Asylum of Fear

Really not much to say here. It is what it is, I mean there are a 100 asylum movies and another 1000 movies about paranormal investigation teams, this movie has both. I do think it's in the better half of these movies (for whatever that's worth). Mainly above average because it was pretty well made, good effects and not horrible acting. Personally, I actually liked the team and individuals (as cliche as they are). So yes, it's a team of paranormal investigators going in to document a haunting, but I don't think it's a waste of time. Oh yeah, there's also a missing children angle thrown in, which is a little different. Btw that's where the worst acting occurs. The female cop must be the producers sister or something because she is awful.

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.

My first 2018 released movie, so how did it do?

So get this a bunch of 20 something ghost hunters go into an abandoned asylum and get picked off one by one by the ghosts within! And one of them is one of the doctors who went crazy and killed a bunch of people, original stuff right?

I've just described literally dozens of films, most famously House On Haunted Hill (1959 & 1999). Trouble is most of them did it considerably better than this. It is truly a carbon copy, I can't believe movies with this exact same plot continue to get released.

Asylum Of Fear is not a great start to 2018, 2017 wasn't great so let's hope things improve.

Looks the part, but that's about it.

The Good:

SFX are above par

The Bad:

Its been done before countless times

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

2018 has started on a big ol' low

Enough with the Asylums already unless you're gonna do something new

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.

"Asylum of Fear" is a movie that makes the viewer think: "Why did I not read a book? Or took a nap? Or went to the gym? Or watch a classic film? Or did nothing?" It is so frustrating watching a mediocre amateurish flick and then think that the viewer has spent 1 h 19 min. of his or her life in front of a television set expecting to see something worthwhile but indeed watching nothing but a forgettable garbage. My vote is one (awful).

Title (Brazil): Not Available