Dark Asylum

Starring:Paulina Porizkova, JÃ¼rgen Prochnow, Judd Nelson, Larry Drake, Jake Eberle, Todd Sandler, Earl Carroll (II), Maria Rotaru, Jeff Burr, Bogdana Mirea, Florin Busuioc, Shelly Gant, Corina Danila, Radu Banzaru, Andrew Klein, Claudiu Trandafir, Michael Stafford, Catalin Neagu, Mircea Caraman, Jules Cezar Botokoly
Director: Gregory Gieras
Studio: Lions Gate
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Still love it!
Come To The Asylum....To Get Killed!
Great Stuff
Classic Horror
One of the best horror anthologies from Amicus.

The Asylum
Starring: Peter Cushing , Britt Ekland , Herbert Lom , Patrick Magee , and Barry Morse
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Manufacturer: Dark Sky Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FC2GFK
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Amazon.com

One of the patients in an institution for the incurably insane was once its director, and a young psychiatrist (Robert Powell) has to figure out which one as they all tell him their stories. What better setting for a horror anthology? It's an inspired framing device, making this one of the better examples of the genre, even if screenwriter Robert Bloch at times resorts to gimmicks rather than invention. The first two stories are less than brilliant (the first is highlighted by dismembered body parts neatly wrapped in butcher paper wriggling back to life for revenge), but Charlotte Rampling and Britt Eklund are marvelous in the third tale, about a mentally unbalanced young woman and her dangerous best friend. Herbert Lom is also excellent in the final story as a scientist who carves an army of dolls he claims he can bring to life by sheer will power.

Director Roy Ward Baker (Quatermas and the Pit) builds momentum with each story until the dark and deliciously bloody climax. This Amicus Studios production looks visually dull compared to Hammer's gothic gloss, but it features a great British cast (including Patrick Magee and Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing), and ultimately Baker makes that gloomy look work for his increasingly creepy production. Amicus produced a series of horror anthologies, including the original 1972 Tales from the Crypt and The Torture Garden (also scripted by Bloch). --Sean Axmaker

Description

When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at the Dunsmoor Asylum for the incurably insane, he expects to be interviewed by asylum director Dr. Starr. Instead he is met by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who explains that Dr. Starr had suffered a mental breakdown and now is one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford decides that if Martin can deduce which one is really Dr. Starr, then he will be given the position. Is it Bonnie (Barbara Parkins), whose affair with a married man turns murderous? Is it Bruno (Barry Morse), a hardluck tailor visited by a mysterious stranger (Peter Cushing) with a blueprint and very special fabric for an unusual suit? Is it Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), accused of murdering her brother and her nurse but insisting that her friend Lucy (Britt Ekland) was responsible; Or is it Dr. Byron (Herbert Lom) who claims the ability to transfer collecting.

Customer Reviews:

Still love it!.......2007-03-09

Great movie, great delivery time, still entertaining! Not as scary as when I was in elementary. Very happy!

Come To The Asylum....To Get Killed!.......2006-11-19

Ah, remember the days of horror anthology films? I love this format. You really don't see much of it anymore, though Creepshow 3 is slated to come out sometime soon. This film is fun and from a good era for horror films. The film could have been longer with a few more stories, but, hey, what can you do? The script is done by horror writer Robert Bloch, so it's certainly a must if you're a fan of his. It's his style through and through. Very much in the way Creepshow was a total Stephen King showcase. Those familiar with horror films will have the twists and such figured out almost immediately, but what is surprising anymore, eh? It's still well done. A pretty cool cast is assembled here as well, which is certainly a who is who of British horror. The twenty minute featurette is the only thing here of real significance as far as features go. Amicus cofounder Max Rosenberg(who looks like he's about 110), Amicus(and Hammer) directors Freddie Francis and Roy Ward Baker are interviewed to talk a bit about working for Amicus. Pretty cool considering I've never seen Francis or Baker before. The Asylum probably won't win over alot of new fans and may not seem as original today as it did then, but it is a fun ride which is all we really ask of a horror film.

