Dark Asylum (2001) User Reviews

a thriller in slow motion

[sth_Weird · 3/10 · 27 November 2006]

what can I say? If it wasn't for Judd Nelson I wouldn't even have finished watching this movie. But he's just as brilliant in his role as always. It's not that I'm not used to him being the only positive thing about a movie, he's done a lot of poor ones. But this one beats them all, even though I think the story itself wasn't that bad. It was just poorly done. There's a big psycho in a closed hospital for retarded people managing to escape his cell, and kills everybody who dares trying to stop him from leaving, and he's intelligent enough to stop help from the outside getting in. So the only two people left are a female psychologist and the janitor, who is retarded himself. At the beginning they are trying to hunt the psycho down, but soon they are the ones who are hunted by him. Unfortunately, the hunt takes place in slow motion. It does start to get scary sometimes, but you get bored because it takes so long until something happens (if something happens). Appearantly they went out of ideas for more scary things to happen. In the end Quitz (the janitor) dies saving the psychologist, because he swallows the key the psycho is after, which of course he gets back (urgh...but you don't see how he does that), so there's not even a real happy ending. The whole movie is too dark (and I don't mean the atmosphere, the pictures are dark, sometimes you have to concentrate to see what's happening), and even though I never expect thrillers to be very realistic, this one is laughable. Judd Nelson once again manages to create a wonderful, believable character on screen, the other actors do their job too, but they couldn't stop me giving the movie a 3/10 (just for their effort, because the movie itself would get 1/10, and only because there's no 0!)

Almost Clever B-Movie

[Wbennit · 5/10 · 8 November 2001]

I think this film went straight to tape. It isn't particularly good in any field; the acting and plot aren't anything special.

You'll probably see this film on Cinemax or another cable movie channel.

Dark Asylum

[HorrorFan1984 · 5/10 · 5 February 2024]

A psychiatrist and a janitor do battle with a deranged serial killer while trapped inside of a 'Dark Asylum'.

The film begins with us finding out that a serial killer named "The Trasher" has killed well over a dozen people, leaving only their blood at the crime scene which is always near a dumpster. While on the beat, a couple of cops hear screaming underground near an open sewer grate. They decide to go down and end up finding The Trasher and all of his bodies. After killing one of the cops, he is captured and taken to the Crestmore Asylum for an evaluation by our main character Dr. Maggie Belham. The serial killer quickly escapes capture killing a bunch of hospital stage and cops before setting his sights on Maggie. While on the run in the hospital, Maggie runs into someone named Quitz who first claims to be the janitor but eventually reveals himself to be a patient who fell through the cracks of the system. Maggie and Quitz will have to fight The Trasher until midnight when the feds are scheduled to arrive for the transfer. Can they make it?

'Dark Asylum' is a very straight forward horror film that doesn't involve a lot of thinking, which isn't necessarily a bad thing given it's lower budget and not having the best script. The location of the asylum was really one of the best things about the movie. It was dark, creepy, and felt very dated and desolate. It was infuriating at times, with the characters constantly making dumb decisions for 90% of the movie. But overall, it kept me invested enough to sit through the whole thing and interested to see how it all played out.

Larry Drake is a scary dude. He is huge, and played the role of the psychotic "Trasher" very well. The rest of the acting had question marks for sure, but I thought it was alright overall and didn't distract from the movie. Supermodel Paulina Porizkova played final girl Maggie pretty well, hitting all the beats of fear and strength. Judd Nelson was all over the place as the janitor/patient Quitz, but had a likability to him which made me root for his survival at least.

I would recommend giving 'Dark Asylum' at least a watch if it comes your way. It was done at a time (2001) when a ton of these straight to video low budget horror films were being chucked out, so don't expect a masterpiece. Take it for the mindless thriller it is and you may enjoy the ride.

5/10.

DIE HARD in an asylum?

[Wizard-8 · 19 March 2002]

Well... maybe not exactly, but you can see the DIE HARD influence in this horror flick. It's actually not that bad; low budget, but the production values are really strong. It keeps moving at a good clip as well, and it's never boring.

Though I thought it was worth the rental, I did have two problems with it that prevented it from being even better than it was:

(1) Some really big plot holes. (SPOILERS) When the killer gets out of the asylum, why doesn't he just hightail it out of the area, since that was his original intent all along? What's the cause of that big explosion in the basement? Why were the cops late in arriving in big force? Why in the beginning of the movie is the killer immediately thrown in an asylum before getting a sanity hearing? (Couldn't the cops hold him in a cell before then?) These are just some of many questions that come up.

