Peter Newbrook directs Robert Stephens, Robert Powell and Jane Lapotaire in this period chiller where an English country squire called Sir Hugo Cunningham searches for immortality by literally ‘bottling up’ the Spirit of the Dead, or Asphyx.

Like the best Hammer this is creepy yet creaky, quaint yet unique. A Tale Of The Unexpected that goes the route less travelled. The sequences where the squirmy Asphyx rod puppet is trapped in beams of light contains obvious trickery and genuine tension. Not very scary but a memorable curio.

6

Perfect Double Bill: The Skull (1965)