Great Stuff.......2006-11-09

Wow, this movie was fun. I never saw it before and, because I've been on a big Hammer and Amicus kick lately, took a chance on it. I was not disappointed.
Like other Amicus productions, what we get here are several horror stories in one, all centered on "incurably insane" patients in a British asylum. There are some great stars here that make it work oh so well, including Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), Robert Powell (Tommy, Jesus of Nazareth), Herbert Lom (Phantom of the Opera-1962), Peter Cushing (Do I need name all of his great horror films?), Richard Todd (Stage Fright)Barry Morse (Gerard from the 1960s TV series classic The Fugitive), Geoffrey Bayldon (The House That Dripped Blood), the scrumptious Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man-1973), beautiful Charlotte Rampling (The Fury), and lovely Bonnie Parkins (The Mephisto Waltz).
The transfer from Dark Sky Films is fantastic; it looks like a brand new film. It's presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks great when played in a progressive scan DVD player on a HD television.
Looking forward to the upcoming release of "From Beyond the Grave" from Image. Never saw that one before, either, but am looking forward to buying it just the same.
I'm hopeful other Amicus classics, including "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors," "Tales from the Crypt (1972)," and "Vault of Horror" will be released on DVD soon. There are rumors abound that Vault and Tales will soon be released by 20th Century Fox in England, but that won't help those of us living in the states much. Dr. Terror was released in England on DVD, but never in the U.S. There is a demand for these films here. Let's get with it, whoever owns the rights.

Classic Horror.......2006-11-07

I originally saw this film in 1972 when it came out and it was intense. Usually, when I re-visit a film years later, I have a different response then when I first saw it. This one still got to me, so I checked the credits. It was written by Robert Bloch. That's why it still works.

One of the best horror anthologies from Amicus........2006-10-26

Asylum was directed by Roy Ward Baker and was written by Robert Bloch who also wrote Psycho and some other Amicus films, the film has four stories which are told by a different patient that lives in the Asylum and they are played by an all star british cast that you may recognize that includes Peter Cushing, Brit Aklend, Herbert Lom etc. This film has got to be the best anthology horror I have ever seen now it is not gory but it had one of the best format storylines, Amicus allways made these low budget horror films in the 70's and were trying to rival Hammer but usually there films turned out to be very bad and cheesy. The four stories are woven together with a clever framing device the story begins as a psychiatrist applying for a position at an English insane asylum and it seems like the previous director of the institution has gone mad and has become one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) tells him that he must pass a test in order to be hired which is to find out who the director is and it all ends in a surprise I'm not going to ruin it.

The first story is about a young woman whose boyfriend cut his wife into little pieces and put the parts in the freezer but it soon turns out to be a tale of revenge when the pieces start moving, this part was very cheesy and hilarious but it still worked and was effective cause it was the best storyline.

The second story is about Bruno the tailor who is hired by Peter Cushing to design a magical suit for his son. It was a bit predictable but still great because of the performances from the actors.

The third story is about a woman named Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) who had been in a mental institute before, when she arrives back home she finds her friend played by Britt Eklend who causes alot of trouble by murdering people and might send Barbara back to the institute.

The final story is about Bryan (Herbert Lom) who makes little robot dolls which can be controlled by his mind and are able to do anything including murder. This one has a lot of twists and turns and it all concludes with the psychiatrist trying to figure out who the real director is. The film is not scary but still fun to watch and I highly recommend this great British horror film and two thumbs up!.

Average customer rating:

Landau Horror Classic
1.5 STARS: Very disappointing despite the all-star cast.
A dog.
leave this one "alone in the dark"
Jack Palance Wants You!!!

Alone in the Dark
Starring: Lee Taylor Allen , Phillip Clark , Frederick Coffin , Steve Daskawisz , and Laura Esterman
Director: Jack Sholder
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A59Q2I
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Product Description

When the lights go out, the terror begins! At a secluded mental institution, Dr. Bain (Halloween's Donald Pleasence) has developed a new form of therapy while electricity fuels the asylum's hi-tech security system, keeping nearby neighborhoods safe from menaces like Frank Hawkes (Academy Award winner Jack Palance, City Slickers) and the "Preacher" (Academy Award winner Martin Landau, Ed Wood). Meanwhile a new doctor, Dan Potter (Dwight Schultz, The A-Team), arrives in town with his family, but the inmates don't take kindly to his presence and believe he has killed off their former therapist. Suddenly a power outage leaves the town in chaos... and now the maniacs are free to roam the streets and hunt down the man they believe has invaded their lives. With the area quickly descending into riots, the innocent few must fight for their lives when they're left terrified, cornered, and Alone in the Dark! One of the most memorable and terrifying cult horror films of the 1980s, this white-knuckle shocker from director Jack Sholder (The Hidden) delivers one seat-jumping scare after another along with a thick vein of sly, pitch-black humor. Turn off the lights and watch... if you dare!

