Asylum

It started off badly, petered out in the middle and the less said about the end the better. Apart from that, I can't fault it. Worth a watch if you're trying to avoid the ironing or some other mundane task.

When given a good script and actors, Ellis can make half decent, watchable movies, but I think he's basically doomed to make derivative, highly clichéd horror movies for the next ten years, with most of them probably going direct-to-video, before fading into deserved obscurity.

Asylum is an annoying pastiche of past horror movies, drawing most of its influence from Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street. It's populated by tired stereotypes (the jock, the nerd, the slut, the weird girl, etc) who dutifully recite their two minutes of back story prior to their grisly death. Yes, it's nice to find any degree of back story whatsoever in a low budget horror movie, but the writing is so terrible and the characters are all so annoying that I just wanted them all to just shut up.

The special effects and gore were fairly well done, which might make up for the terrible writing and directing, if you're obsessed with slasher movies. If all you want out of a movie is to see annoying, stereotypical teens butchered by a ghost, then you could do worse than this movie, but I'm not sure why you would waste your time.

If you got this movie expecting a $100 million production costs and over the top gore your going to walk away disappointed. If you are like me, a genre fan than you may be pleasantly surprised. The acting in this flick, along with production, and everything else was well above expectations. The script is decent and not as flawed as some would like you to believe. If you pay attention it all makes sense in the end.(This isn't a movie that requires 2-3 watches to get it). Good genre movies like this are constantly passed over by a lot of people(including myself) due to the backslapping phenomenon here at IBMD that ruins the rating system.

You know the one where one person says, "Worst movie ever", then gets followed by 50 other sheep who can't think or form an opinion for themselves saying the same thing and voting the same way even though more then likely they never even saw the film. I wish I could say that this type of behavior will stop, but it never will and it works on both sides. If you notice, a lot of movies at IBMD will be rated terribly long before they are even released to anyone. Then a few people with backbone will stand up and eventually the ratings will rise. I see this with almost EVERY release that goes straight to DVD and even some big Hollywood releases.

<---snip--->

About this movie, It definitely DOESN'T deserve the rating it has. It should at least be in the 5-6 range. This isn't some ridiculous movie made by some idiot kid with no talent and a camcorder with a bunch of his no talent friends attempting to act. This is a low budget above par scare fair with good effects, a decent story, and great acting. Obviously a movie like this won't ever win any awards, but if you take it for what it is and your a genre fan this movie wont disappoint at all.

I gave this movie a 7. I wish I could give it more, but it really is only deserving of a 5, maybe 6 at most. I added another star to try and make up for the pitiful IBMD zombies who refuse to think for themselves.

For the Horror buffs who follow my reviews for their horror pics, I would give this one a watch. Don't expect a "classic" or "gem". Its just a "Decent horror flick" thats totally undeserving of IBMD's rating.

"Asylum" isn't actually offensive or incompetent, so I couldn't give it a single star. In fact, the film is shot fairly well (if you like dark scenes where you can't tell what's going on) and the direction is acceptable. The acting varies wildly, but is certainly a step up from most of the horror trash being churned out these days. The SFX range from pretty scary and subtle to just plain laughable (see the last scene, for example.)

What really makes this film a bore is the lousy plot and script. It truly does play like it was filmed from a script assembled by throwing the scripts from classic horror movies (and some that aren't so classic) up in the air and then picking up random pages after they fall. Not every horror film cliché appears in this film, but there are no scenes in this film that are not horror clichés. The dialogue is just totally unrealistic. No suspense...no character development...no logic.

So who's fault is this big mess? I've got to pick on the director. He had to have seen what he was working with. It's possible to film a decent story from a weak script, but he apparently decided not to put forth the effort. The result is, to use a cliché, "cliche-ridden."

Final recommendation...you probably won't hate it or throw beer cans at the screen, but it's not going to surprise you or scare you. I'd suggest avoiding this film.

Looking back on Asylum, it did a lot of things well. The mood was set right, the viewer was able to get familiar with the group of teens before they go, and the deaths were deep and interesting. However I had the vibe during and after the movie that it was not above average. A few more big name actors could've helped. Also the story is forced on you, a little unbelievable and makes no ammends.

Asylum does a good job of setting up a scary plot. They are college students who are living in a dorm that was once an insane asylum run by a doctor who was killed by his patients for his brutal techniques. The deaths were very well thought out. The mood emanates very well and there are plenty of scary moments.

The biggest problem with asylum was the linear, predictable and unforgiving and under explained plot. A little twist here and a cliff hanger there really would've helped. The acting was good for a horror movie, but no one really stuck. Maybe if there was a little more focus on the main character and a bigger named actress it may have stuck more.

I would recommend this movie to any horror movie fan. It's not great but will have at least a couple parts you admire. If anything at the end you wont be upset you watched it.