“The Mansion Of Madness” is a brain burning barrage of psychedelia and black comedy that plays out 1 part Alejandro Jodorowsky and 1 part Monty Python. It was originally released in Mexico in 1972 but didn’t make it stateside until 1977. Even then it was touted as a sex and horror film, with the misleading title “Dr. Tarr’s Torture Dungeon.”
Supposedly the film’s narrative was lifted from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The System Of Doctor Tarr and Professor Feather,” though you’d hardly know it, as the film is irrational and confusing in almost every way. Does any of this deter from enjoying this sucker? Hell no, it doesn’t.
Watch as a curious doctor and his cohorts land upon an asylum that has been over-taken by its more-than-insane residents. See unbridled violence, full frontal female nudity and prisoners held captive in over-sized fish aquariums. Cockeyed activities and tortures abound.
Director Moctezuma was also responsible for the minor classic “Alucarda” and was a partner in crime to Jodorowsky on “Fando and Lis” as well as “El Topo.” Fans of Fellini, Bunel and the aforementioned Jodorowsky should certainly seek this one out. “The Mansion Of Madness” is high level art with its tongue placed firmly in its cheek.
Mondo Macabro loaded this disc with extras from their “Alucarda” release as well as a theatrical trailer.