System Requirements:

Running Time 93 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

Landau Horror Classic.......2007-01-28

This is actually the best movie of all of Martin Landau's horror flicks. It's quite well made, features some appealing cinematography and direction, a much better script than most other similar films, and a lot of strong performances (Pleasance, Palance and a delightfully scenery-chewing Landau - "I made the lights go out!"). Not as much fun (in the cheesy sense) as others like "The Being", but a much better straight-forward horror film. The opening sequence is a surrealistic classic! Definitely recommended.

1.5 STARS: Very disappointing despite the all-star cast........2006-07-01

"Alone in the Dark" is one of those movies that you expect a lot from because of the cast, but it just never gets off the ground. Donald Pleasance, Martin Landau and Jack Palance star in "Alone in the Dark" and none of them could save it. In fact, you could argue that they really didn't try to...let's be fair as this movie is not one of Jack Palance's, Donald Pleasance's, and Martin Landau's best performances. Also, some of the other actors in this movie were atrocious.

"Alone in the Dark" is about a group of psychopaths that escape from a mental institution. The electricity goes out in the entire town and these maniacs go out on the loose. Their doctor, played by Donald Pleasance, attempts to stop them...what eventually occurs is stand-off where a family attempts to fend off the psychopaths who have attempted to infiltrate their home. Because the electricity is out, this is supposed to make the situation that much scarier.

Well, maybe, this movie could have worked under another director with a bit more vision and touch, but for one reason or another, "Alone in the Dark" does not work. This movie is undynamic and is severely lacking in style and substance. The atmosphere produced by this movie is largely ineffective and what you ultimately get is an inferior horror movie. The scenes do not move well and are without any real sense of fluidity, and any suspense that is built in the movie fails to gain any momentum as a result of this lack of fluidity, poor structural development and a thorough lack of rising action or even a climax of which the movie can hang its hat on so to speak. "Alone in the Dark" is the classic "dud" which just fails to do anything for the intelligent horror movie audience. "Alone in the Dark" is bland, plain and uninspiring as a horror movie or otherwise. Quite frankly and simply put, "Alone in the Dark" will leave you very alone with your boredom.

A dog........2006-06-29

Alone in the Dark (Jack Sholder, 1982)

The fact the over half of Alone in the Dark takes place in broad daylight should tell you most of what you need to know about this dog. It tries to be a cross between The Desperate Hours, Night of the Living Dead, and Straw Dogs, and manages to fail at imitating any of them with any sort of competence.

Dan Potter (Dwight Schultz) is the new doctor at Haven Hospital, run by the rather loose nut Leo Bain (Donald Pleasance). Bain is trying to cure violent offenders with just therapy in a hospital whose entire security system is electric. Then comes the inevitable blackout, and the escape of the four most violent felons in the place-- Byron the Preacher (Martin Landau), the arsonist; Ronald Elster (Stir Crazy's Erland van Lidth), the child molester; Skaggs, the Bleeder (character actor PhilipClark); and their leader, Frank Hawkes (Jack Palance). They know where Potter lives. You can guess the rest.

Alone in the Dark is notable for having, possibly, the largest plot hole in modern film (explain how a doctor doesn't recognize one of his patients for an entire day, if you'd be so kind). It is also noticeable for having two normally wonderful actors, Landau and Palance, give the worst performances either ever managed to come up with. As well, you have a script that lets four psychopaths loose on society-- a wonderful concept with which wonders can be done (viz. The Dream Team)-- and Sholder uses it just as a plot device. Come to think of it, he does that with just about every angle he could have used to give any depth whatsoever to this film. The end result can't even be called a mindless action flick; it doesn't have enough action. Some nifty special effects by Tom Savini and a fun soundtrack by the Sic F***s are about the only reasons you'd want to check this out. * ½

leave this one "alone in the dark".......2006-03-25

first off 1 star because you can't give no stars!! THIS IS ONE OF THE DUMBEST AND SILLY HORROR MOVIES EVER MADE . IT REALLY STINKS AND I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY BOTHERED TO PUT IT ON DVD. NOT SCARY,NOT FUNNY, JUST THE WORST!!!!! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND BUY ANYTHING BUT THIS PIECE OF JUNK!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Jack Palance Wants You!!!.......2006-01-07

