Wealthy amateur inventor and psychical researcher Hugo Cunningham (Robert Stephens) believes he is entering a new and happy chapter in his life. His children, son Clive, daughter Christina and adopted son Giles (Ralph Arliss, Jane Lapotaire and Robert Powell) are all grown and successful, and he has just introduced them to his wife to be Anna (Fiona Walker). Everyone is happy, and he has plenty of free time to pursue his hobby, photographing people at the moment of their deaths, in pursuit of his psychic researches. He notices a distinct smudge in these photos that appears to have no natural explanation, but this gives him no more pause than any other of his scientific inquiries. He is leading a placid and self satisfied life.

And then tragedy strikes. The happy family is out on the river for some boating fun, and giving Hugo a chance to try out his newly invented motion picture camera. Thus, he is filming when his son Clive is struck on the head by a stray branch, and his fiancée falls into the river to drown. Clive's death is caught on film, and Hugo notices a shadow moving toward him just at the moment that he expires. He believes he has discovered proof of the ancient Greek demon, the asphyx, that inhabits a body at the moment of its death. He also discovers, quite accidentally, that he can trap an asphyx with a type of chemical spotlight that he has invented.

He enlists the unwilling help of Giles in his experiments, and becomes more and more obsessed as he delves deeper into matter, and tries to discover what might happen if he caught and imprisoned his own asphyx. As one might guess, in a horror film, scientists who tamper in God's domain generally come to tragic ends. And so it is here. The basic story is a familiar one to any horror fan, but the way it is played out and interrogated here is exceptionally intriguing.

This is helped considerably by the incredibly passionate performance by Stephens. He was a classically trained actor who worked with Zeffirelli and Billy Wilder, but he takes the subject matter of The Asphyx utterly seriously. This is certainly not a realist film, and the performances recognize that, but it is quite a bit more than melodrama. Stephens, and all of the other performers, are quite believable, and real emotions are on display here. It's these heartfelt and empathetic performances that allow the viewer to forgive the sometimes outlandish premise, the occasional plot hole or the special effects that look amateurish by today's standards.

The Asphyx is not terribly bloody and there's essentially no action, so if one is solely dedicated to amped up slasher type films, it's probably not for you. But it does develop and maintain a steadily building sense of unease and dread. As mentioned above, there are a couple of plot holes, or moments when it is unclear why characters take the actions that they do and not others. But these are easily forgiven, as one is swept up in the fantastic sets and splendid performances. The Asphyx is subtle and thoughtful, and asks discomfiting questions of its audience. It would be refreshing if more modern horror films were like this. Highly recommended.

The DVD

Video:
The video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, and looks pretty good. The coloring is quite rich, and the look is typical of gothic horror films of the time. There is an occasional film scratch or dirt, but these are fleeting and detract little from the experience. The disc also contains an extended version, about twelve minutes longer than the theatrical release, and there are some quality issues with the restored sections, but those will be addressed in the Extras section below.

Sound:
The audio is Dolby digital 2 channel, and sounds quite good. The dialogue is always clearly audible, and no hiss or other problem can be heard. No subtitles or alternate language tracks are included.

Extras:
There are a few extras included. They are:

Theatrical Trailer
At just over two minutes, this is a great, over the top trailer in the style for horror films of the seventies. It's a lot of fun.

Gallery
Fifteen or so publicity stills, posters and behind the scenes shots are included.

Redemption Trailers
Trailers for Redemption releases Virgin Witch and Killer's Moon are included here.

Asphyx - Extended
The extended version included here clocks in at 1:38, twelve minutes longer than the theatrical version. The extra footage was culled from an inferior American print, and includes about ten additional or extended scenes, if I caught them all. They are not that hard to spot, as the quality of the image is drastically lower in the reclaimed footage, being quite muddy and gray. Nevertheless, it's clearly indicated on the disc that there are quality issues with the extra footage, so that's not a huge problem, and it's nice that diehard fans can view a version that they've probably not seen before. Most of the segments appear to be exposition cut for time, and only one bit reveals anything that was mysterious in the shorter version. Namely, the contents of an envelope that were implied before are here explicit. In total, the additional footage doesn't add much to the film, but nor does it take away.

Final Thoughts:
The Asphyx is a thoughtful horror film in the gothic style, and works almost as a Greek tragedy as the entire Cunningham family is punished for the hubris of its patriarch Hugo. The performances and set design are outstanding, and the story, though at times a little odd, draws in the viewer and keeps them rapt. This is a good example of the creepy psychological films with occult overtones that were common in the seventies. Check it out.