Hellborn

In theory, films should be a form of entertainment. While this excludes documentaries and other experimental forms of film-making; most movies, specially genre films, must not only tell it's story or message, they must entertain their target audience in some way. All this just to say that in my opinion a bad movie is not a movie with low production values or low-budget, a bad movie is one that is boring.

"Hellborn" or "Asylum of the Damned" as is known in the U.S., is a bad movie simply because it is just not involving, and irremediably boring and tiresome. While it has a very good premise, it is just poorly developed and the mediocre acting doesn't make things better. On another hands the film probably could had been a fine or even classic B-movie, but here it is just a bad attempt at film-making.

Director Philip J. Jones tells the tale of James Bishop (Matt Stasi), a young psychiatry resident, who just got his dream job at St. Andrew Mental Hospital; but the old asylum seems to hide a secret. After the mysterious death of some patients and the constant rumors of satanic practices, James decides to find out what is going on; only to find the incredulity of his boss, Dr. McCort (Bruce Payne), who believes that Bishop is going as insane as his patients.

While the premise is quite interesting, the execution of the film leaves a lot to be desired. In an attempt of making a supernatural psychological thriller, Jones goes for the easy way out and makes a movie filled with every cliché of the genre. Of course, there are lots of great movies that are also filled with clichés; but in "Hellborn" every single one is wasted and turned into a cheap jump scare to keep things moving, resulting in a boring and predictable storyline.

The acting is quite mediocre for the most part, with one big exception: Bruce Payne gives a top-notch performance that makes the movie look unworthy of such good acting. Matt Stasi is very weak as the lead character and the rest of the cast make forgettable performances.

Despite all this flaws, one thing has to be written about "Hellborn"; it has a visual look very good for the budget and very similar to modern day big-budget Hollywod "horror" productions. Also, the make-up and prosthetics are done very nicely and the designs for the main antagonist are quite good. Sadly, the rest of the Special Effects are awful and outdated, making a huge contrast with the make-up & prosthetics.

"Hellborn" is a movie with a few good things outnumbered by its serious flaws with terrible results. Hardcore horror or b-movie fans may be interested by its premise but it is a boring and tiresome experience. 3/10

I've seen some very terrible horror movies in my time, and while this isn't the worst of the bunch, it's certainly in the lower half. The script starts off OK. A young doctor goes to a hospital as an intern, hoping it will vault him to a better job for him and his future wife. Cute huh? The movie then heads straight into the toilet when you realize that something is killing patients. Turns out that there's a demon on the basement that's harvesting people's souls. It's the job of the 1 doctor, 1 nurse, and 1 security guard in the entire hospital staff to drag this mental patient downstairs, do a ritual that pretty much just involves cutting the tongue out, and then allowing the haunted house prop of a demon to come out and steal his soul through the magic of cheesy special effects. At this point the movie gets so ridiculously stupid, I was begging for it to be over. There was still an hour to go. It looked like a half an hour "Tales From the Crypt" episode that somehow got stretched into an hour and a half crap-fest. From Tiny Lister doing his best John Coffey (The Green Mile) impersonation to Tracy Scoggins playing the stereotypical frigid Nurse Ratchet, this movie fails in every possible level. I gave this 2 stars for only TWO reason. 1) His fiancé is pretty hot, she eased the pain a little towards the end and 2) The movie actually looks OK, a lot better than the current trend of horror movies being made with wal-mart quality home cameras.

In the end, avoid this turd even if you have the Blockbuster movie pass (which I do, and I still felt cheated). As a bonus drinking game, you and your buddies take a shot every time Matt Stasi (Dr. James Bishop) shakes his head while talking. You'll be drunk 15 minutes into the movie.

This movie has a good start but turns out to be a cheap production, probably low budget (especially the effects). The actors are certainly not the best and the "horror screnes" are truly not revolutionary. instead of scaring you, this movie makes you ask why this is labled as a "horror" movie. The ending is totally messed up, and if the devil sees what he looks like in this movie, he'd probably punish the creators. But all in all, and when you really love the genre, it's worth looking through it, when you're bored. As i said the beginning is quite good. 4/10

A young psychology intern is given his dream job when he is allowed to reside in a hospital for the criminally insane in Asylum of the Damned. Aside from a brilliant creature design (the Harvester) that they hardly even made use of and Bruce Payne at his villainous best, this movie is downright dull and offers nothing new or interesting. Also featured in the cast are Tracy Scoggins and Tiny Lister Jr. However, they aren't given much to do. The rest of the acting is very wooden and forced. Other problems include the script. No explanation of the creature is ever given nor do they explain Payne's motives. It's really sad they couldn't have found a better vehicle for the Harvester design. Don't bother with this one.

I have just finished watching the most excruciating film of my entire life. Hellborn has the most infeasible plot, the most ridiculous setting and some actors so wooden that Pinocchio would flit across the screen not look out of place. There is one name on the billing for this film that should let you know what to expect (and I wish I had recognised that at the time) "Tracy Scoggins". When a bit part actress from Lois and Clark turns up in a principle role you know your film is in trouble. Why the director didn't cut his losses and replace all the actors with The Muppets is beyond me!! This movie eclipses every bad movie I have ever witnessed (and I've seen Slap her She's French!!)