What can be scarier than being stuck Alone In The Dark with Martin Landau and Jack Palance? This film attempts to answer that question and does a fine job. I'm a huge nut for any B horror picture, and it's nice sometimes to actually see some real star power in them. Granted, Landau and Palance weren't at the highest point in their careers when they did this. The film has Dwight Schultz, who you may remember as Murdock in the A-Team, as a new therapist at an asylum run by Psychiatrist, Donald Pleasance(who smokes pot in his office). "The men on the 3rd floor" are the extremely dangerous lunatics who decide to kill Murdock coz they believe he has murdered their former therapist. There are 4 central killers-First is Marin Landau as "Preacher", a bible quoting psycho. He's fantastic in this part. Palance is the paranoid Vietnam vet named Hawkes, who is basically the ringleader. He doesn't have alot of lines, but since it's Jack Palance, he's wonderfully creepy and convincing. The third is played by Erland van Lidth as a child molester who is childlike himself. You may remember Erland as the opera singing Roman Stalker in The Running Man("Cut! Cut! Go to commercial!!"). The fourth is rarely seen and this makes him interesting. Since his face is always off camera, a name actor isn't necessary. He's called The Bleeder, and comes off as the most dangerous of the 4 coz he doesn't speak and at one point pre-dates Jason Voorhees by wearing a hockey mask. Donald Pleasance is awfully nutty and funny in his role of the doctor. In fact, you start to wonder if he's actually a mental patient himself. Schultz is decent as the straight man, a far cry from his Murdock character. This film starts and builds up wonderfully. It has a fantastic buildup to the point where it becomes like Night Of The Living Dead with Schultz and his family trapped inside their home during a blackout with the band of crazies outside. Unfortunately the film falls kinda flat here. With such a good buildup and collection of characters, you expect alot more out of this confrontation than you get. It's actually kinda boring and not very intense at all. Despite this shortcoming, the film is well worth watching for the performances.

Average customer rating:

Just OK........
Bloody awful.
An Entertaining By-The-Numbers B-Movie
Rock N' Roll!
NUTHOUSE BLUES

Dark Asylum
Starring: Paulina Porizkova , Jürgen Prochnow , Judd Nelson , Larry Drake , and Jake Eberle
Director: Gregory Gieras
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005V1XT
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Customer Reviews:

Just OK...............2006-03-01

I bought this movie first, because it claims to be a horror movie and also I love any movie about insane asylums. I've seen much worse movies but this one isn't great by no stretch of the imagination. I must admit that Larry Drake does play the role of a deranged psycho pretty good. He has that psycho look.... bald, evil looking, wearing a straight jacket and all. We find him loose in the asylum with a female psychiatrist trapped there in a maze trying to hide from the psycho! She finds aid in the janitor, played by Judd Nelson ( who is weird himself! ) only to find out he was also an inmate of the looney bin. Not a slasher or gore film. At times, a bit boring, at times not. I'd suggest just Rent it only!!

Bloody awful........2006-01-13

Dark Asylum (Gregory Gieras, 2001)

Gieras, who was also responsible for the ultimately stupid Centipede! Three years later, makes his most high-profile film to date. And despite having scored the cast of his career by a mile, they're not enough to keep this leaky ship afloat.

Maggie (Her Alibi's Paulina Porizkova, who should have realized she had no future in film a decade and a half ago) is a psychiatrist who works long days, living with her grandmother and raising a daughter on her own. (Why the father is not in the picture is briefly discussed, then dropped when it is revealed to be an obvious red herring.) She gets a call one night to go to an asylum in the process of closing down, where her old acquaintance Conrad (The DaVinci Code's Jurgen Prochnow) is holding a vicious serial killer known as The Trasher (Darkman's Larry Drake) until the FBI can come round to pick him up. Conrad wants to get the Trasher to talk, and get a book deal out of it, since his livelihood, the asylum, is on its way out, and enlists Maggie to help. All well and good, until things go horribly wrong. The only person left that Maggie has to turn to is the janitor, Quintz (brat packer Judd Nelson, whose career basically disappeared after New Jack City).

