Asylum Seekers (2009)

Six people on the verge of a breakdown decide to check themselves into an insane asylum, only to discover there is just room for one.

Director:

Rania Ajami

Writers:

Rania Ajami (screenplay), Rania Ajami (story)

Stars:

Pepper Binkley, Bill Dawes, Judith Hawking

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Pepper Binkley	...	Maud
Bill Dawes	...	Alan
Judith Hawking	...	Nurse Milly
Daniel Irizarry	...	Dr. Raby
Stella Maeve	...	Alice
Camille O'Sullivan	...	Miranda
Lee Wilkof	...	Paul
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Remy Auberjonois	...	Dinner Host
John Auer	...	Patient
Liza Binkley	...	Female Worker #1
Shana Dowdeswell	...	Girlfriend
Karin Duseva	...	Miranda's Personal Assistant
Mercedes Herrero	...	Hostess #1
Edward James Hyland	...	Dr. Psycho #4
Ken Jennings	...	Minnie

Storyline

Work, family, relationships, deadlines, terrorism, information overload... When modern life is getting crazier and crazier, day by day, who wouldn't think about getting out? Leaving it all behind? Wouldn't that be the only sane response to this mad world? "Asylum Seekers" is about escapism, about feeling the pressure and deciding on a radical solution. Our six characters can't take their various stresses any more and are heading for the door marked EXIT. It leads to a deluxe, exclusive, luxuriously-appointed mental asylum, an adult funfair where they can let it all go and be waited on hand and foot for the rest of their carefree lives. Or so it seems... The first twist is that there are limited places. Only one free bed remains. The competition is on. And there are many other surprises lying in wait for the unwary, would-be-insane patient... The ride out of the world they know has only just begun!

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Plot Keywords:

new york city | alternate reality | f rated | surrealism | eccentricity | 

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Taglines:

Crazy is the new sane.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

Maud: You may dress like a gentleman, but that's where the similarity ends.
Dr. Raby: A thousand promiscuities, my lady.

User Reviews

Absurdist spoof

One flew over the cuckoo's nest a bit too many in this wacko comedy with some absurdist driven plot evolving around five mentally unstable people attempting to compete for spot at a mental asylum. Within its confines the mysterious Dr Beard (visualised for the most part as a beard stuck onto a speaker-phone) attempts to grade the applicants and choose amongst them the most worthy candidate. Amongst them (as per the movie introduction to characters): Dr Raby (Daniel Izirarry) the virgin nymphomaniac, Maud (Pepper Binkley) the trophy mouse-wife, Paul (Lee Wilkof) the evangelical nihilist, Miranda (Camille O'Sullivan) the introverted exhibitionist, Alan (Bill Dawes) the gender bender refugee and Alice (Stella Maeve) the cybernetic lolita. With all out contenders ready for action, nurse Milly (Judith Hawking) initiates the game.

"Asylum Seekers" treads a very thin line with its over-exuberant surrealist absurdity, which often seems to have less to do with Luis Bunuel and more with "Airplane" and similar spoof comedies. Despite obvious intellectual inclinations and though-out dialogue the end result proves that this line has been largely obliterated by a mix of bad acting and ineffectual idiocy. Never truly funny it therefore fails as an overall concept, even if some glee can be taken from the dreamlike qualities, which transgress us into one of the wackiest on-screen adventures ever. Some viewers will be profoundly head-scratching way before the end credits, others may find it as exhilarating as an LSD trip, all in all it doesn't function well as a movie per se, instead more as a side event of edgy tidbits of craziness and surrealism.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official MySpace

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Шестеро из дурдома

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cipher Productions, Crowned Heart Pictures, Kinetic Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min (European Film Market)

Color:

Color