By James Whittington, 30th December 2022
The Legend Vintage Vault in January has double-bills packed with tension, thrills and good old-fashioned scares. Here's what we have lined-up for you:
New Year's Day has the first showing of THE ASPHYX at 9pm. Utilising an experimental photographic device, a scientist (Robert Stephens) captures what appears to be the image of the Asphyx-the ancient Greek spirit of the dead. With the help of his adopted son (Robert Powell), he discovers a way to harness the Asphyx and gain immortality, unleashing dreadful consequences. Blending elements of Gothic horror with the more contemporary ingredients of steampunk, The Asphyx has emerged from obscurity to become a cult favourite of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. This is followed at 10.45pm by the Hammer classic TWINS OF EVIL . After being orphaned, two beautiful identical twins move from Vienna to the village of Karnstein. There they are to live with their Uncle, a fanatical Puritan (Peter Cushing). Nearby, the Count of the village is performing a sacrificial rite which raises his ancestor, the vampire Countess. He turns his attention to the twins. One of them is destined to fall under the castle's spell, but which one?
On the 8th we start off at 9pm with a stroll down the corridors of a mental asylum where your mind will not believe what your eyes in TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS. In the tradition of Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow, this anthology of pulp horror stories is helmed by horror master Freddie Francis and the legendary cast includes Donal Pleasance, Joan Collins, Kim Novak, Jack Hawkins and Suzi Kendall. The channel premiere of HORROR HOSPITAL follows at 10.50pm. Jason Jones, a disillusioned songwriter (played by Robin Askwith) decides a change of pace is needed and checks into Brittlehouse Manor, a 'health resort' where young people are supposedly cured of all their hang-ups. It is run by the sinister Dr Storm (Michael Gough) a crippled, demented genius who performs lobotomies on his young patients. It isn't long before Jones realises that his life is in danger, and with the help of Strom's assistant (Skip Martin), he tries to escape...
A TV classic starts of the double-bill on the 15th, DOOMWATCH. Dr Del Shaw (Ian Bannen), part of the government's investigative environmental organisation Doomwatch, travels to the island of Balfe to examine the potentially adverse effects of a recent oil spill. The villagers are all suspicious of Shaw, especially the menfolk, who seem to have transformed into near-Neanderthals. After teaming up with a local teacher, Shaw discovers that the transformation of the men is due to a disease called acromegaly. Hammer's final horror of the 1970s is at 10.50pm, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER. Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) asks occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) to protect his 18-year-old daughter, Catherine (Natasha Kinski). She has attracted the attention of ex-communicated priest Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee), who wants Catherine to become the incarnation of one of the crowned princes of Hell, Astaroth. Pitted against black magic, ancient rituals and a clan of Satanists, Verney battles to save the young girl from a diabolical fate.
A pair of monochrome masterpieces are waiting for you on the 22nd starting at 9pm with THE INVISIBLE MAN. Claude Rains plays a mysterious doctor who discovers a serum that makes him invisible. Covered by bandages and dark glasses, Rains arrives at a small English village and attempts to hide his amazing discovery. But the same drug that renders him invisible slowly drives him to commit acts of unspeakable terror. Based on H.G. Wells' classic novel and directed by the master of macabre James Whale, The Invisible Man not only fuelled a host of sequels, but also features some special effects that are still imitated today. The celebrated sequel, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN follows at 10.25pm. Once again James Whale is in the director's chair as we discover Mary Shelley's monster alive and well and forcing the good baron to create a mate. Horror film icon Boris Karloff reprises his role as Dr Frankenstein's fabled creation and Elsa Lanchester co-stars as his monstrous lady love.
We've another pair from of Universal classics on the 29th, the first being THE MUMMY'S HAND. Two broke archaeologists, Steve Banning (Dick Foran) and Babe Jenson (Wallace Ford), head to Egypt to uncover the legendary sarcophagus of Princess Ananka. Not only is the tomb cursed, it has its own guard - an eternal mummy named Kharis! When expedition members start dying at the mummy's hand, it'll take wits and courage to survive the undying horror uncovered under the sands. FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN at 10.20pm is our final movie from the Vintage Vault. Two of the silver screen's most fearsome creatures battle it out when the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr. reprising his role) seeking to end his curse, looks to the notorious Dr Frankenstein for a cure. However, his mission pus him on a collision course with Frankenstein's monster, played by Bela Lugosi. Directed by Roy William Hill, this was the first of a series called "monster rallies" combining characters from several film series.
Related show tags: BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, DOOMWATCH, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN, HORROR HOSPITAL, TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS, THE ASPHYX, THE INVISIBLE MAN, THE MUMMY'S HAND, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, TWINS OF EVIL MORE FEATURES Crime and sci-fi adventures headline May 2024 premieres on LEGEND
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