THe ASPHYX (1972)

 Directed by Peter Newbrook 

Screenplay by Brian Comport from a story by Christina Beers and Laurence Beers.

Starring  - Robert Stephens as Sir Hugo Cunningham, Robert Powell as Giles Cunningham, Jane Lapotaire as Christina Cunningham

PLOT  -  Aristocratic scientist/photographer - Sir Hugo - has noticed a curious black stain appearing on photographs taken of those who are about to die, he initially theorises that he has caught a photograph of the soul leaving the bodies.

However, he soon changes his theory. His youngest son and fiancee are tragically killed in a boating accident which Hugo is filming. Upon watching the film he realises that the black stain isn't coming FROM the victims, instead it is coming FOR them.

For this is the Asphyx - the physical embodiment of death itself - and every living being has one. The Asphyx waits until the moment of death to infest its host. The Asphyx is everybody's personal death waiting to strike.

Soon Hugo is experimenting on understanding the Asphyx and the nature of death. He devises a way of trapping the Asphyx at the point of its intended victims death. Once the Asphyx is trapped its 'victim' then becomes immortal. 

Hugo immortalises a Guinea Pig first of all, then his fascination crosses the line into obsession. Soon Hugo has made himself immortal, but his fanaticism doesn't stop there. Hugo has beaten death and now he doesn't want his remaining family to die - his daughter and son in law - so he turns his attention to immortalising them. Whether they want to or not...

PERFORMANCES - The acting is pretty top notch throughout this film - filled as it is with British character actors. Robert Stephens is excellent as Sir Hugo - his performance veering from optimistic curiosity to painful mourning through to obsession, madness and finally guilt stricken grief when it all go's wrong at the end. On the strength of this performance, I'm surprised that Stephens didn't appear in more British horror films and became as successful as his contemporaries - Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. It just wasn't to be though.

A ridiculously young looking Robert Powell is good too. His character seems slightly shifty and cold at points as he, effectively,  becomes Hugo's assistant. However he soon backs off as the stakes get raised and Hugo starts losing his mind and scruples, and ends up becoming the moral centre of the story.

 A second moral centre is Hugo's daughter - Christina. Her character is ultimately placed in mortal danger by her father's obsession with immortality. Yes, it's the old trope of the "female victim" again, but Lapotaire plays the role well with conviction and vulnerability.

SFX - The main effect in this movie is that of the Asphyx itself. It's clearly a puppet of some sort but its very well designed - looking like a cross between a wizened Weasle and a cadaverous ghost.

The way it's filmed with a spectral blue light filter, coupled with its piercing, unearthly scream and Jerky, erratic movements make for a memorable movie monster.

Actually, looking at the photo, its just occurred to me that it looks a bit like Grandpa Simpson...

 Damn, now I've gone and ruined it for myself.      

SEX AND VIOLENCE  - Very little of either really, this is more of a Hammer-esque  gothic chiller than a gore fest  - it's  about mood and atmosphere rather than blood and guts. There's the odd splash of blood here and there when various people meet thier ends but it really is a case of blink and you'll miss it.

There's a really unintentionally funny death scene though. It's the scene where the rowing boat crashes and Hugo's son and fiancee are killed. 

It goes like this  - the son is standing up and punting the boat forwards on a calm, still lake. The son gets distracted and steers the boat near a tree. The overhanging branch smacks the son on the head and thats it - he's dead. He was slowly moving at about 0.001 mph, it's hardly a high impact head trauma.

 If this was in real life, in the very worst case scenario - the aforementioned bump on the noggin would have  caused little more than a slight headache and the utterance of language ill befitting a young Victorian gentleman. He definitely wouldn't have died. 

Even better - Hugo's fiancee then proceeds to scream hysterically and then do a back-flip into the calm, millpond still water. Cut to a shot of  a churning torrent of water - clearly filmed in a totally different location - and the sight of Hugo's missus's hat bobbing up and down in the foaming mass of H20. It's ridiculous and totally overplayed but great.

RATING - The Asphyx is a beautifully shot and directed film. There are some absolutely superb shots of the English countryside in the Autumn.  Sir Hugo's lab is wonderfully lit with a Red tinted light that gives it almost the look of a Mario Bava Giallo film.

This film has a very similar feel to a Hammer film - its got the same gothic, genteel atmosphere and bright colours. As I've said, this film is all about the atmosphere, which it has in spades. 

Plus it has an immortal Guinea Pig in it. How many films can say that ?

Final rating - 4 undying Cavia Porcellus out of 5. Go and watch it.

 

Also, I love how the "container" that they capture the Asphyx in resembles a coffin, there's no reason for it, but its a cool little detail all the same.