Into Minds Eye

Last night I was watching the movie Madhouse, a movie about a typical crazy person loose in an institution with death and destruction on his mind.  I actually felt right at home watching this flick, it had all of the elements required to make horror movies at least watchable: Blood, Gore, Sexy Women, Breasts, Death, and the crazy doctor that is only interested in making money. While the movie was far from perfect, it did capture my attention for more than a few minutes.

Of course, my suffering through the movie last night was only because I couldn't focus on anything relating to any project that I am involved in. My writing was at a standstill and none of  my creations were  talking to me, crying to come to life. To complicate matters last night, I couldn't sleep and I spent the night tossing and turning. That bout of insomnia got me thinking about some of the other asylum movies that out there. There are a ton, and some of them aren't that bad. However, for every good one, there is one that really just doesn't live up to expectations (for me, and my horror fetish, that is most of them). Unfortunately, this trend is a big part of the horror genre in general.    

No place is it more evident than in films based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe. For every movie that is good, decent and watchable, others just make you want to puke because of the way the directors of script writers intepreted Poe's genius. The following movie is one that sits somewhere in between these two extremes. Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon (or the Mansion of Madness) is not really a horror movie, it is actually more of an artistic imprint, yet it can be pretty scary and disturbing. So, without further fanfare here is the 1973 Poe interpretation for you to formulate you own opinion. 

BTW, one of the great things abouth this film is it sits in public domain and is available as a free download if you enjoy it as much as I do at Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon  .

 Into Minds Eye

I looked for, but haven’t yet
Felt philosophies forbidden by deceit

In time, my visions clear

A soul hostage to a glance

A mind captured by a smile

A life lost in your eyes

Suddenly, clarity shines through

Swaying fate in showers of desire

With pleasures trapped beneath a shroud of darkness

Ideas of rebirth within the visage of bliss

Simple signs line the pathways to fulfillment

A spiraling signature waiting on the quill

A delicate flower in the dismal abyss

A gentle rhyme to complete the verse

Destiny awaits reality

Truth awaits providence

Emptiness hides