Torture Garden (1967)

50% of users liked it
(1,133 ratings)

The Torture Garden is an "omnibus" chiller, adapted from four short stories by Robert Bloch (Psycho). Each is introduced by Burgess Meredith, playing a sinister carnival barker by the name of Dr. Diabolo. The doctor's audience consists of five people, four of whom are apprised of their ultimate… More The Torture Garden is an "omnibus" chiller, adapted from four short stories by Robert Bloch (Psycho). Each is introduced by Burgess Meredith, playing a sinister carnival barker by the name of Dr. Diabolo. The doctor's audience consists of five people, four of whom are apprised of their ultimate fates as Diabolo weaves his stories. In "Enoch," a young playboy falls under the spell of a cannibalistic cat. In "Terror Over Hollywood," a famous movie star is revealed to be an android. In "Mr. Steinway," the "villain" is a killer piano. And in "The Man Who Collected Poe," the title character murders another collector over a valuable Poe manuscript--only to receive retribution from ol' Edgar himself. If we told you anything about the fifth person in Meredith's audience, we'd be giving away the ending, wouldn't we now? The individual episodes tend to rise and fall depending upon the strength of their stars. Among those present in Torture Garden are horror-flick regulars Jack Palance, Peter Cushing, Robert Hutton, Michael Ripper and Niall McGinniss. No, this isn't a Hammer Production; it was put together by Hammer's principal British rival of the 1960s, Amicus Films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Freddie Francis
Genres: Horror, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jul 19, 1968 Wide
On DVD: Oct 4, 2005

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
An uneven but overall effective horror portmanteau that is ably directed by the London-born Freddie Francis.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

I love the Amicus anthology films, and this one is better than most of them. The first and last stories are the reason to see this one. I love seeing Jack Palance pop up in it, and he gives a great performance. I really liked portions of the score as they reminded me of The Twilight… More
I love the Amicus anthology films, and this one is better than most of them. The first and last stories are the reason to see this one. I love seeing Jack Palance pop up in it, and he gives a great performance. I really liked portions of the score as they reminded me of The Twilight Zone quite a bit. Nothing can ever top Tales From the Crypt, but this is one of the better of the omnibus films.
AJ V

This horror movie has a good story, but I've seen it in a lot of other movies. The cast is good too, and for the most part I liked this movie.
Lafe F

A nice anthology of horror tales with a strange statue in a garden being used as the framing device.
Greg A

Jack Palance stole the show for me, his creepy portrayal of an Edgar Allen Poe fanatic as this wired, jittery fellow who drank a few thousand too many cups of coffee is this nervous oddball is so far from the normal quiet, calm and collected Palance I know and love.

Cast

            Jack Palance as Ronald Wyatt

            Burgess Meredith as Dr. Diabolo

            Beverly Adams as Carla Hayes

            Peter Cushing as Canning

            Michael Bryant as Colin

            Barbara Ewing as Dorothy

            Michael Ripper as Roberts

            Timothy Bateson as Fairground Barker

            David Bauer as Mike Charles

            James Copeland
            
            Maurice Denham as Colin's Uncle

            Michael Hawkins as Constable

            Ursula Howells as Miss Chambers

            Bernard Kay as Dr. Heim

            Barry Lowe
            
            Niall MacGinnis as Doctor

            Nicole Shelby as Millie

            John Standing as Leo Winston

            Hedger Wallace as Edgar Allan Poe

            Robert Hutton as Bruce Benton

            Clytie Jessop as Atropos

            Catherine Finn as Nurse Parker

            Frank Forsyth as Tramp

            Geoffrey Wallace
            
            Norman Claridge
            
            Roy Stephens
            
            John Phillips as Eddie Storm
See full cast