Delirium

I first saw this film a few years ago when I was viewing Dom d Louise's early works, and became interested in other actors who had once had their names written in the stars, but were now little more than B-vehicle and up-staged stars of bad sit-coms.

Malcolm, of course, was one of the first to make the leap from a rather desperate film career to mediocre sit-com, and has since been followed by such lights as: Cybil Shepherd (Cybil), Joan Cusak (Joan), Bette Midler (Bette), and Courtney Cox (Friends).

I hadn't realised this was his first film sporting the future-villain hair-style, but this only adds to the value of my ex-rental copy of the film.

Much has been said of the camera work in this film, as a sort of a chart of a man's descent into madness, but few people mention the shot that, I feel, is the key to the entire film. When one of the patients exposes himself to a nurse, we get a - filmically - rare penis POV. I have never seen such a thing attempted in a movie, and if you add this to the tremendous whirling tracking-shots, you end up with a film that I think proves beyond doubt that Scorsese owes more to Winkler than he dares reveal.

Brilliant, and standing up to multiple viewings, I have seen it several times, and truly covet my copy of this obscure American classic.

BTW, watch out for the genuinely "disturbing" scene, after the closing credits, where Malcolm "interferes" with the camera, raising all sorts of philosophical questions on the nature of madness, the truth of film, and Crossing The Line (on several levels). Once again, Brilliant!

You might want to avoid reading the plot description of "Disturbed" here on IMDb, as the sole one available rather bluntly gives away the essential plot twist of the film's final five minutes. Admittedly this denouement isn't particularly hard to predict, but still … it kind of spoils the fun factor.

"Disturbed" is an overlooked but vivid and entertaining enough psycho- thriller feature from the early 90's. The plot and setting are overly familiar, but the film nevertheless manages to keep you glued to the screen for an hour and a half. This is mostly thanks to a handful of truly atmospheric sequences and the more than adequate acting performances from the ensemble cast. "Disturbed" stars B-movie favorite Malcolm McDowell in his accustomed role of dangerous doctor, but he receives excellent support from multiple recognizable faces in the roles of his mental patients. There's Geoffrey Lewis ("The Devil's Rejects", "The Lawnmower Man"), Irwin Keyes ("House of 1.000 Corpses", "Chained Heat"), Clint Howard ("EvilSpeak", "Ticks"), Emerson Bixby ("Deep End") and even that creepy little guy who played all the Oompa-Loompas in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The film is already worth checking out if only to see all these names star as loonies! McDowell is the widely respected Dr. Derrick Russell, brilliant psychiatrist and owner of an eminent mental clinic. He also has the bad habit, however, of occasionally sneaking into the rooms of his female patients to drug and rape them. When he tries to rape the newly arrived patient Sandy Ramirez, she accidentally dies from an allergic reaction to the drugs. With the help of another patient, Dr. Russell develops an evil plan, but then the next morning the body appears to be vanished. Strange things begin to occur after that, and Dr. Russell is wondering if he isn't degenerating into a state of madness himself. "Disturbed" is a derivative and predictable thriller, but it's fairly uplifted thanks to McDowell's presence and thanks to the imaginative cinematography. The relatively unknown director Charles Winkler (son of producer Irwin Winkler) makes the asylum extra sinister and its inhabitants extra morbid through grim camera angles and eerie sounds of laughter, creaking doors, etc

I think this movie was totally underrated. Malcolm McDowell's performance as Dr. Russell was brilliant. His personality transition during the course of the movie added a wonderful level of humor. I enjoyed the story line and found that the whole plot wasn't given away too early. To me, the movie was just what I think it was intended to be--light entertainment. Also I felt the Geoffrey Lewis's part as Michael added much to the overall story. He was the "straight man" and pulled of some great deadpan lines. One other bonus is that the movie shows that very fine line between sanity and insanity. I could watch this production a second time and be just as entertained.

The importance of this film must not be underestimated. It was the first EVER time that Malcolm McDowell sported the 'futuristic' spiked hair-do. It has since become his acting trademark. It is the 10th anniversary of the famous hair-style, and you should show your respect by renting this film.

obviously doesn't understand about mind-trip movies. This movie was completely awesome and the suspence and visual mastery of this movie is superb. A 6 thumbs up!!! (me and 2 of my friends.) Watch this movie...watch it lots...