(2) I don't know if the director was showing "good taste", or if the movie was trimmed before its release, but it seems that many moments when we should be seeing gore happen off-screen or right out of camera range. Why tease the audience this way?

TERRIBLE!!

[eternity79 · 1/10 · 15 August 2003]

Well, I can truly say that this is the worst movie I ever seen in my entire life!! I never saw a movie with such terrible acting!!!!! I have no idea how this film made it on DVD or Video! The only nice part about the film was Judd Nelson. He was the ONLY person who acted average. I got pretty tired of the Trasher's low vocabulary! ("Give me the key", "Where is the key") So, don't go see this movie!!! You'll be very disappointed!!!

Painfully bad.

[cableaddict · 1/10 · 8 April 2004]

This ones sticks, even by Judd Nelson standards.

Large insane guys chases people through an asylum. They run a lot and

almost get caught a few times. Oh No!

That's it. You don't have to watch it now.

Avoid this one like jury duty.

• - - - - - -

One of the Most Imbecile Characters I Have Ever Seen

[claudio_carvalho · 2/10 · 11 June 2005]

When the serial killer The Trasher (Larry Drake) is accidentally captured by the police, he is sent to a deactivated asylum for psychological evaluation. The psychiatrist Maggie (Paulina Porizkova) is called for the evaluation, but The Trasher escapes from the safety room, and stays prisoned in the place, locked in a wing of the old building with Maggie and Quitz (Judd Nelson), a patient that works as janitor. The Trasher tries to escape before the arrival of the FBI agents in charge of transferring him to a prison, and Maggie and Quitz fight for survival, in a game of cat and mouse.

"Dark Asylum" is horrible, indeed a piece of crap. The story is ridiculous, and the character of Maggie is one of the most imbeciles I have ever seen on the screen. Only a top fashion model, who believes that can act, to accept such a ridiculous role. The scenes where the lunatic that works as janitor advises her to have common sense is one of the saddest, in the ridiculous sense, that I have ever seen. The lines are outrageously silly and the behavior of Maggie, as a psychiatrist, is unbelievable. This film is a complete waste of priceless time and money. I do not understand how a user can recommend this crap, and repeat the review and the advice many times, misleading other readers (like me). My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Hospício Maldito" ("Damned Asylum")

You've gotta be kidding me.....

[bob_meg · 1/10 · 4 September 2010]

I have to disqualify this review immediately because I didn't see this whole film. Just the first 40 minutes, and wow is it dreck.

Very rarely are the two-line summaries on the DirecTV guide accurate, but in this case it is. Shrink trapped in mental asylum on the verge of being shut down with insane, indestructible killer with apparent super-human strength. Killer makes Michael Myers look absolutely verbose and interesting in comparison.

That's it. Wow.

And Judd Nelson's in this crap...and I thought Anthony Michael-Hall's career was in the toilet.

A very, very bad movie

[asginn · 2/10 · 22 July 2009]

I would put this in the top 10 worst movies I have ever seen. But actually, I can't really think of a worst movie, so maybe this one is The One. When I wasn't falling asleep with boredom, I was cringing at the bad acting and absurd script that reads as if it was poorly translated from a foreign language. There are the absurdly slow fight scenes when, for example, a cop mysteriously just drops his gun and allows himself to be strangled. Then there is the lame attempt at irony, when the crazy guy says to the main character "You're insane."

Like a slowly unfolding car accident, I couldn't look away. Now I am left with a feeling of shame and emptiness for the 2 hours of my life that I wasted--precious time that I could have used for something more productive, like hitting my fingers with a hammer, or holding a penny on the wall with my nose.

Even Judd Nelson's acting was bad.

Larry drake

[kairingler · 7/10 · 5 July 2013]

Larry Drake is one of the best creepy killer's ever,, aka the Dentist,, well you got Paulina Porizkova running around the movie,, that's always nice,, Juergen Pruchnow investigating,, what's not to like.. I like everything that this movie had to offer, I think a lot of people were expecting like cinema art or something,, all I wanted is what exactly the movie itself present,, shock and awe,, blood, guts,, and a killer chasing around a pretty girl..i was also pleased with the plot line of the film, the location shooting, and the setting. Larry drake just plays the creepiest of killer's something about him that makes him the perfect monster or serial killer,, I hope he doesn't get typecast in that role but if he does,, we know that we will have an entertaining bloody killer on our hands for years to come no matter what he does.