It may all sound like it could hold a modicum of interest, but, well, it doesn't. While it wouldn't be fair to say Centipede! Is a better film, it's certainly not a worse one, either. A wooden script combines with some truly painful acting, especially on Proizkova's part, to make this one, at best, something you'd have on in the background at a party for people to laugh at. *

An Entertaining By-The-Numbers B-Movie.......2005-11-27

DARK ASYLUM bills itself as a taut psychological thriller. If you are looking for such in this movie, then you will be disappointed. I was looking for nothing more than a slasher type b-movie and DARK ASYLUM delivered the goods. DARK ASYLUM has a basic plot where a serial killer known as the Trasher (Larry Drake) is captured by the police, sustaining a gunshot injury, and is taken to the Crestwood Asylum, which is in the process of being closed down and has only one other patient still left. Maggie Belham (Paulina Porizkova) is called in to do an evaluation of the Trasher before the feds come to pick him up at midnight. The Trasher, however, is not through with his reign of terror as he effects an escape. Being that the floor of the asylum being used has emergency lockdown, Maggie finds herself trapped in an otherwise abandoned asylum with the Trasher on her heels and no one to depend on except for the one patient, the janitor (Judd Nelson), left at the asylum. They must try to survive until the feds arrive, escape, or destroy the Trasher. DARK ASYLUM has strong and weak points. Its strength is in Gieras' taut direction and Drake's portrayal of the Trasher, a character who is a large, menacing killer who is also more than capable of outsmarting his prey. Its weaknesses are a basic plot with nothing more to add and some, at best, half-hearted performances. While Drake and Porizkova deliver on their performances, Nelson performs his role but really does not bring anything to it, other than comic relief. DARK ASYLUM has several edge of your seat moments, doses of humor, and a pace which keeps it moving. If you are looking for an intense and intelligent psychological thriller, you will not find it here. If you just want to sit back and enjoy a by-the-numbers b-movie, then DARK ASYLUM delivers.--Bob

Rock N' Roll!.......2004-10-18

This suspense filled movie about a diabolical, insane killer, a helplessly trapped psychiatrist, and a caught up in the mix janitor gives new meaning to the term astonishing! The doctor, played saucily by Paulina Porizkova, becomes trapped in an insane asylum at night with no way out. The deranged lunatic, performed admirably by Larry Drake Jr., hunts her down, as they play cat and mouse. Meanwhile, a hapless janitor, played brilliantly by Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), tries to help the doctor, and survive the night. Will the sun rise before "The Thrasher" catches the doctor and janitor?

Rent or buy this exciting movie and find out!

Also: great directing by Gregory Gieras.

NUTHOUSE BLUES.......2004-10-07

There are so many implausibilities and coincidences in DARK ASYLUM, one would think at least one of them would be suspenseful. Alas and alack, no such luck. We get the ever interminably boring Larry Drake as the Trasher, a serial killer who has murdered several people and hidden their bodies in the cities sewer system. They catch him and lock him up in a soon to be closed down asylum, waiting for the feds to pick him up at midnight. This asylum also houses Dr. Jurgen Prochnow, an elderly psychiatrist who wants one last chance to make Drake talk. Paulina Portikova couldn't be more trite and boring if she tried; Judd Nelson as an inmate and janitor tries hard but his scenes are so small that he can't save the sinking ship. The cops are all stupid, and why in the world are there hand grenades in a mental hospital? Little suspense is generated, and the film's climactic ending routine.
Some of the camera work is interesting, so it's not a total bomb...but it's not far!

Average customer rating:

Tod Slaughter and Delicious Taste of Evil ... and look at the DVD Cover, Don't You Want to See the Film?
Tod Slaughter On A Rampage!...
Little Known Horror Thrill is really Good.
Tod Slaughter is the perfect villain

Crimes at the Dark House
Starring: Tod Slaughter , Sylvia Marriott , Hilary Eaves , Geoffrey Wardwell , and Hay Petrie
Director: George King
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000641YOG
Release Date: 2004-11-23

Customer Reviews:

Tod Slaughter and Delicious Taste of Evil ... and look at the DVD Cover, Don't You Want to See the Film?.......2007-01-09

`I will feed your entrails to the pigs!' This is one of the memorable lines you can hear in this lurid Victorian melodrama starring Tod Slaughter, whose character as ruthless killer drives a wooded spike into the skull of an unsuspecting gold digger in the Australian field. He impersonates his victim after knowing that the murdered man has inherited a large estate in England. He arrives there as fasle Sir Percival Glyde and look! he now keeps looking at one of the maids with his leering eyes!

