The Asphyx (1972)

Horror,

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The Asphyx is slow-burn Victorian horror, which usually falls well outside my range of interests, but what it demands in patience, it makes up for in a purely original story that somehow hasn’t been replicated since. The title refers to an ancient creature that comes to claim your soul at the moment of death, and the film centers around Sir Hugo Cunningham (Robert Stephens), a fancypants high society doctor who begins experimenting with the creature; first by capturing its image, and ultimately trying to capture the entity itself in a dangerous quest for immortality.

The film’s plotting stumbles into the absurd at moments — for example. the number of bizarre ways they come up with to make Cunningham’s experiment go wrong — but it thrives when it digs into the meat of its concept. The creature design for the Asphyx itself is unique and chilling; a blue-tinged specter wholly different from the more conventional creature creations that plague uninspired monster movies, but the best moments come when the scientists debate the meaning of the creature’s existence. These conversations are ponderous and explored at length, giving time to explore unanswerable questions of mortality. It all makes for a film that creeps up on you. The Asphyx comes collecting, taking its time, but it ultimately demands your soul… or at least a deep consideration of your own impending death.