Asylum of Darkness

This Has A Very Love-Craftian Taste To It (Although There Is No Reference) But I Thought This Was A Bit Of A Good Surprise ... An Escaped Patient Tries To Make Sense Of The World Outside The Asylum As Everyone Sees Him As Someone He Isn't ... As The Truth Of What Is Going On Unravels Itself He Finds That To Make Things Right He Must Delve Deeper Into The Insanity ... The Acting Is Not Top Notch But The Story Is Interesting And Captivating ... Fans Of H.P Lovecraft Would Enjoy This One ...

Dwight Stroud (Nick Baldasare) is a dangerous psychiatric prisoner who breaks out of the asylum and assumes another man's life, but he's tortured and haunted by crazy visions that may or may not be delusions.

Writer/director Jay Woelfel has never gotten the budget or recognition of Croenenberg or Lynch, but like those filmmakers, he's got a unique style all his own. Most of his films are slowly paced, hallucinogenic, psychological mindforks with very low budgets, some amateur Ohio actors, and a Lovecraftian creature. If you're down with that, Asylum of Darkness is an enjoyable ride, but if you want a more "Hollywood" movie, look elsewhere for your entertainment.

Up front, I gotta say, the film's title and poster are misleading. Only a tiny fraction of the film takes place in an asylum, and the poster makes it look like some fast-paced monster movie. That's bad marketing, hence the low IMDb rating from folks who expected something very different.

The story and tone zigzag in a way that's engaging if you can roll with it. Every time it seems like the plot's settling into normality, something really weird happens -- but it feels a little long and could stand to be tightened by 15 minutes. The practical FX are generally very good, and the ones that aren't are serviceable.

Nick Baldasare has grown as an actor since "Beyond Dream's Door" and "Heartland of Darkness" (both shot in 1989), and he does a fine job in the lead. Amanda Howell is genuinely charming as his love interest, Richard Hatch camps it up as a crazed doctor, Tim Thomerson is Tim Thomerson, and likewise, you get what you'd expect from Tiffany Shepis.

All in all, I enjoyed it and don't feel like it was a waste of 2 hours, but I knew what I was getting into with this director.

The concept/idea was interesting but really stretched out being a 2 hour movie, acting is pretty bad and some of the scenes are ridiculous- maybe a once off watch but definitely wouldn't watch again and would not recommend

I haven't seen a film this strange in a while and appreciate it's attempting to be different. Does it succeed as a good movie though? Depends on what your looking for. Positives: the lead performances were all convincing for a low budget genre title. Nick Baldasare had the arduous task of portraying a person on the edge of sanity. His performance could have warped into a lot of cliché "crazy" type acting, but he made it believable. Richard Hatch also delivers the goods in one of his final roles. I thought the look of the film was also a plus and the effects, while old school, had a nice retro feel that added to the fun. The only negative was the film's length. I thought it could have been cut by 20 minutes and been a little better experience. All in all, you will like this movie if you don't need details and plot points spoon-fed to you. Expect the unexpected and enjoy!

A murderer (Nick Baldasare), who has been assigned to a mental institution after being declared "not guilty by reason of insanity," escapes the state hospital and assumes the identity of another man. Curiously, the man's wife accepts him (Amanda Howell) and the hallucinatory story proceeds from there.

"Asylum of Darkness" (2013) was originally called "Season of Darkness" when it was screened at a festival, but the distributor adjusted the title for its 2017 release. It was written, scored and directed by Jay Woelfel for $200,000, shot in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Despite the micro-budget, it's artistic in its depiction of reality from the delusional mind of an insane person. The old school practical effects are mostly effective, but sometimes cartoonish and goofy.

It's technically superior to Woelfel's spare-change budgeted "Ghost Story" (2004); and the story is more compelling compared to his "Closed for the Season" (2010). Unfortunately, it's overlong and Tiffany Shepis' role is too small; she should've played the wife IMHO.

However, if you like artsy indies and are patient, you'll probably find something to appreciate. It's too puzzling for my tastes, but at least it's different.

Richard Hatch and Tim Thomerson appear in peripheral roles. It runs 1 hours, 57 minutes.

GRADE: C.