Asylum of Darkness

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

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 ...

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!

I decided to watch this because it stars Tim Thomerson and the late Richard Hatch, both sci-fi stars of yesteryear (Trancers and Battlestar Galactica respectively). The six reviews as of this writing were also above average, praising the twisty, innovative, and unpredictable plot. Well, apparently I watched a different film. This thing is a boring unfocused mess. It jumps from scene to scene with no discernible pattern or purpose, let alone character development. People are slashed, tentacled monsters crawl into orifices, and all to absolutely zero purpose. The excuse (as stated in the IMDb summary) is that the main character is committed to an asylum and therefore insane. But this proves nothing and is no reason to abandon screenplay logic. It is also childishly easy to predict which episodes aren't real. If the six critics listed call this stew "unpredictable", then I recommend viewing 1990's "Brain Dead", starring Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. Now THAT is a disorienting and effective asylum chiller. Or if it's inspired gore you're after, try the blood-spattered "Insanitarium" from 2008 instead. Either one is preferable to "AOD".

Now for the acting. As I said above, it was Thomerson and Hatch that initially drew me in. Somehow I think both of them knew exactly what they were signing up for, and totally mailed it in. I've seen boards that are less wooden. As for the main star (Nick Baldasare), the less said about his sleepy zombie-like acting, the better.

Were I forced to praise something (anything?) about this film, it would be the gore and monster effects, which are fine. Blood is blood, and a gouged eyeball is a gouged eyeball. But there are far better asylum films to choose from. I strongly suggest you do so.

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.