The Asylum DVD 1972

I picked this title at random because it seemed lonely and unreviewed. As it turns out it was a pretty good find. The basic premise is pretty simple; a new doctor arrives at an insane asylum and interviews the prisoners. Each one relates their story in a series of creepy vignettes.

From a production standpoint this is pretty much what you'd expect from the time period. The effects aren't great, the stories are predictable yet they still manage to get under your skin. At least in part this may be due to the music. It's unnerving and it's LOUD compared with the dialog track. I had to keep the remote handy. It probably helped the creepiness factor a bit that I started the movie with the sound turned up way too loud and jumped a foot when the music immediately blared.

So this is a solid choice for free; it has that much more understated quality of horror at the time. You don't have to see every bloody detail. Sometimes all you need is a hint, an implication. It also has the advantage that it's reasonably kid appropriate, if your kids are used to the Twilight Zone and other similar creepy stuff.