Asylum (1997)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Instant Favorite.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

ASYLUM is a disappointingly low budget thriller set within the confines of a mental asylum, perhaps wanting to bask in some of the reflected former glory of the likes of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Unfortunately, many of the asylum films made in the last two decades - I'm thinking of the likes of GOTHIKA - have been disappointments and this one's no different. The murder mystery storyline is overly familiar and the direction insipid, leaving the viewers to check their watches on a regular basis.Robert Patrick is the grizzled hero of the piece, revealing how far he had fallen since his breathtaking role in blockbuster TERMINATOR 2 just six years previously. He plays a cop who goes undercover as an asylum inmate to solve a murder. The script is pretty bad, it has to be said, and the stylistics have dated in that '90s way. It's only really worth watching for the various supporting roles for actors including Sarah Douglas (CONAN THE DESTROYER), the reliably intense Malcolm McDowell, and the great Henry Gibson.

This is bad. Really, really bad. Not the so bad, it's good - it's more of so bad I'd rather pluck out my own eyes than finish watching this type of bad - just plain awful.How on earth did they get Malcom McDowell to do this one? He's way too good of an actor for a crappy role and film like this!! I tried to watch - really I did. I had to hit the fast-forward button not to long after the film started. I'm sorry but I can't watch this. This one is too awful for me to view... I'm gonna find another "B" horror to watch... I hope to get at least a few giggles and eye rolls from it.1/10

A private investigator (Robert Patrick), mentally disturbed by his father's suicide, goes undercover in a mental institution to discover the murderer of a friend who was a doctor at the clinic.This film deserves some credit for the attempt at a clever idea, and for bringing together two great genre actors in one film -- Robert Patrick and Malcolm McDowell. Have they been in any other film together? I do not know. And here they were, in one that probably had no budget, with a writer-director who has not gone on to distinguish himself.Sadly, it does seem to be a bit convoluted. Any time you set something in an asylum, and you have a protagonist of questionable reliability... you get some goofy outcomes. You can be straightforward, or full on David Lynch. This seems to try to work between those poles, which is difficult and not fully successful.

Now I just got done watching this off of Netflix and felt the need to say a few words on it. It isn't a bad film, but it isn't a film I'd say you have to go out and buy. If I had bought this on DVD and spent more than 5 dollars on it I would have been a bit disappointed in myself, but its not a bad film to watch if you happen to go passed it or just on something like Netflix. Robert Patrick, plays a detective, good at going undercover and uncovering hidden truths, after the death of a friend at a mental institution, he uses his deep rooted suicidal tenancy to commit himself in hopes of finding out who killed his friend. Robert plays the role well, he is certainly the highlight of the film and the reason I felt invested in the film. The film itself plays with your head a bit, it can be slow moving at times and really picks up when the 3rd act begins. There is another patient in the film, a woman, who seems to be abused by hospital staff. that Robert's character seems to really wanna protect more than anyone else. The only other thing I can really comment on this film is that it has some star power. Besides Robert Patrick, who is best known for T2: Judgment Day and Die Hard 2: Die Harder, we also have Sarah Douglas, who is best known for Superman, Superman II(both cuts)and Conan the Destroyer and Malcolm McDowell, who is known for Clockwork Orange and more recently Rob Zombie's Halloween and Halloween II.