My oh my. I've been looking forward to this movie for quite some time. I recall it filming back in 2006, and was looking forward to a release sometime in 2007. Slasher movie set in a college dorm. Pretty interesting. And I really dug David R. Ellis' last 3 films. Well, as of this writing, March 2008, the film has yet to be released theatrically, and doesn't even have a date set yet. Now that I've seen the movie, I can see why. This baby has direct to DVD written all over it. If this actually gets a theatrical release, I'll eat my hat. Where to begin?
"Asylum" is horrendously written. I would be surprised if this Ethan Lawrence has actually SEEN a horror movie. I hope he has his film-making license revoked. This film felt like one awful collection of slasher clichés.
1. Cast of formulaic characters out of any B-Slasher. The main girl, her nice boyfriend, the nerd, the jock, the slut, the tough chick, the mean Resident Assistant. I assure you, you already know who will live and who will die before the movie even begins.
2. Typical inept security guards. Also the clichéd old man who warns the kids that their dorm is haunted and that they're doomed.
3. Crazy killer who murders teens as revenge for being killed 50 years ago.
That's just the beginning. The "Script" is riddled with many more problems. EXPOSITION GALORE. Each of the main characters has a brainless troubled back-story which they proceed to explain for 5 minutes each.
"Yada yada, my father used to molest me".
"Yada yada, I used to be a druggie".
"Yada yada, I used to be obese".
"Yada yada, I've always been too awkward to make friends".
"Yada yada, my boyfriend used to beat me".
I'm not making any of this up. If someone can explain to me what the main girl's back-story (the films opening) had to do with ANYTHING, please let me know. Talk about pointless. To make it worse, when the killer confronts each of his victims, the character finds themselves suddenly transported to a place where they suffered years ago. They'll proceed to say something idiotic like, "My old bedroom, how did I get in here?! This has to be a hallucination!"
This is the kind of garbage that used to fly, say, 20 years ago in your typical "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel. Speaking of which, the villain here is nothing but a Freddy Kruger rip-off. Mad doctor who does gruesome experiments on his teen patients. They revolt and kill him. 50 years later his ghost is murdering the teens using the old Asylum as a dormitory. Although the guy was NEVER burned, his ghost still has gross flesh burns all over. Sometimes he kills people in their dreams, but sometimes his ghost just shows up in the dorm. The man's development is beyond pathetic.
And don't get me started on the atrocious dialogue. Being a college student myself, I can assure you that this garbage is better suited for an 80's teen sex comedy. The clichéd hero girl has all the predictable traits. Tragic past, scary visions, she finds the dead body which disappears when she brings the cops. Everyone thinks she is crazy. And despite being big enough to house several hundred students, the only people ever in the dorm are the same 7 "victims". I dare you not to giggle at the "Day to night transitions", which are all the same stock footage of the exterior of the building with a spooky sky.
Anything good to say about the flick? Sure. The whole thing is pretty well shot, with some smooth camera movements and intense colors. The main cast is all appealing too. Unfortunately the material they're given is garbage. I really enjoyed Sarah Roemer in "Disturbia", she's cute and likable. I hope she starts choosing her roles better or she'll find herself stuck in DTV limbo. Also, the guy that plays Dr. Burke hams it up pretty well. Too bad he has stupid likes like "Give me your suffering". He also gives dim-witted monologues as he tortures people about how this is curing their agony. Bah! Watching this movie is torture enough. There is some OK gore, but nothing very exciting about on par with an episode of CSI.
Overall, the situation speaks for itself. This movie is pretty mediocre, and has ZERO chance of success theatrically. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a straight to DVD debut sometime near the end of the year. I suppose if you catch it on TV one day, it might be worth checking out. But don't go out of your way.
"Asylum" is horrendously written. I would be surprised if this Ethan Lawrence has actually SEEN a horror movie. I hope he has his film-making license revoked. This film felt like one awful collection of slasher clichés.
1. Cast of formulaic characters out of any B-Slasher. The main girl, her nice boyfriend, the nerd, the jock, the slut, the tough chick, the mean Resident Assistant. I assure you, you already know who will live and who will die before the movie even begins.
2. Typical inept security guards. Also the clichéd old man who warns the kids that their dorm is haunted and that they're doomed.
3. Crazy killer who murders teens as revenge for being killed 50 years ago.
That's just the beginning. The "Script" is riddled with many more problems. EXPOSITION GALORE. Each of the main characters has a brainless troubled back-story which they proceed to explain for 5 minutes each.
"Yada yada, my father used to molest me".
"Yada yada, I used to be a druggie".
"Yada yada, I used to be obese".
"Yada yada, I've always been too awkward to make friends".
"Yada yada, my boyfriend used to beat me".
I'm not making any of this up. If someone can explain to me what the main girl's back-story (the films opening) had to do with ANYTHING, please let me know. Talk about pointless. To make it worse, when the killer confronts each of his victims, the character finds themselves suddenly transported to a place where they suffered years ago. They'll proceed to say something idiotic like, "My old bedroom, how did I get in here?! This has to be a hallucination!"
This is the kind of garbage that used to fly, say, 20 years ago in your typical "Nightmare on Elm Street" sequel. Speaking of which, the villain here is nothing but a Freddy Kruger rip-off. Mad doctor who does gruesome experiments on his teen patients. They revolt and kill him. 50 years later his ghost is murdering the teens using the old Asylum as a dormitory. Although the guy was NEVER burned, his ghost still has gross flesh burns all over. Sometimes he kills people in their dreams, but sometimes his ghost just shows up in the dorm. The man's development is beyond pathetic.
And don't get me started on the atrocious dialogue. Being a college student myself, I can assure you that this garbage is better suited for an 80's teen sex comedy. The clichéd hero girl has all the predictable traits. Tragic past, scary visions, she finds the dead body which disappears when she brings the cops. Everyone thinks she is crazy. And despite being big enough to house several hundred students, the only people ever in the dorm are the same 7 "victims". I dare you not to giggle at the "Day to night transitions", which are all the same stock footage of the exterior of the building with a spooky sky.
Anything good to say about the flick? Sure. The whole thing is pretty well shot, with some smooth camera movements and intense colors. The main cast is all appealing too. Unfortunately the material they're given is garbage. I really enjoyed Sarah Roemer in "Disturbia", she's cute and likable. I hope she starts choosing her roles better or she'll find herself stuck in DTV limbo. Also, the guy that plays Dr. Burke hams it up pretty well. Too bad he has stupid likes like "Give me your suffering". He also gives dim-witted monologues as he tortures people about how this is curing their agony. Bah! Watching this movie is torture enough. There is some OK gore, but nothing very exciting about on par with an episode of CSI.
Overall, the situation speaks for itself. This movie is pretty mediocre, and has ZERO chance of success theatrically. I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a straight to DVD debut sometime near the end of the year. I suppose if you catch it on TV one day, it might be worth checking out. But don't go out of your way.