This was not good. It has all the creepy atmosphere one would expect from a period piece, yet it is set in modern day, which, at least for me, was a huge mistake.
Asylum is an anthology movie, centered around patients in an asylum for the criminally insane. What the movie does well is eat its cake, and have it to in regards to having supernatural stories based in reality. How? Well, the people are insane... or are they? Are they retelling actual paranormal events or are they delusional?
Ultimately, I just found the stories boring. This was like a bad version of The Twilight Zone. Worse yet, some moments were just silly - case in point: I know this movie predates Puppet Master by a decade, but it really made the concept look ridiculous.
The acting is mostly good. I wouldn't call this a waste of time, but once was enough for me. May have actually been ahead of its time.
This kitsch, 70s anthology B-movie didn't scare me in the slightest.
Review by whitsbrainVIP 5BlockedParent2022-01-15T16:16:16Z
The wraparound story of a doctor asked to interview patients in an asylum is really clever and ties all of the individual stories together nicely. Speaking of the stories I really enjoyed the opening sequence "Frozen Fear" about a man who thinks he can get rid of his wife. As silly as it all looks the effects are actually well done. It's mostly bloodless but the drawn out revenge sequence builds some neat suspense.
The second story is "The Weird Tailor" which I enjoyed more when "Thriller" adapted it. Barry Morse was good as the tailor but I thought "Thriller" emphasized the strain on his wife better which made for a more impactful final scene. Even Peter Cushing didn't make it much more interesting. "Lucy Comes To Stay" with Britt Eklund is mostly boring. I didn't see the ending coming though which saved the tale for me a bit. Eklund was entertaining in her brief appearance.
The final story was short but exceedingly fun. Herbert Lom just kills in "Mannikins of Horror" about a doctor and some dolls. This story is different in that it ties into the wraparound story and is not a flashback like the other segments are. I don't want to give it away but Lom's portryal of the Doctor is intense and the facial expression of his doll is a little disturbing.