Groovy Times

 

 (imdb)

THE LOVE-INS-1967-When 2 university students, Larry (James MacArthur) and Patricia (Susan Oliver), are expelled because they published an “underground” newspaper, “The Tomorrow Times”, Prof. Barnett (Richard Todd) resigns in protest. All the students congratulate him and he goes on The Joe Pyne Show to explain his reasons. Later he visits Haight-Ashbury and a hippie “love-in”. He gets an apartment there and lectures the hippies about not conforming. His motto: “Be More, Sense More, Love More”. Then a motorcycle gang starts a riot. He also says LSD “widens your scope and makes you love more'. At a psychedelic party, Patricia freaks out on acid and images she's Alice in Wonderland, dances wildly and strips. Larry voices his doubts about the professor's theories on drugs and becomes disenchanted with Barnett's “teachings”. The professor kind of becomes a “messiah” figure. Another student Elliot (Mark Goddard) helps promote him. 

Meanwhile, Larry publishes articles about Barnett's phoniness. Then some football players beat up the hippies and trash their stores and hangouts. Later Barnett really becomes infatuated with himself and gets a shock when he finds out Patricia is carrying his baby. He decides she needs an abortion to save his image. She finally sees through him for the phony he is. While he gives a speech at a packed stadium, Patricia falls down the stairs and loses her baby. Enraged, Larry shoots and kills Barnett but fears he has created a martyr. Gary Busey has an uncredited role as a hippie and The Chocolate Wristband, The U.F.O.'s and The New Age are heard. 

This psychedelic acid trip of a movie time capsule was directed and co-written by Arthur Dreifuss (he made MYSTERY IN SWING in 1940) who directed the equally out of date RIOT ON THE SUNSET STRIP the same year. Though now just a relic of the '60's THE LOVE-INS is still kind of fun. To top it all off Sam Katzman was the producer!

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Amicus Anthology

 

 (imdb)

ASYLUM-1972-A young Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) has a job interview in an insane asylum where the head doctor Rutherford has gone insane and is now a patient. Or so says his replacement (Patrick Magee). He says if Martin can identify the loony doc from the other patients, he gets a position.

The first story, “Frozen Fear” is related by Bonnie (Barbara Parkins) and how her lover Walter (Richard Todd) murdered his wife with an ax, chopped up her body and put it in a freezer. The pieces come back to life and kill hubby. Bonnie has to fight the pieces too and winds up insane and disfigured.

Then comes the tale “The Weird Tailor”. Bruno (Barry Morse), a tailor who can't pay his rent, is visited by a Mr. Smith (Peter Cushing) who wants the tailor to make a special suit for his son. He needs the suit to bring his son back to life. After he accidentally kills Smith, Bruno wants to burn the suit. His wife (Ann Firbank) wants to call the police. Fortunately, she puts the suit on Otto the dummy. An episode of TV's "Thriller" is based on the same story.

In the third story “Lucy Comes to Stay”, a woman named Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) comes to live with her stuffy brother George (James Villiers) after a mental breakdown. She has an annoyingly cheerful nurse called Higgins (Megs Jenkins). After Barbara takes some pills, her mysterious friend Lucy (Britt Eklund) shows up and convinces her that George is trying to kill her. But Lucy is just an illusion.

Last up is “Manikins of Horror”. Dr. Byron (Herbert Lom) makes little dolls that he says he can bring to life through thought control, which he does in the finale but there's a fatal twist ending for poor Dr. Martin. 

This is a cool horror anthology from Amicus with all the stories written by Robert Bloch who had performed a similar duty the year before on THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. Director Roy Ward Baker's previous horror movie had been DR. JEYKLL AND SISTER HYDE (1971).

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