This is one of the worst movies ever!

[Trilobiten · 1/10 · 31 March 2002]

This movie sucks in every aspect there is. The story is awful. It completely lacks any logic and the acting is a prime example of the essence of B-actors. A rerun of any other horror movie would be a better choice. In summary, a complete waste of time!

Best Thriller!!!

[Bryan_Clark · 10/10 · 26 September 2005]

Dark Asylum has got to be one of the best thrillers I've seen… EVER. It's all too real making it believable, making it all the scarier. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see a nail-biting thriller. This film concerns a female psychiatrist (played by Paulina Porizkova) who becomes locked in an abandoned asylum with a killer (played by Larry Drake) running loose. Her only help is the janitor (played by Judd Nelson) who is in fact a forgotten asylum inmate. The two run through all the corridors in the asylum, including the ceiling, to avoid this madman who desperately intends to find them and a way out. Tense suspense and well worth 96 minutes of your time. If you still feel iffy, at least rent it. Because after you watch it for the first time it will leave you in engrossing suspense and you'll soon want to add it to your collection.

Shockingly not-bad, straight-to-video thriller

[scream3kicksbutt · 7/10 · 2 March 2002]

"Dark Asylum" is the tale of a serial killer named "The Thrasher" who has a knack for killing young women and "keeping" their bodies. After 23 victims, "The Thrasher" is arrested and sent for a psych test, given by a beautiful young new doctor. When he escapes (shocker, huh?), it is up to the doctor and another patient at the hospital to get out of there alive. Will they?

"Dark Asylum" is an ordinary thriller that gets a cut above thanks to very good acting all around, a strange ending (it involves a girl in a cage!?!?), and an eery setting. This is one of those films that you've seen before but can't stop watching. Recommended as a late night rental. 6/10

BAD MOVIE!(*Spoilers*)

[Darkness876 · 2/10 · 7 September 2003]

This movie was truly terrifying for the first ten seconds, and then you see the killer and it just goes down hill. I don't know how an unarmed 400 pound tub of lard can take out whole swat teams with automatic weapons and i really don't care. This movie was boring, predictable and downright stupid. It plays partially off of the Halloween and Friday the 13th genres with an unstoppable killer who slaughters people for fun, however the killer is unable to create any fear and is only a joke. The thin plot revolves around a killer (the trasher) who escapes captivity in an Asylum and searches for a way out. The protaginist is a doctor whose own life and the life of her daughter is put into danger by the madman, who vows to kill her daughter upon his escape. Its ironic that the killer lives in a sewer because that is where this movie belongs, don't see this movie unless you too want to end up in an Asylum.

Carries a message, but not what the makers intended

[jstuur7147 · 25 March 2002]

Okay, I didn't expect much from this movie. No big names, except for Larry Drake (when was the last time he was in something decent?), and Pauline Porizkova (Ric Ocasek's SO). Your typical idiot plot (everybody acts like an idiot otherwise the movie would be over in about 5 minutes), your unstoppable loonie, your designated victims. Refreshing change in that we didn't have to listen to the loonie babble endlessly. However, the big oddity is the implicit message: sane people are stupid, ineffectual, weak, and incompetent. Crazies, on the other hand, are cunning, tough, brutally strong, and endure gunshots with only minor annoyance. This is seen not only in our unstoppable villain, but also in the sympathetic, supportive nutcase who aids our heroine. It is even seen (albeit briefly) in our heroine herself, who has her sanity repeatedly questioned when she starts behaving with some sense of self-preservation. Add in the coffee-swilling, donut scarfing cops and you have 90 minutes of stupidity you won't want to watch sober.

MST3K Preparation. . .

[Shattered_Wake · 1/10 · 15 March 2007]

I really like Judd Nelson. . . pretty much only because of "The Breakfast Club". And I really like Larry Drake. . . pretty much only because of "Dr. Giggles". . .

Those are the only redeeming factors of this. There just seemed to be so many things wrong with the film. . . it's actually rather depressing:

1.) The dubbing in the film over, what I assume is, the thick Romanian accents (it was filmed in Budapest) is so poorly done it's just a nuisance at some points.

2.) The police officers are the some of the most cowardly law enforcement agents I've ever seen portrayed on film. I don't know if that's how they were written in or if the actors have simply never met or seen any type of cop.

*spoiler*

3.) The fact that every character seems to be a master of physics and chemistry seems rather hard to believe seeing as two of the main characters are insane and one is a psychiatrist.

