The Asphyx (DVD 2004)

I first saw this obscure movie on TV as a teenager and horror connoisseur, and I remember being struck by the total originality of the idea, something that was, and still is, almost unheard of in the genre. Basically a Victorian scientist and inventor loses his wife and son in an accident and stumbles on the secret of immortality through the use of his own early photography techniques. On the way of course encountering the spirit of death, the Asphyx.

The film relies more on an admittedly strong storyline than creature special effects, which although they look dated today, were avant-garde for their time......especially in a lower budget film. The screeching Asphyx still has the prescence to disturb and stays with you long after the film has finished. Released in 1973 to mixed reviews, it was completely overshadowed by the Exorcist released a year later.

There are some silly bits in the film. Sir Hugo for example invents the motion picture camera several years before its actual invention !! There is a public hanging many decades after they were abolished, and at the end of the film an immortal Sir Hugo, now aged well over a hundred, with make-up to this effect, holds an equally immortal guinea pig, which looks exactly the same as it did a hundred years ago !!!

Ultimately this is a thinking persons horror classic, although more could have been done with this welcome DVD release, which stars Robert Stevens and [a very young] Robert Powell [a long way from his present role in Casualty !!]. The special features are scant, with only stills gallery and stereo options, and the original Todd AO colour is retained, which is not brilliant. I would have liked to have seen a printed booklet included, and a copy of the original film poster would have been great.

Hope this review has been helpful. Kind Regards, Dave.