Hellborn

This is complete and absolute garbage, a fine example of what a BAD movie is like, this can't be appealing to anyone, not even b-movie fans. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT waste precious time of your life on this piece of trash. Bad acting, bad directing, horrible (but I mean really horrible) script, and complete lack of an idea as to what entertainment (of any form) is. I bought the DVD for 3 dollars, I swear I could almost pay someone to take it. Burning it would not be enough for what this movie did to me. I like b-movies, the killer toys, the weird lagoon monsters, but this is nowhere near. You know those movies that are so bad they are funny? Not even. Just plain old pathetic.

First of, I voted this one a 6. I feel like 6 is 60% or a D... maybe a D-.

However, anything lower than that is too low, in my opinion. Anything higher just wouldn't happen. I thought a lot of the acting was either passable or poor. Tiny Lister made this movie, for me. He's great in as an asylum worker. Like in Don Juan Demarco, also. Also, Paynes did a great maniacal character. I thought the creature looked too hokey. The acting of some of the patients (and Payne and Lister) did much better than the lead role. The plot was somewhat unoriginal, and yet also very original at the same time.

Still, I wouldn't flunk this one. I think a D- is sufficient. I'd watch it again, if it was on TV for free, but I wouldn't recommend it except as a last resort. Hey, that's not too bad, considering there's many movies I wouldn't even recommend for that.

I just watched this movie. In one word: sucky! The story is bad, the acting is, if possible, even worse. The movie has one or two nice moments, but thats it and having those two small good moments, doesn't make up for anything in between, before or after those moments. A montrocity of a movie, not even worth watching on tv...

This is the Halloween season, and I like to watch horror movies when I can. Sometimes I like to watch movies I haven't seen before, or even heard of, so "Hellborn/Asylum of the Damned" fell into that category.

It cost me seventy cents on VHS at a thrift store and made me lament that the money could have been better spent on a snack out of the machine at work, or a can of Dr. Pepper. Like one of the other reviewers said, the movie could make a good basis for a drinking game, where you take a shot or a swig every time "Resident Bishop" shakes his head while he's delivering a line. And yes, drunk 15 minutes into the movie.

The production team gave away the scary character in the opening scene of the movie. He looked like someone wearing a cheap discount store Halloween costume. It might have worked better had they obscured him with shadows and quick cuts, then revealed him in the second half. Then I might have watched more than half of the movie!

Forgive me for failing to get the character and actor names before starting this review but the only decent performance came from the guy playing the Superintendent Doctor. He was coherent but creepy with his speech patterns and piercing eyes and I felt sad for him that he didn't have a better movie to work in.

Two thumbs way down.

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