Subtitles:

None

Extras:

• Audio Commentary with producer Richard Gordon and David De Valle
• Robin Askwith is admitted to Horror Hospital for further treatment (10:53)

This gory British horror satire features a hammy Michael Gough as Doctor Storm, the demented overseer of a bizarre health resort advertising "Hairy Holidays" for teenage hipsters -- on whom he secretly performs diabolical mind experiments, turning them into mindless automatons directed by a remote-control device. Those lucky enough to escape the doctor's operating table are invariably tracked down by a leather-clad bike gang or decapitated by the doctor's car (thanks to handy fender-mounted scythes). Into this trap falls pop music star Robin Askwith, whose quest for a stress-relieving getaway lands him in Gough's house of horrors. Oblivious, at first, to his impending fate (thanks to the diverting presence of the doctor's pretty niece, Vanessa Shaw), Askwith eventually realizes that the fellow patients look just a bit too relaxed for comfort. Ostensibly the blackest of black comedies, some aspects of the film actually presage Lindsay Anderson's far more sophisticated Britannia Hospital, though the satire here is far less intelligent. The biggest laughs are provided by the badly dated, ultra-mod '60s clothing and dialogue.

Horror Hospital is a wonder. A film unknown by the world at large, and pretty much unknown by fans of general horror films, yet rightly lauded by British horror film fans as one of the greatest - if not the greatest - horror films ever made on these islands.

How did such a low budget mess of a film, with all its plot inconsistencies, wooden performances and all-round crapness, manage to reach such lofty heights? How can a production awash with fake blood and lacking in any genuine scares possibly be as good as quality films like The Wicker Man or Witchfinder General? It’s a puzzle, alright. The only answer seems to be: "Because it is. And if you don’t like it, we know a bloke who can change your mind. Forever."

Part of the film’s charm lies with its willingness to give, and keep on giving. Although you’ll never relive the glorious feeling of bewilderment and shock you feel on seeing it for the first time (an experience only one other film - 1978’s Killer’s Moon - has ever replicated for me), you will get a different experience on repeated viewings. The first time, you’re astonished. The second time, you‘re laughing. The third time, you realise it’s actually supposed to be a comedy. Then you start showing it to your mates, and enjoying their reactions. And, like some Japanese horror film, the word spreads…

Gary Tooze

September 24th, 2015