The Fifth Floor

1978 "The Nightmare Is Knowing You're Sane."
5| 1h30m| R| en
Details

A young woman collapses on the disco dance floor of what's revealed to be strychnine poisoning. Assuming that this is an attempt at suicide, her boyfriend and doctor have her committed to the Fifth Floor, an asylum with obviously crazy inmates and a predatory orderly. The problem is, she's still sane!

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

Stream on any device, 30-day free trial Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre
Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
lazarillo A woman (Dianne Hull) is poisoned with strychnine while disco dancing (now THAT might have been an effective way to stop disco). Everyone (including her clueless boyfriend) takes her poisoning to be a suicide attempt and she ends up involuntarily committed to a co-ed mental institution where there is a lot of melodrama, but really little that goes beyond a typical 70's TV movie of the week. Her main antagonist is a corrupt male orderly (Bo Hopkins) who pressures her for sex. Her fellow inmates, meanwhile, include a young Robert England and an (apparently genuinely) pregnant Patti D'Arbanville.A lot of stuff in this movie seems rather preposterous today, but back in the 70's perhaps not so much. This movie kind of reminded me of the the contemporary theatrical film "Human Experiments" and the TV movie "Nightmare in Badham County". Dianne Hull was one of those very cute 70's actresses who appeared in a few things and then pretty much vanished into oblivion. This is perhaps her most memorable role aside from "Girls on the Road" (where she'd played a hitch-hiking teenager who almost has sex with "Papa Walton"). Her full-frontal nude scenes are about the only thing that separate this from a tame TV movie, but she does give a pretty good performance. And it's always fun to watch Bo Hopkins play a redneck villain even if he's not quite as memorable as he is in "White Lightning" and .This is probably not a movie that's going to make a deep impression on anybody, but it's entertaining enough I guess.
Jack Spencer Really only one reason to see this movie, and that is the performance of Bo Hopkins. He makes almost any role he does come alive, especially a villain. I told him that, when I had the chance to meet him several years ago. He didn't exactly agree with me about his role here, but he remembered this movie, and said the production values were very good. The story is enthralling, and you squirm, because you know it can happen to you. Tension throughout, and you do get sucked in, but you feel about the same way at the end as if you drank cheap malt liquor the night before. Tired, and with a bit of a headache. But if you are a Hopkins fan, it is worth a peek.
SCIPIO-1 'Strong supporting cast. Dianne Hull is underrated in this movie. The storyline gets a little weak towards the end when the director has to tie up all the lose ends. The ending scene pretty much wipes away most of the good acting in this film. The shock treatment scene wasn't as brutal, or dramatic as it could have been. The scenery and locations for the time were an execellent choice. If you find yourself looking to pick up an extra movie for the weekend and want something not so light or heavy, rent this. Worth the two bucks.
Vince-5 The Fifth Floor is a fun little horror/women-behind-bars hybrid with a great cast. The story, about a go-go dancer railroaded into an asylum, is based on a truly horrifying premise: Under certain circumstances, everything you say or do can be interpreted as a sign of madness. This could've been a very dark, lurid nuthouse shocker, but, perhaps in a bid for respectability, the sleaze factor is considerably played down. The result is a lightweight cult creation that, although lacking in ferocity, still comes across thanks to good acting and a real sense of helpless fear in key scenes. Pattie Brooks sings a very catchy number called "Fly Away" in the opening disco scene. Not bad at all.