ASYLUM is a disappointingly low budget thriller set within the confines of a mental asylum, perhaps wanting to bask in some of the reflected former glory of the likes of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. Unfortunately, many of the asylum films made in the last two decades - I'm thinking of the likes of GOTHIKA - have been disappointments and this one's no different. The murder mystery storyline is overly familiar and the direction insipid, leaving the viewers to check their watches on a regular basis.Robert Patrick is the grizzled hero of the piece, revealing how far he had fallen since his breathtaking role in blockbuster TERMINATOR 2 just six years previously. He plays a cop who goes undercover as an asylum inmate to solve a murder. The script is pretty bad, it has to be said, and the stylistics have dated in that '90s way. It's only really worth watching for the various supporting roles for actors including Sarah Douglas (CONAN THE DESTROYER), the reliably intense Malcolm McDowell, and the great Henry Gibson.

Now I just got done watching this off of Netflix and felt the need to say a few words on it. It isn't a bad film, but it isn't a film I'd say you have to go out and buy. If I had bought this on DVD and spent more than 5 dollars on it I would have been a bit disappointed in myself, but its not a bad film to watch if you happen to go passed it or just on something like Netflix. Robert Patrick, plays a detective, good at going undercover and uncovering hidden truths, after the death of a friend at a mental institution, he uses his deep rooted suicidal tenancy to commit himself in hopes of finding out who killed his friend. Robert plays the role well, he is certainly the highlight of the film and the reason I felt invested in the film. The film itself plays with your head a bit, it can be slow moving at times and really picks up when the 3rd act begins. There is another patient in the film, a woman, who seems to be abused by hospital staff. that Robert's character seems to really wanna protect more than anyone else. The only other thing I can really comment on this film is that it has some star power. Besides Robert Patrick, who is best known for T2: Judgment Day and Die Hard 2: Die Harder, we also have Sarah Douglas, who is best known for Superman, Superman II(both cuts)and Conan the Destroyer and Malcolm McDowell, who is known for Clockwork Orange and more recently Rob Zombie's Halloween and Halloween II.

Not the first thriller to take place in a mental institution, but one of the better. Leading man Patrick does a nice job as an unstable P.I. who goes undercover to find the killer of his shrink. Nice mix of suspense and humor - might have been better without all the laughs.Malcolm McDowell is fun to watch as a murderous patient named Rane. Is he the killer or does he hold the secret to the mystery?? Good acting outshines the slick camerawork. Nice surprise thriller.

There is a very interesting plot and one or two reasonably good actors but the script is average and most of the performances are not very convincing. The Idea of something fishy going on in a mental home has been there since the invention of mental homes and should by now have reached a higher level. The shockers in this movie are plump and the pace is really slow. And who has not guessed from the very first that the guy in the surgical clothes was Rane? And who was silly enough to believe that Rane was the bad guy? Who would have considered the director of the mental home (the poor rotter in the wheelchair) to be good and sane? It is altogether rather obvious. I really do not know what kept me watching this movie. Perhaps it was just the hay-fever that prevented me from sleep.