Price and Cushing in this clunky Brit precursor to “Scream”
Shot in the late spring of 1973 under the (superior) title “The Revenge of Dr. Death,” it was changed to the generic “Madhouse.” It didn’t open in the USA until a year and a half later in December 1974.
I couldn’t help but think of “Scream” a couple of times while watching, so this obviously influenced that more popular 1996 slasher (and I like it better). It’s quirky and sometimes awkward due to butchering in the editing room by Milton Subotsky, yet it’s nevertheless colorful and entertaining. While Price and Cushing are highlights in the cast, there are several other notables, such as Robert Quarry, who appears dressed in his outfit from “Count Yorga, Vampire” during a costume party sequence.
Winsome Linda Hayden stands out in the female cast, but there are several others worth mentioning, such as Julie Crosthwait (Ellen), Adrienne Corri (Faye), Catherine Willmer (Louise) and Jenny Lee-Wright (Carol), amongst a couple of others. There are well-done scenes involving the mad Faye that make me wonder if they were the inspiration for Overkill’s song “Playing with Spiders/Skullkrusher.”
Since the film underperformed at the box office, it marked the end of Price’s collaboration with American International Pictures after 14 years, which started with “House of Usher.” Speaking of which, there are several clips from that flick, "Pit and the Pendulum," "Tales of Terror," "The Masque of Red Death," "The Raven” and “Scream and Scream Again,” all presented as Dr. Death (Price) movies.
It runs around 1 hour, 29 minutes; and was shot in the studio in Twickenham, which is located just southwest of London, as well as areas of the city and Pryford Manor in Surrey, the latter further southwest of London.
GRADE: B
