66: The Asphyx (aka Spirit of the Dead) (aka The Horror of Death) (1972) – Glendale Film – Dir. Peter Newbrook – Robert Stephens, Robert Powell & Jane Lapotaire – Freddie Young Shot
About this episode
The episode explores the 1972 British horror film The Asphyx, discussing its themes, production quality, and historical context.
The Asphyx (1972) In this episode, we dive deep into the 1972 British science fiction horror cult classic , The Asphyx (also known as Spirit of the Dead or The Horror of Death ). Set in the Victorian era, this unique period chiller follows a wealthy philanthropist and amateur scientist, Sir Hugo Cunningham, who stumbles upon a way to photograph the "Asphyx"—the Ancient Greek spirit of death that appears at the precise moment of a person's demise. A Quick Mea Culpa on Picture Quality Before we get into the meat of the film, we have to address the elephant in the room: the visuals . Throughout the episode, you’ll hear us absolutely tear into the "pan and scan" and the ropy, grainy picture quality of the version we watched. Full disclosure: We’ve since realized we were watching a particularly bottom-of-the-barrel DVD. It turns out there are actually stunning, high-quality HD versions of The Asphyx available for free on YouTube! From the Todd-AO 35mm widescreen transfers to beautifully restored prints, the real film looks pretty good. If you want to see what Freddie Young actually intended, go search for it—it’s easy to find and looks worlds better than the disc we suffered through…
People in this episode
Hosts: Ross, Jon, James
Topics covered
- British horror
- science fiction
- cult classic
- film analysis
- Victorian era
- cinema history
Keywords
- The Asphyx
- British horror
- cult classic
- Peter Newbrook
- Victorian era
- film quality
- cinema history
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Asphyx, Spirit of the Dead, The Horror of Death, Lawrence
More episodes of General Witchfinders: The British Horror Podcast
- 69: General Witchfinders LIVE: Folk Horror, M.R. James & Nigel Kneale
- 67: Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) – Hammer Horror – Dir. Terence Fisher – Peter Cushing, Susan Denberg & Thorley Walters
- 65b: K9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend (1981) – BBC – Writer Terence Dudley – Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson & Bill Cole – Doctor Who Spinoff Special
- 65a: The Ice House (1978) – BBC – Dir. Derek Lister, Writer John Bowen – John Stride, Elizabeth Romilly & Ewan Hooper – BBC Ghost Story for Christmas
- 64: Psychomania (aka The Death Wheelers) (1973) – Benmar Productions – Dir. Don Sharp – Beryl Reid, George Sanders & Nicky Henson
- 63 (Part 2): Flash Gordon (1980) – Starling Productions – Dir. Mike Hodges – Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson & Max von Sydow
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