*end spoiler*

Need I go on? I could, but won't.

All in all, you can have fun with it . . . just play Mystery Science Theater 3000 and make fun of it for all 94 minutes like we did.

-AP3-

Female Die-Hard in action!

[cjonesas · 3/10 · 13 December 2019]

Do yourself a favor, stay out of this movie!

A complete insult to all intelligent persons. Nobody could have saved this C movie with a script written by a T-Rex

Good villain, but not a fun movie.

[HorrorDisasterGuy-90617 · 4/10 · 19 October 2023]

It's sounds interesting with the concept, but the execution is poorly done. There's barely any story other than the main character trying to figure out how to escape from the locked up asylum with a Madman inside. It does have a decent build-up with the madman introduction and how deadly he is. But most of the movie is just the characters trying to escape while surviving against the villain. The movie has a pacing issue with the suspenseful scenes happening too quickly to have tension in it and is predictable to guess what happened next. Also, there's not that much happened in the movie to make it interesting or enjoyable to watch throughout because it's mostly just the same things. The characters try to find ways to escape or fight back, but it ends up being a failure. The climax itself isn't that bad because it's somewhat suspenseful, but the characters don't make the best decisions.

Watchable at the very least

[slayrrr666 · 7/10 · 12 September 2008]

"Dark Asylum" is a better-than-average, if still somewhat decent slasher.

**SPOILERS**

Following a rampage through the city, serial killer The Trasher, (Larry Drake) is caught and sent to Crestmore Sanitarium, bringing psychologist Maggie Bellum, (Paulina Porizkova) out to interview him. Meeting up with Dr. Conrad Fallon, (Jurgen Prochnow) the owner of the facility, the two decide to get to the bottom of what is driving him and causing him to commit the murders, to no avail. Managing to get loose, he goes on a violent rampage, forcing the prison to go into lock-down mode and trapping them inside with the freed killer. Finding out that prisoner Quitz, (Judd Nelson) managed to escape the slaughter, they soon become the target of the homicidal maniac and try to outwit him to get out of the prison.

The Good News: This was a somewhat decent slasher entry. One of the better things about it is that there's a fantastic setting for a fantastic-looking chase. The last half of this is a great chase by the three through the asylum, utilizing plenty of great tactics on both-sides, from the cat-and-mouse games over the intercom to the shower-room confrontation that leads into the chase through the air-ducts and the spectacular counter to the discovery in the over-head pipes by destroying the roof, all leading together for some high-end fun. There's also a lot to really enjoy from these, as the film goes all-out being incredibly creepy, suspenseful and exciting series of scenes that make for a lot of fun with all the variations and versions that are shown within. It's really hard to pick one of them from within the asylum scenes, so there's so much to really love for it's action, suspense or thrilling encounters, and once it moves away into the sewers at the end, it's almost as good. The creepy setting is again kept, with the chase through the darkened sewers being really nice, the brawling confrontation with the killer in the pit of water being nice as well and the rather explosive finale providing some nice thrills. Even the opening, with the descent into the flooded sewers providing a ton of suspense and thrills makes for some really tense moments. The discovery in the flooded lair is excellent and gets a marvelous jump out of it. The last part to this is that there's a really imposing killer in here. He's a large, burly, imposing person who hulks over everyone else and really uses that to physically lord it over his victims. That leaves a great view of the killer here, which combined with the other factors makes up this one's best points.

The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot really wrong with this one. One of the biggest flaws here is that this one has an odd way of placing the kills around it's story. Nearly everyone is wiped out by the forty minute mark, which leaves the big chase between the groups with no kills at all, a really curious decision. It drags the pacing somewhat oddly and really seems put together weirdly. That also brings up the other flaw with the kills, the rather lame way we see them. There's two problems with it, and the bigger is that there's really no blood or gore in them. They're brutal, graphic and definitely should've had something in here, yet this one is pretty dry compared to what it could've been. We see merely violent aftermath, yet there's no oozing wounds or even arterial spray from some of the more violent ones in here. Also quite problematic is that some are even done at an angle that prevents a look at it actually happening even though we see what's being done. That alone is what's so aggravating about these, since it's got plenty of opportunities for much more yet there's little actually done. The last flaw is the questionable way this ends. There's no need for this to bring in the family history, especially since it brings the daughter into the mix when it didn't need to. It's quite weird to do this since it's hard to come up with a rationale for it's inclusion. These here are the film's flaws.

