In den Fängen des Wahnsinns

I watched this movie on a whim and boy was it lousy. The dialogue was flat, the characters were plastic, the plot was implausible and disjointed. This was a total waste of time. Kim Catrall, and Malcolm McDowell must be kicking themselves for doing this movie. Some of the dream sequences were interesting, but John Savage, the main character psychoanalyst, is a very weak leading man. I wonder if he ever was in a good movie. Even the murderer villain looks more like Fabio than a twisted killer. The hospital guard was laughable. This lummox obviously never acted before, nor would I ever believe that he could pass any exam needed to work in a mental hospital.

How did they get John Savage and Malcolm McDowell to be a part of this mess?

A poor excuse for a story, lousy editing... well, basically, lousy everything. Usually, when I see a movie, no matter how bad, there's always one or two moments, or one or two elements, that make it worth the while. Not so here. There's absolutely nothing new in this movie, and all those familiar elements are put together badly - or should I say, not put together, rather jumbled into one big soulless mess.

Don't waste your time. It's bad, but not bad enough, I'm afraid, to make even me laugh. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.

I thought the first 15 minutes of this mind-numbing psychiatric ward "torture de force" was the worse thing in the film... until the movie continued. By the middle of the film, the writer and the director hit rock bottom. But to my amazement, the crew took out pick-axes and shovels to reach new depths.

The basic plot revolves around an alcoholic psychiatrist obsessed with his first wife's death. The poor soul is soon institutionalized, by his best friend and second wife, in some sort of experimental mental institution run by the medically curious. It is here that our protagonist realizes the hidden truths... or does he?

The movie tries to be an intense psychological thriller with surprising plot twists. Instead, the film is a droning exploration of lackluster montages with as many surprises as your granny's navy bean soup!

Save your four dollar rental fee for a Keanu Reeves movie, at least you know what to expect. And if this gem happens to be on cable... cancel your subscription immediately.

Found this film a complete spinner with flashbacks almost as soon as the picture begins. John Savage loses his wife in a horrible car accident with a truck and dives off a cliff and explodes. However, for some reason, John Savage begins to have dreams about his wife and this accident plays over and over again in his brain and it drives him crazy. Savage completely looses self control and winds up in a rehabilitation center where the head doctor treats his patients like animals in a cage. John Savage does have a very sexy nurse to take care of him and he has wild dreams about making love with her, so he is not completely nuts. If you like something to spin your own brain, watch this film and you will feel like you are in the SPIN ZONE and I forgot, the ending will blow your mind completely AWAY !

I actually liked this movie although the other reviewers on here seems to hate it. It's a very interesting story on many levels, is john savages character really ill or is he being framed? Will he be able to get out of that hell-hole? Is he imagining the things he sees? What if this hadn't been a low budget tv-movie?, with a bigger budget, some editing here and there and some bigger stars perhaps? (except savage and mcdowell which are good in this movie) then this movie could be a masterpiece since the story is very interesting. The story reminded me a bit of "the fugitive" although this is a totally different movie. I liked the ending although it's very sad.