Asylum of Fear

Im almost sure the ratings that brought this film in the high 5's in the horror category were from crew members/actors and their family members. This movie is a solid 3, maybe 3.5 at best, giving it a 2 because of the false ratings. The storyline is mediocre, and the acting is 80% cringeworthy.

Kudos to new director's, actors etc in the learning process, but stop with the false ratings to gain views. It doesnt bring you any legitimacy or respect in the film world.

I judge based on expectations. A low budget horror movie gets lots of breaks, especially when I find out that a producer screwed them out or $$ and equipment.

My only serious criticism of the movie is the pathetic acting of the villain, Dr Pender, played by Matthew Urban. Horror movies are all about the villain not the protagonist. Thus, giving the most crucial role to the worst actor was an egregious mistake. My only guess is the BFA in Acting from U of Michigan, must have fooled someone into thinking he has talent, which he doesn't. I glad he has a Navy pension, because acting isn't going to pay his bills.

Kudos to Maurice Demus, who played Richard, you did the best job and I hope to see you more in the future.

I gave it a 6 could have been a 5. Unfortunately for the movie I actually fell asleep in the middle , reversed and fell asleep again-But wide awake for the beginning and the end. I think there's a little too much of the same scare tropes. Also, it's in the slasher category in a way. So be ready for for a declining number of actors, for the most part the worst actors are killed first, a thought dil touch by the director. The acting is better than most of these cheaper productions have and the story actually pulls together well. Yes, there are "plot holes" but they're passable. The plot has greater depth, development than in many high budget horror films. I think it is a easily watched , enjoyable story with some twists and an explanation which is often missing.

Let me start off by pointing out the good in this movie. The five main leads are the best point in the film. They work well off of each other and they do throw their all into their acting, even with the movie's cliched premise. Even the guy at the end (won't spoil who) threw his all into his performance. I genuinely became attached to these characters and was upset when things happened to them. Which is WAY more than most standard horror flicks.

The production value is also really nice, even though some of the effects can be lackluster (at one point, a guy's head is bashed in, but you can clearly tell it's just a mannequin).

Now for the bad, and there's quite a bit. Any actors that aren't our leads. The guy who plays Dr. Pender is horrible. He's supposed to play this scary psychotic, but it comes off so phoned in anytime he's on screen. Whenever there was a flashback scene, it just sucked me out of the film entirely, and I wanted to return to the present with the investigation. The deaths scenes during the flashbacks were hilarious. One person gets stabbed in the stomach with a scalpel and immediately dies. So many of the deaths were caused by injuries that wouldn't kill someone - literally flesh wounds. It's cheesy, it's great.

Also, the kid actors. I hate knocking child actors because they are children, but any time they have a speaking role, you'll find yourself asking if they ever bothered with a second take.

Again, the premise is cliched, but what do you expect for an asylum haunting flick?

Overall, I did enjoy this film for what it was. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't that bad. Half of it truly had my interest, while the other half kept losing it. If you're looking for something mindless, yet entertaining, I recommend it.

This reminds me of those paranormal tv shows you see every night on travel channels. Once the film gets to the asylum it was a fun watch. Good paranormal scares and the ghost hunting crew were cast really well. This film is not perfect, it's a plot that has been done repeatedly and some of the supporting characters could have been replaced. I like ghost stories and those paranormal tv shows so this was a good one. If you enjoy those as well I would recommend this movie.