The Final Verdict: A couple of really great parts and some flaws to it make this one a somewhat overall decent slasher that's watchable at best. Give this one a chance if you're into slashers in general or find this one interesting, while those who find the flaws in here too much should heed caution.

Rated R: Graphic Language and Violence

Not that bad

[ProofUndeniable · 8/10 · 24 July 2003]

The lead actress in this movie, Paulina Porizkova, is fairly decent in this role. Having never seen her in anything else, I wasn't sure what to expect. She has her moments of overacting, but the main problem was some of the dialogue she was given. Larry Drake was scary enough as the killer and is considerably larger than I remember him being. Judd Nelson was really the standout for me in this movie. While not his finest work, he was believable enough in this role and seemed to be the only character that didn't make the typical horror movie asinine decisions. There is no real blood and gore in this movie, so it'll suffice for anyone who doesn't mind a little bad dialogue and plot holes, but wants to see a mildly scary film.

A scary, scary moment of enjoyment

[fegorleo-1 · 7/10 · 8 January 2007]

It was, indeed, a nice little movie...except the fact that I couldn't find anything, absolutely nothing gore about it. Sorry but, when you call a movie "Maniac Trasher" (french title) you are expecting a lot more blood (was there even any in this movie?) and a lot of disgusting, disgusting scenes. But... no. Nothing ever happens. They think he's dead ? Well he's not. And it goes on and on forever. The ? oh, yes, by the way, let me introduce the winners : the czech former mannequin and the Breakfast Club former star... trying to escape the Trasher's terrible starve for death, and steam... see mythic scene when, hidden in the ceiling, the 2 heroes almost die of hot, steamy air blown by the maniac who let off some steam -hum- from the showers downstairs. Mean, mean trasher, you awful swine, you almost got them...But how the hell did you find a way to flee through the sewers, ending up EXACTLY under our model's mom's house ? where her little adorable, fatherless child is sleeping, waiting to be kidnapped by your infamous hands ? How, indeed... Nobody knows, but I do know that in the end, you might -or not- die because of electricity, or is it... fire ? Who knows, maybe you are...not...dead, terrible Trasher.

A lot of wasted effort

[Alan-40 · 17 April 2004]

This movie had a lot going for it to start out with. Excellent setting of mood during the credits and a buildup of the main character. But it loses its way. It is obvious that Larry Drake can make a great bad guy (something every movie like this needs) but the screenplay ruins the role for him once the action starts. Before that he is actually a thoughtful, resourceful operator who works by intellect as well as brute strength. By the end he is just a brute and it turns out out that there is nothing there. You're expected to believe that he somehow takes out an entire swat team single handedly. And you never get to find out what his motivation was in all this.

This is the class of movie where every active character routinely does the worst possible thing for themselves. The police (except for the opening part) seem to know nothing about police procedure. Everyone -- even the bad guy! -- gratuitously maximizes the danger to themselves. It is too obvious.

They even blew Maggie's (Paulina Porizkova) "Ripley" moment, where she saddles up with cast aside hardware and wades back in to take on the bad guy because all the people who are supposed to be doing it are too stupid to do it.

And I thought Judd Nelson's career was in better shape than this. What is he doing taking on jobs like this? Maybe he owed someone a favor. His character at one point looks like it could be interesting, then fades like everything else in this movie.

Oh, well.

Deranged killer continues his vocation in an asylum, a dark asylum

[djderka · 7/10 · 24 July 2012]

The basic plot is simple enough as are most "asylum" movie plots. An asylum is a perfect place for mayhem as there are plenty of abandoned ones around the world for set locations. Dark Asylum is well directed and written, and has overtones of Jean-Luc Goddard. How? Some scenes are cut and some events are not shown on screen, but cut out so that our minds can fill in the details. The shots and scenes are well connected. Opening jumps out at us with the cops going into the sewers to discover Trashers lair. There is one shot of him on the ground and cops and flashlights in the back ground with light columns. Would have been a pretty neat DVD cover.

Lighting is superb, with great reflections. Larry Drake is great as The Trasher and reminds me of Thor from those 50's movies and a little Odd Job thrown in for good measure. Pretty decent job from super model, Paulina too. Overall very well crafted with some asylum surprises. The Trasher is caught in the beginning of the movie and sent to an asylum for examination...ha..as though. Maggie is called in to do the evaluation before midnight, only an hour away. The Trasher is intelligent, crafty and cunning which does reflect some true life situations. He figures out their actions pretty quickly.

