Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Just what I expected

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

A special sideshow torture exhibit has the power, according to showman Dr. Diablo, to warn people of evil in their futures. Ore by one, skeptical customers stand before the Fate Atropos to be shown the greed and violence they are hiding. This has been called the worst of the Amicus anthologies. That may be true, but it is still enjoyable. Written by Robert Bloch ("Psycho"), starring Burgess Meredeth, Peter Cushing and a young Jack Palance, and directed by Freddie Francis... how can you go wrong?Some stories are better than others. The cat story was a bit weak, whereas the Hollywood tale was pretty good and "Man Who Collected Poe" was probably the best, if for no other reason than it featured a Poe-themed house.Interestingly, we have a being named "malfeasor" (literally "wrongdoer"), which seems to clearly be the inspiration behind the villain in "Witchboard".

This is a horror anthology and it has a very interesting premise binding the various episodes together. The film begins in some sort of sideshow tent. Burgess Meredith is dressed in a somewhat demonic looking outfit and is showing the crowd a trick involving an electric chair. It's all pretty cheesy, but he promises the crowd REALLY INTENSE thrills in the next room--if they are willing to pay the very steep admission price. They agree and at first are disappointed. However, one by one, he reveals to them their future--what COULD be if they do not heed his warning. In a creepy touch, he privately burns their money--and so it's obvious he's not in it to get rich. What ARE his motivations and who is this weirdo?! The first story involves a man who is greedy and can't wait for his rich uncle to die. In fact, he expedites matters when he withholds his sick uncle's medicine--as he coldly watches the sad man die. But the nasty nephew has no idea where the old guy's stash of gold coins lie--and he spends much of his time searching. However, when an other-worldly cat shows up, you learn the truth (and it creeped me out, as the cat looked like both of my cats!)--and it's naturally a nasty one! The next involves a passive-aggressive lady. You see that this is the case when she deliberately scorches her roommate's dress and claims it is an accident. It appears that the nasty lady is an aspiring actress and she did this in order to steal the roommate's date--some big-wig in the movie industry. And, when on this date, she dumps this guy in favor of another Hollywood player--someone with more power to make her famous. Talk about a conniver! But where this goes next is REALLY weird--and you've just gotta see this one! The third is about a lady who is a reporter who has come to interview a famous concert pianist. He is an odd-ball, as he has named his piano 'Euterpe' and talks to it like it's alive. And, eventually the piano tells him to have nothing to do with her--she is getting in the way of their art. It's pretty goofy and much weaker than the previous wonderful vignettes.The next story features two big-name actors--Jack Palance and Peter Cushing (famous for his many horror film appearances). Both are book collectors who love the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Cushing invites Palance to visit his home--a place that is a shrine to the great writer. It's filled with various valuable Poe artifacts (including a hand-written unpublished story) and the place looks a bit like a spook house. Unfortunately for Palance, he's WAYYY too curious and ends up learning too much about Cushing's collection as well as Poe.The final person is unwilling to learn about his future--mostly because he seems scared of what he'll see. Instead, he attacks Meredith and scares most the patrons off--as they run in horror. Then the twist...All in all, it's a fun and somewhat silly sort of anthology. The first two were clearly the best but even the worst one was worth seeing. Too bad Meredith didn't make a follow-up film!

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!

Throughout the mid 60s and early 70s Amicus Productions churned out a series of wonderful little horror anthologies including: DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1970), ASYLUM (1972), TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972, which is my all-time favorite anthology), THE VAULT OF HORROR (1973, second best of the bunch), FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1973), and TORTURE GARDEN (1967).TORTURE GARDEN features Burgess Meredith, Jack Palance, and Peter Cushing.The film begins at a carnival side-show, which is Dr. Diabolo's Torture Garden. For those willing to stick around, and pay 5 pounds more, awaits the shock of a lifetime – with a money back guaranty! This is an anthology, comprised of four stories plus a wraparound (the wraparound is the 'in-between' story that ties the rest together). I love anthologies; both for the hits and the misses… my general feeling is that about half of the stories work; and, the others not so well.The first story features a man very much in debt; but, a fair bit of luck comes his way after his uncle dies, with a little help, nonetheless. Turns out, the man is the sole beneficiary of his uncle's inheritance, but it comes with a few strings attached, one being a cat with an unusual diet and psychic powers.The second story features a comely woman who would do anything to make it in the movie business, including betraying her roommate. She soon learns of a group within the business, who never seem to age; and, will do anything to protect their secret (think Death Becomes Her.) The third tale involves a female musical journalist doing a piece on a famed pianist. The two hit it off; and, a whirlwind romance ensues. However, problems arise due to the strange relationship between the man and his piano (extra points for the obscure reference to the ancient Greek muse Euterpe!) The fourth story is the best of the bunch; and, it features two extremely avid Edgar Allan Poe collectors. Turns out the Poe-passion runs in the family, as the one man's grandfather started accumulating Poe memorabilia, which his father followed, and now he is doing. The other man is envious; bur, soon discovers there's more to this collection that meets the eye.Amicus did produce a number of different type films including horror (The Psychopath, which I rated 7 out of 10); and, some science fiction (They Came From Beyond Space and The Terrornauts).However, the production company's strength was the horror anthology. Overall the stories in TORTURE GARDEN aren't very horrific or very shocking, but they do provide some disturbing atmosphere, and there's a lot of fun to be had here.