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1972 | Horror
99 mins United Kingdom
Existential gothic horror movie. A Victorian gentleman scientist (Stephens) discovers the existence of what he calls Asphyx: spirits of death that come to people at the moment they pass away. With the help of his young assistant (Powell), he comes up with a method of trapping a person's Asphyx, preventing it from reaching them and thus making them immortal. But is it wise to tamper with the forces of life and death this way...?
| Produced by | Glendale Productions |
| Director | Peter Newbrook |
| Writer | Christina Beers, Laurence Beers and Brian Comport |
| Cast | Robert Stephens, Robert Powell and Jane Lapotaire |
Main Image Courtesy: Glendale Productions.
Background Image Courtesy: Glendale Productions.
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Glendale Productions.
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At a time when the average Hammer horror was brazenly carnal and exploitative, and Amicus' line of portmanteaus was recycling the same jokey twist endings, The Asphyx takes itself wholly seriously and is positively bleak throughout - the whole movie is about death and despair, and the effects this can have on people. (At one point the plot boils down to a race between two characters to see which one of them can commit suicide first.) The intensity of the telling (good performances from the leads) makes it somewhat mesmerising to watch, even if it's a slightly chilly and unsettling experience.
