The Asphyx starts in 70's London where the police attend a car accident in which a copper gasps 'he's still alive'... Cut back to the turn of the 20th century & Victorian England as Sir Hugo Cunningham (Robert Stephens) arrives home to show Anna Wheatley (Fiona Walker), his bride-to-be, off to his family. While at home Sir Hugo continues his experiments with his friend & colleague Sir Edward Barrett (Alex Scott) that involves research into photography, Hugo & Edward have discovered that they can take a picture of someone's asphyx, in essence they can take of photo of someone's soul as it departs the body in death or mortal danger. It's not long before tragedy strikes & Hugo's fiancé Anna & his son Clive (Ralph Arliss) are killed in a boating accident, Hugo is convinced that the asphyx appears before death. When he is invited to watch & film a prisoner being hanged he sets up a bright blue light which seems to catch the asphyx in it's beam & from which it can't escape. Hugo is sure that if someone's asphyx is trapped they will become immortal & unable to die, with this in mind he persuades his adopted son Giles (Robert Powell) to assist him in an experiment to capture his own asphyx & thus give him immortality...
This British American co-production was directed by Peter Newbrook & while I have to give it credit for being different & trying it's hardest to be original that doesn't automatically make it a good film, does it? The script by Brian Comport is very dialogue heavy & takes itself extremely seriously, it's pretty slow going & when all said & done not that much actually happens in it. There's no real exploitation, no action, no suspense, a lack of any blood or gore & when I think about it The Asphyx has very few horror elements in it. Now onto the logistical problems, for a start people have been photographed & filmed for decades & people's asphyx clearly do not appear at the point of death or near the point of death, does it? So, straight away the basic story is just total complete & utter nonsense that I couldn't take that seriously because it's so easily disproved beyond any shadow of a doubt, I know it's just a film but films need to have at least some bearing in reality for us, the viewer that is, to care about anything or anyone on screen. Then there's the fact that Hugo couldn't get to his asphyx which was locked away in a crypt, well why couldn't he just use a load of explosives to destroy the door or better still the entire crypt which would in turn destroy the coffin which held his asphyx & let it go free? It's just a door & four walls, I mean couldn't he break in somehow? Also I wasn't convinced that an intelligent scientist could accidentally decapitate someone. Anyway, even if it was a bit predictable I must admit I liked the twist ending & how it came together but I couldn't help but feel the story would have been better served as a half an hour Tales from the Crypt episode (1989 - 1996).
Director Newbrook does a great job & The Asphyx looks good throughout, there's some cool cinematography & lighting, the production design & period sets, costumes & props are lush & give The Asphyx a nice atmosphere. The image of the ghostly screaming asphyx caught in the blue light is creepy & surprisingly effective. Forget about any gore as there isn't any.
Technically The Asphyx is excellent, great cinematography, production design & it's very well made throughout. The acting is pretty good by everyone involved.
The Asphyx is one of those films which is perhaps just a bit too clever for it's own good, I thought it was a good film & I enjoyed it but I wouldn't be in any hurry to see it again. Definitely worth a watch but apart from the nice ending it didn't quite do enough with it's unusual premise for me.
This British American co-production was directed by Peter Newbrook & while I have to give it credit for being different & trying it's hardest to be original that doesn't automatically make it a good film, does it? The script by Brian Comport is very dialogue heavy & takes itself extremely seriously, it's pretty slow going & when all said & done not that much actually happens in it. There's no real exploitation, no action, no suspense, a lack of any blood or gore & when I think about it The Asphyx has very few horror elements in it. Now onto the logistical problems, for a start people have been photographed & filmed for decades & people's asphyx clearly do not appear at the point of death or near the point of death, does it? So, straight away the basic story is just total complete & utter nonsense that I couldn't take that seriously because it's so easily disproved beyond any shadow of a doubt, I know it's just a film but films need to have at least some bearing in reality for us, the viewer that is, to care about anything or anyone on screen. Then there's the fact that Hugo couldn't get to his asphyx which was locked away in a crypt, well why couldn't he just use a load of explosives to destroy the door or better still the entire crypt which would in turn destroy the coffin which held his asphyx & let it go free? It's just a door & four walls, I mean couldn't he break in somehow? Also I wasn't convinced that an intelligent scientist could accidentally decapitate someone. Anyway, even if it was a bit predictable I must admit I liked the twist ending & how it came together but I couldn't help but feel the story would have been better served as a half an hour Tales from the Crypt episode (1989 - 1996).
Director Newbrook does a great job & The Asphyx looks good throughout, there's some cool cinematography & lighting, the production design & period sets, costumes & props are lush & give The Asphyx a nice atmosphere. The image of the ghostly screaming asphyx caught in the blue light is creepy & surprisingly effective. Forget about any gore as there isn't any.
Technically The Asphyx is excellent, great cinematography, production design & it's very well made throughout. The acting is pretty good by everyone involved.
The Asphyx is one of those films which is perhaps just a bit too clever for it's own good, I thought it was a good film & I enjoyed it but I wouldn't be in any hurry to see it again. Definitely worth a watch but apart from the nice ending it didn't quite do enough with it's unusual premise for me.