All these things above occur in the opening 10 minutes of the film. The story takes unexpected turn at every 10 minutes, and the body counts keep rising. The acting is all hammy, often hilariously so, and the costumes the female characters are wearing sometimes look too modern. Still we enjoy watching this Victorian melodrama.

The film's centerpiece is star Tod Slaughter, who easily grabs our attention with his over-the-top acting as villainous "Glyde." The way touches his beards, or kills his victims so gleefully reminds that he belongs to the era when Bella Lugosi could be a big star in film. And sadly like Lugosi, stars like him were soon to be forgotten after the 40s and 50s.

The film is loosely based on Wilkie Collins famous classic novel `The Woman in White' (1860), but the story (or the point of view) is largely changed so as to give the central place to Tod Slaughter's villain in the film's world. In the book there is a formidable villain named Count Fosco, who is more sinister presence than Glyde, but in the film their relations are reversed. No one can manipulate Tod Slaughter, not even Doctor Fosco (his occupation is changed). Their partnership in crime leads to the fantastic sequences at the end of the film, which comes with one great quip no one but Tod Slaughter can utter with so much wicked humor.

Watch this Victorian melodrama and enjoy the delightfully evil character played by Tod Slaughter. They don't make films like this any more these days.

Tod Slaughter On A Rampage!... .......2006-07-14

If you've never seen Tod Slaughter in action, I highly recommend this movie (along w/ the glorious SWEENEY TODD of course!). Slaughter truly lives up to his name, as he drives a stake through a sleeping victim's cranium in the opening scene! He quickly assumes the dead man's identity after learning that he's just inherited an estate! Once he arrives at his new home, our "hero" sets out to live the life of ease and debauchery w/ one of the cute chambermaids. Alas, his life gets complicated, forcing him to kill nearly everyone in sight! Watch as he gleefully strangles, then dumps the bodies of those who dare get in his way! Listen, as he chuckles, chortles, and cackles his way through his horrible crimes! Yes, Tod Slaughter is fun to watch. Buy immediately...

Little Known Horror Thrill is really Good........2004-11-24

First of all it's written by one of the great horror writers Wilkie Collins and based on his story "Woman in White". If you've never seen a Slaughter film, Lugosi had nothing on him when it came to ham, over-the-top acting and scenery chewing. He is a madman who kills percival Glyde and then impersonates his victim to take over the estate he had just inherited. he then goes on to terrorize all those around him in a seething role of madness and says things like "I`ll feed you`re entrails to the pigs!"

This is a very atmospheric movie and the overall mood is quite chilling and a bit stifling. Slaughter is really fantastic in his portrayal of the madman. It's a fine, if rather unknown British supporting cast that lends itself to making this movie so good.

Tod Slaughter is the perfect villain.......2003-01-27

Though largely forgotten over the course of time, Tod Slaughter was one of cinema's greatest "bad guy" actors, playing the role of the villain to the very hilt. Crimes at the Dark House is a showcase of his talents-the "up to no good" expression, the gleefully evil hand-rubbing, the overt stroking of the mustache, and, best of all, the laugh. Only Vincent Price rivals Slaughter in the deviously evil cackle department. Slaughter enjoyed being the villain, cackling his way from one dastardly deed to another. Maybe he hams it up a little bit, but that was the style of the times. Nobody did it better, and I hope that Slaughter's work will continue to reemerge and be appreciated by today's audiences.

Crimes at the Dark House opens with a murder. In the gold territories of Australia, Tod Slaughter's character sneaks into a tent and kills its occupant by driving a tent peg through his head. Going through the man's papers, he discovers that the dead man is Sir Henry Glyde and has just been called home upon the death of his wealthy father. Slaughter's character (we never learn his real name) goes to London and passes himself off as Glyde. To his dismay, he finds out that he has "inherited" a debt rather than a fortune, but his "father" has chosen a wealthy bride for his "son." (His marriage to the unwilling lass doesn't stop him from giving the chambermaid new "duties," of course.) Things are complicated by the fact that the real Sir Glyde married and fathered a child before leaving for Australia two decades earlier, and the fruit of that union has escaped an institution with twenty years of hatred for Glyde built up inside her. Naturally, Glyde's plans begin to unravel, and a string of murders only makes things worse. Even the reliable old "switcheroo" ruse blows up in his face.

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