El asilo de Satanás

So William Girdler's screen debut was running a little slow through 1972 but it's not all that bad! Charles Kissinger is a great actor in which he later appeared in almost of all of Girdler's other films. Nick Jolley superfly hero of the 70's appears also wondering why he was'nt in anything else. ASYLUM OF SATAN is a good film about a girl taken hostage to the Asylum were doctor's zombies and critters run wild! Kissinger plays Satan himself. Give ASYLUM OF SATAN a shot if you are a big fan of Girdler's films. Yes the film is very violent with way too much sex, but hey it's still worth watching.

In the 70's there were many films about Satan ("The Exorcist, "The Omen") and many films about insane asylums ("One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", "The Ninth Configuration"). It's no surprise then that someone would combine them. But it's a testament to the prescient genius of William Girdler--the man, the myth, the legend--that he did so in 1971! Of course, this film is completely inane, but so were all Girdler films, even the ones with big budgets and big stars.

A woman has a nervous breakdown and wakes up in an asylum. She finds it strange (although not nearly as much as she ought to) that all of her fellow patients are dressed in white-hooded robes. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, who looks like "Meathead" from all in the family and is garbed in some of the worst 70's fashions ever witnessed, is trying to rescue her. After being turned away the first time, he comes back with a police detective and discovers that the asylum is abandoned and the doctor he spoke to, Dr. Spector, has been dead 20 years. He's very alarmed, however, when he finds out that the supposedly dead Dr. Spector "was picked up several times for worshiping Satan" (what's the police code on that--a "666"?). Several minor characters are killed for no other reason than to show off some ridiculous-looking special effects (paper bugs, rubber snakes, etc.). As in "Three on a Meathook" there's also a long romantic flashback interlude set to music (because horror fans, of course, are suckers for romantic interludes). Finally though, a guy in a VERY unconvincing Satan mask shows up and we learn that it's not good to offer Satan a non-virgin in a virgin sacrifice (he apparently hates getting beaten to the punch by a guy who looks like "Meathead").

Obviously, this movie is pretty bad, but it almost sneaks into so-bad-it's-good territory. I'd definitely recommend it for fans of satanism, insane asylums, and William Girdler.

A young woman finds herself held against her will in an eerie mental asylum by the sinister "Dr. Specter" and his masculine-looking assistant, Martine. She begins to suspect that the visions of horror she experiences are not nightmares and that she is due to be sacrificed to The Evil One. A laughably awful film if I've ever seen one, "Asylum of Satan" is highly enjoyable, cheesy trash. Bad acting from everyone, especially the lead actress, a terribly dated score, and the fakest-looking Satan you'll ever see make this steaming pile one worth checking out if you like bad movies. Oh, and the death scene are a stitch! (Apperantly people can die from cockroaches crawling all over them...) My rating for "Asylum of satan"--2/10.

Get this title into your mind right now: ASYLUM OF SATAN. Why? Because the 70s was known for tons of low budget movies about the worst of both worlds: crowded asylums and Satanic possession. Before watching the movie trailer, I saw the full-length feature. What you get is absolute nonsense. This, being made a couple of years before THE EXORCIST, helped bring in numerous offerings about the Devil. Here, it's same old, same old. Cheap special effects are the excuse for a rotten-apple horror chiller, with rubber snakes and toy bugs taking toll on two innocent lives. Now, I've just seen the trailer, and I would have been better off giving a donation of twenty dollars to film preservation. An interesting note: the warning label on United's copy of the film is mistakenly misleading. Movies such as ASYLUM OF SATAN are junk food for your head. Just add a television set.

William Girdler made his directorial debut in 1972 with the surprisingly decent exploitation flick Three on a Meathook, and since then basically everything he's directed has gone on to become notorious - though mostly that's because his films are so low quality, not because of any content. That is certainly the case with Asylum of Satan; a mind numbingly bad horror film which features nothing that would shock an audience of young children. The film focuses on a woman who wakes up in asylum, despite her feeling that nothing is wrong with her. The doctor is adamant that she must stay...and it son transpires that there's more to this medical centre than meets the eye. The film is very short; running at under eighty minutes and I am really glad it wasn't longer as the majority of the duration is mind-numbingly boring. The plot basically just plods along for the entire film and the 'twists' to the story do nothing to make the film any more interesting and it gets tiresome quickly. The title does promise an appearance from the dark lord, and the film doesn't disappoint in that respect. It takes a long time to get there, but the ending is at least hilariously campy - the appearance of Satan is memorable for all the wrong reasons, however. Overall, this really is a horrible film and I would recommend it only to hardcore William Girdler fans...if there are any.