Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

An Oxford graduate takes up a job in a mental asylum, only to discover that the "revolutionary" new treatments are inhumane, and that there is more going on than meets the eye.

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writers:

Edgar Allan Poe (based on a short story by), Joe Gangemi (screenplay by)

Stars:

Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, David Thewlis

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Beckinsale	...	Eliza Graves
Jim Sturgess	...	Edward Newgate
David Thewlis	...	Mickey Finn
Brendan Gleeson	...	The Alienist
Ben Kingsley	...	Silas Lamb
Michael Caine	...	Benjamin Salt
Jason Flemyng	...	Swanwick
Sophie Kennedy Clark	...	Millie
Sinéad Cusack	...	Mrs. Pike
Edmund Kingsley	...	Charles Graves
Robert Hands	...	Elegant Lady
Ciara Flynn	...	Farmer's Daughter
Christopher Fulford	...	Paxton
Andrew Dallmeyer	...	Jeremiah
Guillaume Delaunay	...	Arthur Timbs

Storyline

A couple of days before 1899 Christmas, the Oxford new graduate Dr. Edward Newgate arrives at the Stonehearst Asylum to complete training for his specialty of asylum medicine. He is met by armed men who take him to Dr. Silas Lamb, who welcomes his help and takes him under his wing. Edward is shocked to see the methods that Dr. Lamb uses to run this asylum. He becomes infatuated with Eliza Graves, one of the patients who is a lady of status and does not seem to belong. One night, Edward overhears a knocking from the bowels of the facility and is shocked to find that everything is not as it seems in this place and that his uneasy feelings may be justified. What will Edward Choose?

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Plot Keywords:

madhouse | mental institution | gothic horror | psychotronic film | man wears a top hat | 

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Taglines:

No one is what they seem.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing and violent images, sexual content and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second movie where Sir Ben Kingsley played a doctor in a mental hospital. The first being Shutter Island (2010).

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Goofs

Hands position of blind woman in feeding scene. From cheek of Newgate to his shoulders.

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Quotes

Silas Lamb: On the contrary: it was my STAFF.
Benjamin Salt: [Incredulously, outraged] Staff? A bunch of inebriates and chronic masturbators?
Silas Lamb: [Slight pause] Funny; I've never seen the harm in chronic masturbation.

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Connections

Version of House of Madness (1973)

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Soundtracks

Comin' Thro' The Rye
Traditional, Poem by Robert Burns
Public Domain
Courtesy of Moidart Music

User Reviews

More hammer than Hammer

I'd forgotten how much pop scares got on my tits until I watched Stonehearst Asylum. Because it doesn't have a single one. And it's a fine film.

I think it's somewhat miss-sold as a horror, though it's hard to know how else it should have been marketed. There's plenty of jeopardy but scarcely any gore. I guess its most accurately described as a Gothic romance.

It's a loose riff off Poe's "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" with a few canny twists.

The cast is stellar: Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine, Kate Beckinsale, Sinead Cusak.

I tend to define films in terms of whether or not I would enjoy watching them with my undoubtedly better half. in this case, yes. It's a cracking film with a rattling storyline, The odd proto- feminist moment and no horror cheap shots. What's not to like?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 October 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Stonehearst Asylum

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,478,806

Company Credits

Production Co:

Icon Productions, Sobini Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1