Anyway, he gets sent to the nut house and Maggie, a psych doctor, is sent to analyze him, and the surprise is: her daddy was a serial killer as well. The Trasher, well, trashes most of the security guards and doctors in the asylum and chases Maggie and Quitz, the janitor, throughout the entire facility. Of course this has been done before but, the director Georgory Gieras, has added some panache to the "asylum" genre, with good direction and script constructs.

Larry Drake plays The Trasher with menacing delight and of course you get can't beat chasing a super model like Paulina Porizkova who plays Maggie. One major error was not getting Pauline out of her business pants suit into something much more revealing, showing at least legs, or cleavage, or both as this is mandatory in horror/thriller genres.

Maggie hooks up with the janitor, Judd Nelson, who can't seem to decide if he is Steve Zahn or Marty Feldman, but being a geeky janitor he knows the asylum inside/out and does lead The Trasher on a wild somewhat of a maze chase through the asylum.

Did everyone catch the homage to Cukoo's Nest? It was where The Trasher gained control of the loudspeaker system and plays Nest music and says, "Time for your medicine"...funny, and the movie needed a lot more of those kinds of punches. And there was an homage to Desperado, when the Maggie gets asked about her last name...buco..bocho..? as Steve Buscemi did at the bar in 1995 movie Desperado. Very clever reference.

Of course cops are inadequate as in real life. Many times they are baffled, confused and unsure of what to do in a crisis situation as in Columbine, so this is not unrealistic. And of course, what would you do while being chased by some 300 lb maniac. Huh? Take him head on? or run? yeah, run!

Several visceral scenes are cut as others have mentioned, which is curious. After all, it is a horror/slasher flick. The Trashser wants the key to get out. The janitor swallows the key. The next scene should be him being eviscerated for the key, but we never see it..whaaa? We simply see The Trasher with a bloody key. Maybe the director was working off the old Hays morality code from the 30's to the 60's. Or..or he is spoofing our expectation of seeing guts spilled over the floor. Hmmmm...I need to see the DVD extras.

Overall though, a very high production value, good acting, nice maniacal killer, and the usual baffled cops actually make this an above average thriller. The Hungarians and Romanians seem to have good production crews which is why a lot of asylum movies are made there.

I saw this On Demand TV and found it to be above average, but get Paulina out of those pants suits and into something hot, doctor or not she is a super model.

Some folks panned this film as worst, bad, etc, but they have really not been to some "Horror festivals", like I have, with film entries shot on a cheap video camera, and with no lighting, plot, script, or direction, and just lots of meat counter entrails.

AMAZING FILM!!!!!!!!!

[userray2305 · 10/10 · 2 November 2004]

This suspense filled movie about a diabolical, insane killer, a helplessly trapped psychiatrist, and a caught up in the mix janitor gives new meaning to the term astonishing! The doctor, played saucily by Paulina Porizkova, becomes trapped in an insane asylum at night with no way out. The deranged lunatic, performed admirably by Larry Drake Jr., hunts her down, as they play cat and mouse. Meanwhile, a hapless janitor, played brilliantly by Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club), tries to help the doctor, and survive the night. Will the sun rise before "The Thrasher" catches the doctor and janitor?

Rent or buy this exciting movie and find out!

Also: great directing by Gregory Gieras.

straight-to-video crap

[Gangsteroctopus · 5 May 2002]

Just to give an example of how poorly directed this piece of junk is: when Larry Drake is trying to escape from a straightjacket while chained to a chair, the close shots of him tearing out the seams of the straightjacket are backgrounded with Foley sound of him kicking the strut between the chair's legs - and yet he remains perfectly still! (Just try kicking the legs of a chair that you're sitting on and see if you can stay still, no matter how heavy you are - ludicrous.) Larry Drake, in the usual hackneyed role of serial killer-as-superman is badly miscast. Not to be weight-ist, but he is far too heavy to pull off the role convincingly. The film tries, for example, through shoddy editing techniques, to make us believe that a man as overweight as he is can outrun a bunch of cops. It looks so absurd that it's not even laughable. Actually everybody in this movie moves WAY too slowly. It's one of those films where the bad guy staggeringly advances on his victim while the victim, as yet uninjured and otherwise unimpaired, flounders on the floor, trying to scuttle away but managing instead to conveniently back into a wall, all the while yelling, "Nooooo! Please - aaaargh!" (Sort of like my reaction to this cinematic garbage.)