Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

zkonedog It is very, very rare that I give a film one out of ten stars. I'm usually pretty picky when it comes to which movies I watch, and as such I'm usually always able to find a kernel of something (plot, idea, acting, effects, music, etc.) to enjoy. Sadly, watching "Asylum" provided me none of those things, and ended up being the worst film I've seen in quite some time.For a basic plot summary, "Asylum" focuses on the character of Madison (Sarah Roemer), who goes off to college at the same place her brother took his own life (mental illness runs in the family). Once in her dorm, Madison does some of the typical freshman orientation bonding as befitting a new student...but also discovers that the grounds may be haunted by ghost of The Doctor (Mark Rolston), who years early ran an insane asylum on the premises.The main problem with "Asylum" is that it is little more than a combination of every horror movie cliché you've ever seen in your life. Dimly lit corridors, insane asylum lore, ghosts, characters that spew cardboard backstory to try to give their deaths significance/meaning...this one has them all. None of these approaches work, of course, as they are only wallpaper for the fact that the film has perhaps the most embarrassing "plot" I've ever seen.This brings up the next major problem: I don't think I've ever seen a film do a worse job at creating an interesting plot, developing characters, or dialogue in general. To be completely honest, I thought (while watching) that this must be a student film project or something on the very lowest rungs of film-production. That would be the only way this utter lack of quality could be reconciled in my brain. But, consider this:-"Asylum" was made on a budget of $9 million. -It was distributed by MGM Studios. -Its director (David R. Ellis) has directed other major Hollywood films. -Roemer was likely a big draw (coming off her role in "Suburbia"), and Rolston is an acting veteran. -The credits feature an entire slate of a film team.So, it is pretty clear that this film isn't just a low-independent production or one made by students. This was meant to be a major production that turns into an utter embarrassment. Even those who are up for the cheesiest of B-horror movies will cringe at "Asylum" (we are talking cringe-worthy at the level of Mystery Science Theater 3000 here).As I've mentioned, I hate giving (most) films the bottom-feeding 1 star review, but this one deserves not an ounce more. I knew it was going to be bad after 15 minutes, and only a 90-minute runtime kept me in my seat for the duration. Look literally anywhere else for your suspense/horror fix.

chris dimarino Looking back on Asylum, it did a lot of things well. The mood was set right, the viewer was able to get familiar with the group of teens before they go, and the deaths were deep and interesting. However I had the vibe during and after the movie that it was not above average. A few more big name actors could've helped. Also the story is forced on you, a little unbelievable and makes no ammends.Asylum does a good job of setting up a scary plot. They are college students who are living in a dorm that was once an insane asylum run by a doctor who was killed by his patients for his brutal techniques. The deaths were very well thought out. The mood emanates very well and there are plenty of scary moments.The biggest problem with asylum was the linear, predictable and unforgiving and under explained plot. A little twist here and a cliff hanger there really would've helped. The acting was good for a horror movie, but no one really stuck. Maybe if there was a little more focus on the main character and a bigger named actress it may have stuck more.I would recommend this movie to any horror movie fan. It's not great but will have at least a couple parts you admire. If anything at the end you wont be upset you watched it.

Mr_Censored From director David R. Ellis (whose prior credits include "Final Destination 2" and "Snakes on a Plane") comes "Asylum," a psychological horror film in which a group of college students come to find that their campus was once the spot where a mad-doctor practiced his own twisted brand of medicine. A Freddy Krueger type whose patients eventually turned on him, the doctor still haunts the halls, preying on the students and tapping into their deep-seeded emotional scars.The film hinges on an assortment of clichés, but that's not to say that some enjoyment can't be milked from it. While you can see nearly every moment coming from miles away, the film gets by with a bit of style and energy, courtesy of Ellis. Its story is really "A Nightmare on Elm Street"-lite, but fans of the 80's franchise (as well as other similar films from the era) may just get some thrills from seeing a film pay tribute to or at least attempting to live up to its legacy (they'll also appreciate a role by Lin Shaye as the mother of one of the students).The true weakness of the film is in its paper-thin script and characters and its over-reliance on gross-out gore over suspense. You might squirm in your seat during a scene where a character gets his lips ripped off and his tongue cut-out, but you won't necessarily care about the character himself, which is always a bad thing for a horror movie. Also, the final act reaches some ridiculous territory and will no doubt leave your eyes rolling. Go into "Asylum" with low-expectations of some fluff-horror, and you might just appreciate what the film has to offer.

Jan Strydom I found ASYLUM sitting on a shelf at the local DVD store, I didn't know a thing about this movie but that hasn't stopped me before, I rented it, took it home, popped it in the player and as the pre-credits rolled I noticed two familiar names, one was that of the producer Ashok Amritaj whose other credits in the horror genre includes a more popular film called TRICK'R'TREAT and the second was David R. Ellis whose credits include FINAL DESTINATION 2 and 4 and CELLULAR, so I reckoned this film should either be interesting or it should really suck since I never heard of it.The film turned out to be good after all, it wasn't something I would tell everyone about, it starts off as a ghost story setting up the mood developing the characters but later it turns more into a slasher and of course you get the usual set of clichés, but on the plus side the characters are of course your typical young teen slasher types but some of them are actually likable (halelluja a slasher with likable characters) it features pretty good cinematography that succeeds in creating atmosphere, it has a pretty cool villain that reminds me a bit of Freddy Kreuger and it doesn't resort to showcasing a bunch of tits and ass to make up for its poor script, although the script isn't that poor but its not that great either.In way after watching this film I also thought if people wanted to know how would A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET be if it was brought out today, I would say just watch this film and I'm mainly saying that because of the villain of the story who preys on his victims fears, Freddy also preys on his victims fears but he does it through their dreams, I might be wrong but that's what I think.