Asylum of Satan

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.

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.

When Lucina (Carla Borelli) wakes up at Pleasant Hill Hospital, she has no idea how she got there, or what sort of nightmare awaits her. Kept as a veritable prisoner, Lucina is drugged, and begins to lose her grip on reality.

As the title suggests, ASYLUM OF SATAN is about a mental hospital where satanism is the only true therapy. This is a bare-bones production from Director William Girdler, with most of the budget apparently going toward the frilly shirts worn by the devilish Dr. Specter (Charles Kissinger). Very low on action, calling this movie a "slow-burn" is like calling the Sahara Desert "a bit dry". Still, it has enough charm and delirious dialogue to make it enjoyable.

Best Scenes:

#1- When the female patient is "gassed" in a room by what can only be fire extinguishers shot through a wall vent! She's also covered by -obviously- rubber bugs for good measure!

#2- Lucina being chased by the most ridiculous ghoul in movie history!

#3- The swimming pool snake attack!

#4- The "severed head" with suspiciously lifelike movements under the eyelids!!

Be sure not to miss the satanic ritual and "shock" finale!

The perfect candidate for your next drunken movie night...

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.

Asylum of Satan (1972)

** (out of 4)

Lucina (Carla Borelli) wakes up one morning in a mysterious hospital that she doesn't recognize. She asks to see her doctor but she is informed that he's the one who sent her to this hospital for a special treatment. Dr. Spector (Charles Kissinger) promises that the treatment will be quick but what she doesn't realize is that he's actually in a pack with Satan himself and sending him new women.

ASYLUM OF Satan comes from Louisville director William Girdler who of course would go onto make some pretty good movies including some blaxploitation titles as well as GRIZZLY before his tragic death in a helicopter crash at the age of thirty. This film here certainly isn't anything special or good but I think it contains proof that the director had a talent and you can watch it and see why he would go on to make better pictures.

With that said, one has to wonder what the point was of making a PG- rated exploitation picture. Obviously Satanic themes were quite popular during the early 70s but there's really not too much done with it here. If you're looking for nudity, gore or violence then you're going to be disappointed because there isn't any. There's really nothing too shocking and for an exploitation film the shock value is at zero.

The film does have some good stuff and that includes the atmosphere, which is actually quite thick. I thought Girdler perfectly captures the mood and setting of this isolated hospital and I'd argue that the look of the seance was quite good. The Satan costume itself looks pretty silly but it's a fun outfit. I also thought Borelli gave a pretty good performance and certainly a lot better than you typically see in these types of films.

ASYLUM OF Satan has a good, catchy title and I'm sure the poster lured people into drive-ins back in the day. The film certainly needed a punch of something because even at just 77-minutes it drags in spots. Still, it's an interesting picture that fans of Girdler should enjoy.