This is a pointless film. Some may say most horror films are meaningless, that I would seriously argue against. However, this story doesn't even have a standpoint.
After watching "Three On A Meathook" I gave William Girdler another glance. Unfortunately, Girdler and his team cannot deliver a film half as good as the previous one - and that wasn't too great. Most directors and writers learn as they go along as to what pleases their audience.
The idea behind "Meathook" was a good man driven to madness by committing heinous acts for love. "Asylum For Satan" is just that an Asylum For Satan. Neither Girdler nor the other writers delve any deeper than that. It's not a story of good versus evil, or girl meets boy, or the lunatics taking over the asylum. Not having a solid basis lets the film down immensely. From the title alone I can envisage a dozen or more ways the film could have gone - and I bet you can too. All of which are better than this.
Girdler even lets himself down in the direction stakes. He overcooks a lot of the scenes. The greatest of which is Lucina at her hospital room's window. One looking out over the grounds at the white-robed, wheelchair-bound patients. Then trying to get her fiances attention by banging on the glass. There's nothing innovative or entertaining about these segments and they play too long.
He also throws in some strange "dreamlike" sequences, which only confuse and lessen the film. The worst being the dining room scene. One moment Lucina is chatting with the other patients, and suddenly they're wheeled away. She's now left alone at the table while the strange white-robed patients sit around her at other tables. One tries to get up from their wheelchair and falls to the ground. She screams, but in the next instant, they're gone. The tables overturned and chairs cast about. There's no reason or explanation for the incident. What a sham.
In "Meathook" I waxed on about Charles Kisinger's acting. I take it back. In this film, he plays three roles. The evil doctor Jason Spector and his assistant Martine Williams (that's right, he's in drag) and the groundskeeper. Regrettably, his female voice must have been so bad they dubbed him. These multiple characters only hinder the film. For when he's in the guise of Martine and the groundskeeper, he is clean-shaven. Though, as the doctor, he sports a full goatee - moustache and beard. On close up, these are evidently fake. So you get to thinking of why he goes to such lengths. Girdler never addresses these issues.
Carla Borelli who plays Lucina and Louis Bandy as Lieutenant Tom Walsh are the only members of the cast who appear to give a fig. Everybody else just turns up, gives their lines, and buggers off - even the Devil. Borelli and Bandy aren't great, but they are decent. They even raise the film a tad and make it less boring.
It's at this point I have to mention Asylum gives the world the worst Devil ever. The poor chap looks as though he's constructed from papier-mâché, with toilet roll eyes... by a ten-year-old kid. It could easily be a reject science project.
I cannot recommend this film to anyone. It's pointless. Boring. And badly filmed. Watch "Three On A Meathook" instead. That too isn't great, but it's more digestible than this offering.
Ratings: Story 0.5 : Direction 0.75 : Pace 0.5 : Acting 1 : Enjoyment 0.5 : Total 3.25
Cast a spell and transport yourself across to my Absolute Horror list and see where this uninteresting horror plummeted to.
Take Care and Stay Well.
After watching "Three On A Meathook" I gave William Girdler another glance. Unfortunately, Girdler and his team cannot deliver a film half as good as the previous one - and that wasn't too great. Most directors and writers learn as they go along as to what pleases their audience.
The idea behind "Meathook" was a good man driven to madness by committing heinous acts for love. "Asylum For Satan" is just that an Asylum For Satan. Neither Girdler nor the other writers delve any deeper than that. It's not a story of good versus evil, or girl meets boy, or the lunatics taking over the asylum. Not having a solid basis lets the film down immensely. From the title alone I can envisage a dozen or more ways the film could have gone - and I bet you can too. All of which are better than this.
Girdler even lets himself down in the direction stakes. He overcooks a lot of the scenes. The greatest of which is Lucina at her hospital room's window. One looking out over the grounds at the white-robed, wheelchair-bound patients. Then trying to get her fiances attention by banging on the glass. There's nothing innovative or entertaining about these segments and they play too long.
He also throws in some strange "dreamlike" sequences, which only confuse and lessen the film. The worst being the dining room scene. One moment Lucina is chatting with the other patients, and suddenly they're wheeled away. She's now left alone at the table while the strange white-robed patients sit around her at other tables. One tries to get up from their wheelchair and falls to the ground. She screams, but in the next instant, they're gone. The tables overturned and chairs cast about. There's no reason or explanation for the incident. What a sham.
In "Meathook" I waxed on about Charles Kisinger's acting. I take it back. In this film, he plays three roles. The evil doctor Jason Spector and his assistant Martine Williams (that's right, he's in drag) and the groundskeeper. Regrettably, his female voice must have been so bad they dubbed him. These multiple characters only hinder the film. For when he's in the guise of Martine and the groundskeeper, he is clean-shaven. Though, as the doctor, he sports a full goatee - moustache and beard. On close up, these are evidently fake. So you get to thinking of why he goes to such lengths. Girdler never addresses these issues.
Carla Borelli who plays Lucina and Louis Bandy as Lieutenant Tom Walsh are the only members of the cast who appear to give a fig. Everybody else just turns up, gives their lines, and buggers off - even the Devil. Borelli and Bandy aren't great, but they are decent. They even raise the film a tad and make it less boring.
It's at this point I have to mention Asylum gives the world the worst Devil ever. The poor chap looks as though he's constructed from papier-mâché, with toilet roll eyes... by a ten-year-old kid. It could easily be a reject science project.
I cannot recommend this film to anyone. It's pointless. Boring. And badly filmed. Watch "Three On A Meathook" instead. That too isn't great, but it's more digestible than this offering.
Ratings: Story 0.5 : Direction 0.75 : Pace 0.5 : Acting 1 : Enjoyment 0.5 : Total 3.25
Cast a spell and transport yourself across to my Absolute Horror list and see where this uninteresting horror plummeted to.
Take Care and Stay Well.