they heed such forewarnings?

…the primordial monstrosities that lurk beneath the surface of the mind…

Burgess Meredith was never one to be accused of his restraint as an actor. He’s very expressive and his mannerisms and distinct voice seem ideal for the host of an anthology of strange tales relating to certain characters featured, regarding events possible  if they adhere to the evil that lurks behind a façade of civility. He does have a flair for the dramatic and a Cheshire grin that obviously tells us he knows a little something-something about these people in attendance.

How would you like to be the first to learn what fate has in store for you?

Colin (Michael Bryant) is a greedy no-good scoundrel needing a “few thousand pounds”, willing to watch his uncle have a coronary unless he gives information on how the dying man made his money (in certain valuable coins) instead of giving him his medicinal drink. So the uncle keels over dead after Colin refuses to help him, and it appears (thanks to Colin’s performance) to everyone afterward that this was the case of an unfortunate demise by natural causes. The uncle tried to convince Colin to “mend his ways” but this self-centered sociopath would have none of that. No sir. He stays the night at the uncle’s house with the funeral the next day. This is about finding the coins. That’s what Colin cares about.

The anthology is often about proper just desserts meted out to wrong-doers. Sometimes characters peer into the future, see what could happen if they follow their evil plot/plan, and have the option to decide differently. Some simply see what they have already done and must face eternal damnation.

In the case of Colin, he finds a basement under the floors of the house, discovers the grave of a witch, her skeletal remains in a casket along with her “familiar” (named Balthazar), a cat. The cat has the power to control Colin, “scratching away” in his mind, tormenting him to kill for it. The coins are reward for doing so. He soon seems disturbed by having to kill innocent people for it (a pauper, a helper for his uncle), but when arrested while in the process of moving a body (asking the police officer looking for the missing pauper to help him carry the trunk!), Colin is in a bad predicament (the cat eats the heads of the victims and is hungry enough that it will settle for imprisoned Colin for nourishment!). This first tale is mighty silly but the style of the murders is striking (particularly the way the camera shoots Colin’s use of both a pitchfork and stave) and Colin is such a cretin, his fate is deserved.

To say Carla (Beverly Williams) is a cold-hearted bitch, would be an understatement. She uses a hot iron to ruin a roommate’s dress just so she could capitalize on the opportunity to go out with her movie star date! This will lead to unfortunate events for this back-stabbing beauty (all surface, with a soul that is black and motivations completely career-centered) as she meets the age-less movie star, Bruce Benton (Robert Hutton), not knowing “what” he actually is. Carla is a bit too inquisitive and nosey for her own good and after seeing what looked like Benton killed with a gunshot wound to the forehead, she investigates news on producer Eddie Storm (John Phillips; The Mummy’s Shroud) discovering he had been seriously injured (chest crushed with injuries too substantial to have survived). Knowing too much, she is silenced. However, she is granted her wish…fame and standing in the movies, but Carla will never truly enjoy it (that would take actual emotion). This one goes the Stepford Wives route, except here it has movies stars instead of domesticated fembots. Carla screws over her roommate and can’t help but snoop where she shouldn’t. Carla will be immortalized…in more ways than one.

Oh, the mind is a strange animal, isn’t it?

Possessive Dorothy (Barbara Ewing) wants world famous concert pianist, Leo (John Standing), all to herself, but his late mother’s piano might have other plans. Yes, you read that right. Mama’s piano forces Dorothy towards the window…it will not allow Leo to be denied a tour featuring his skills. I think the description speaks for itself. Totally loony concept and the execution is short and sweet.

 

 

Of course, the tale that left the most impression with me personally is quite a diabolical creation. Poe enthusiast Lancelot Canning (Peter Cushing) allows Poe nut Ronald Wyatt (Jack Palance) to visit his American home and see the personal treasures not in exhibit. There’s a chamber which has original manuscripts never seen by others, and Lancelot has quite a story to tell Ronald. Ronald is overtaken by a type of mania that not only leaves him overwhelmingly enthusiastic (he can barely contain it) but willing to kill Lancelot in order to discover what is hidden behind a door, a secret that could very well involve the re-animated form of the literary genius Poe himself! Lancelot comes up with an absurd reason how this might be possible…black magic. Yep, Lancelot’s ancestor was a gravedigger and eventually collected the dust from Poe’s remains! Cushing doesn’t get much to do except offer his house and property open to Palance in good faith; it is hard for even Cushing to hold the screen with the wild Palance who plays Ronald as if he were a child in Wonka land. I’m an unabashed Palance fanboy so seeing him share the screen with Cushing (my favorite actor) is really kind of awesome. This is easily my favorite of the tales in Torture Garden. I can’t say this anthology is on par with the likes of Asylum, Tales from the Crypt, or The House That Dripped Blood, but it sure boasts a hell of a cast. I think the problem with this particular film is that it just doesn’t have the stories that leap from the screen and grab you. Tales alone has at least three tales that are memorable, but besides the Poe tale, not much about Torture Garden (except Meredith and Palance) at all lasts much past Meredith asking us directly if we will escape his domain. Yes, to finish off things, we learn that he is actually Satan. I enjoyed the horns, gray make-up, and raised eyebrows. Along with the theatricality of Meredith’s performance, Michael Ripper’s contribution as his aid (Ripper has a nervous energy that always registers well, and his fake freak-out and attack on Diabolo at the end is a hoot), and Palance barely containing himself, there’s some things to enjoy here, but the tales just don’t quite cut the mustard when compared to other Amicus anthology features.