Asylum of Satan (1972)
** (out of 4)
Lucina (Carla Borelli) wakes up one morning in a mysterious hospital that she doesn't recognize. She asks to see her doctor but she is informed that he's the one who sent her to this hospital for a special treatment. Dr. Spector (Charles Kissinger) promises that the treatment will be quick but what she doesn't realize is that he's actually in a pack with Satan himself and sending him new women.
ASYLUM OF Satan comes from Louisville director William Girdler who of course would go onto make some pretty good movies including some blaxploitation titles as well as GRIZZLY before his tragic death in a helicopter crash at the age of thirty. This film here certainly isn't anything special or good but I think it contains proof that the director had a talent and you can watch it and see why he would go on to make better pictures.
With that said, one has to wonder what the point was of making a PG- rated exploitation picture. Obviously Satanic themes were quite popular during the early 70s but there's really not too much done with it here. If you're looking for nudity, gore or violence then you're going to be disappointed because there isn't any. There's really nothing too shocking and for an exploitation film the shock value is at zero.
The film does have some good stuff and that includes the atmosphere, which is actually quite thick. I thought Girdler perfectly captures the mood and setting of this isolated hospital and I'd argue that the look of the seance was quite good. The Satan costume itself looks pretty silly but it's a fun outfit. I also thought Borelli gave a pretty good performance and certainly a lot better than you typically see in these types of films.
ASYLUM OF Satan has a good, catchy title and I'm sure the poster lured people into drive-ins back in the day. The film certainly needed a punch of something because even at just 77-minutes it drags in spots. Still, it's an interesting picture that fans of Girdler should enjoy.