The Film
Incredibly silly but undeniably entertaining, The Asphyx looks the part of respectable Gothic horror, but can’t escape the flimsiness of its premise or the enjoyably overblown performance of Robert Stephens. Presented here in a surprisingly stunning Blu-ray edition, the film is well worth seeking out.
Directed by frequent David Lean cameraman Peter Newbrook (his only directorial credit) and shot by longtime Lean cinematographer Freddie Young, The Asphyx stars Stephens as Sir Hugo Cunningham, a well-to-do scientist who discovers what just might be the secret to immortality.
An amateur photographer in addition to a scientist, Hugo notices a strange black smudge in photographs of people on their deathbed, and when personal tragedy intersects with his own photography, he finds what he believes to be the key to the mystery. Just before death, the Asphyx — an ancient Greek spirit of the dead — comes to take the dying’s soul away, but Hugo hypothesizes that if one could harness the Asphyx and prevent it from reaching the person, that person could attain immortality.
Along with adopted son Giles (Robert Powell), Hugo develops a system of crystal-fueled lights to capture a person’s Asphyx, which looks like a shrieking, aborted Ray Harryhausen creature. The method’s pseudo-science is fairly laughable, but the film really goes off the rails plausibility-wise when it comes to Hugo’s attempts to turn Giles and his daughter, Christina (Jane Lapotaire) immortal. The process requires him to summon death, and well, let’s just say I wouldn’t use a guillotine as my method.
Despite the contemptibly stupid decisions the characters often make, The Asphyx remains a pretty interesting piece of fantasy/sci-fi/horror fiction. While the allure and the danger of immortality is never felt as profoundly as the film seems to think it is, the novelty of the narrative and the quite lovely photography by Young make for a rather pleasant diversion.
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Article comments
1 - Luigi Bastardo
Always wanted to see this one; I'll have to get this. Thanks for the review.
2 - Dr Dreadful
Think I saw this on Channel Four or BBC 2 late one night many years ago. The 70s was a fairly horrible decade, but pretty inventive as far as the horror genre was concerned.
3 - Christopher Rose
Oi, Doc D, no, leave the 70s alone! It was easily one of the best decades of the 20th Century!!!
As to horror movies, I've never really understood the appeal of this genre.
4 - Dr Dreadful
Oh, come on, Chris. Punk rock was just about the decade's only redeeming feature! Other than that, the music sent you to sleep after one note, the economy was a nightmare, and shirt collars and trouser bottoms were so ridiculously vast that no-one could go outside on a windy day!
5 - Christopher Rose
That might have been your experience, Doc, not that I think you are actually old enough to have experienced the 70s in a grown up way at all, but I had a most amazing time.
I didn't experience the so called bad economy at all even though I was unemployed for at least seven years, heard what still remains some of the best music I've ever heard in my life and still listen to today and generally had a blast.
The only decades that might beat it would be the 80s and the 60s, but that would be a very tough call.
The 70s is also somewhat surprisingly rather like this current decade so far in many ways, which is weird!