the audience applauded

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The second of the Amicus Anthologies brings us 4 stories unfolded for a distinguished cast who wish to have their fortune told: by Atropos and her Shears of Fate, no less. Master of Ceremonies this time is Burgess Meredith in a side-show waxworks, and for a fiver he'll do you a treat! The opener may be a bit silly, featuring a cat-demon that devours the heads of those who displease it (it's just a moggy, really!), but it's also atmospherically told and reasonably engaging. Michael Bryant is pretty good at almost convincing me the cat's (mentally) clawing inside his head. He makes a daft plot work quite well.The second tale is about a would-be Hollywood starlet who finds out just WHY the top ten stars have kept their longevity. It's very cheapo looking, though, and does nothing to convince me it's set in America by having Humpty Dumpty from the BBC's PLAYSCHOOL pop up as set decoration! Not bad, but not exactly convincing.Ah, the haunted piano. This would have been better as an out and out humorous story, as it's very unintentionally funny. When the piano starts moving around the room it's hard not to laugh. This one is very silly indeed and doesn't work at all.But the best is for last, with Peter Cushing and Jack Palance squaring off in The Man Who Collected Poe. This concerns two almost frenzied enthusiasts of Edgar Allan, and we're given a sumptuous tour of Mr. Cushing's Poe collection, Palance almost foaming at the mouth in rhapsody. Both actors are superb, and old Jack discovers he should perhaps take the title of the story quite literally. For Peter Cush really HAS collected POE! This may sound absurd but it actually works, and builds up some fine frissons.At least there are no stories about mutant plants....

Torture Garden is a four piece anthology film based off Robert Bloch stories. I haven't read these stories so I am unfamiliar with them and can not judge these based off of those. However, what we get here is a couple of well made horror shorts, although it is a mixed bag. Some are good, and some aren't. They're not bad by any means, but not really enjoyable.Dr. Diablo challenges an audience to step up and become hypnotized, showing them their future in horrific visions. The first one is a bout a man who unleashes a witch's spirit, that takes the form of a cat. The cat drives the man insane and causes him to kill. He is caught and thrown in jail, where the cat comes back and he torments him as he screams for help. The second audience member steps up to see her future. In this, she uses her friends date with a big star to her advantage. She goes on the date and gets close to the star, too close. As she closer, she soon learns some horrible secrets. Her lover/the big star gets shot, but miraculously ends up perfectly fine. She does some research on the doctor, and finds out that he had made these big stars in robots. She can not live on knowing the secret, and is turned into one too. Another women stars into the scissors and sees her vision. She is a music reporter who gets close to a famous pianist. The pianist is a lonely man, who talks to his piano. The more pianist and the girl go out and get closer to each other, the more his manager despises the girl. She is not the only who does not like the girl stepping into the pianist's life. In a twist of the bizarre, the piano itself is a living thing, and hates this girl. It comes to life and forces the girl out a window; falling to her death. Finally, the last man comes to see what Dr.Diablo can show him. He is a huge lover of Edgar Allen Poe, who meets a fan bigger than him. He stays at the fan's mansion and explores his huge collection. The two get a little liquored up, and the fan shows the man his true collection. An unpublished Poe story called The House of the Worm. As he continues exploring he uncovers papers that contain a 1966 watermark. He calls the fan out on these forgeries, claiming that he wrote them. He tells him his grandfather robbed the grave of Poe, and kept remnants of Poe in a box, but not only this, he tells him that his grandfather knew black magic and rose Edgar Allen Poe from these ashes. The man goes mad, craving more he steals keys and explores even deeper. He finds Poe inside a hidden chamber, and tries to gain knowledge of the unknown from him. He gets trapped by fire and Poe tells him he is damned. Diablo tries to get a scared audience member to be hypnotized, be he freaks out and stabs him with the scissors. This was all just part of the performance, and as Dr.Diablo is preparing for the next round of visitors, he turns around facing the camera, his face looking like Salvador Dali.This is really a hit in miss anthology, some of it is genuinely good, and some isn't. I can say that each piece is well made, the acting, picture quality, effects, etc are all well done. The problem lies in the stories, and in one instance, a key character. The first and last are pretty entertaining, and are worth watching alone. However, the two middle ones are the weakest points. They're dull and the stories aren't entertaining, scary, or interesting. The worst is the one about the Hollywood actors. This is partially due to the character of Carla being a manipulative #### and an all around terrible person. Part of me wishes this was a slasher film so she would meet a gruesome end. Worst part is, is she is made the central character. I have nothing but animosity for this character, I do not want to see her go on to the end. The pianist story is just boring, the characters are alright, but nothing really exciting happens in it. Really, just watch this for the host segments, and the first and last story. All around pretty decent, but nothing amazing.

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.