This movie wasn't scary. It had creepy elements in it, but it wasn't a horror film. It's more of a Psychological Mystery and Romance. Unique and even had elements of Shutter Island vibes.

Anything with Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley is well worth watching and indeed for most of the film it is exactly that. A good setting in a 19th century asylum run by a sadistic doctor. Enter our hero shove in a soppy romance. Add in a stuttering finale, throw in a sting in the tail and then spoil it all by an ending straight from a mediocre rom-com. If only they had read the script before filming and thought of what they could have done. So a good try worth watching but fatally flawed in the end.

Stonehearst Asylum (AKA: Eliza Graves) is directed by Brad Anderson and adapted to screenplay by Joe Gangemi. It's loosely based on an Edgar Allan Poe short story. It stars Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, David Thewlis, Ben Kingsley, Michael Caine, Jason Flemyng and Brendan Gleeson. Music is by John Debney and cinematography by Thomas Yatsko.Stonehearst Asylum - Is nothing as it seems?For his latest foray into the horror mystery realm, director Anderson provides a film that is away from conventionality's. The horror here is the blurry lines between sanity and insanity, and it has plenty of tricks and dark humour up its sleeves as well. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out quite early on what is going on at Stonehearst, the makers leave enough clues, but as the ungodly treatments show their hands, and the caustic observations on mental health and the treatment of such are made, there's a strong mystery element booming out of the screen.Naturally this is a tale full of weird, wonderful and scary characters, and with that comes equal helpings of brutality and tenderness. The key characters are very Poesque, all magnificently framed by the Gothic surroundings (where the design department have worked wonders), while Yatsko's photography is gorgeous or chilly as required. Cast come up trumps, the right blend of Gothic ham and emotionally driven portrayals. Savaged by many critics upon release, it has risen above that to gain a deserved fan base, the word of mouth on the street crucially preparing newcomers for the tone of the play. 7/10

This is a decent film with some good performances. It isn't earth shattering but it does have good points.There's no loud intrusive noise, otherwise known as 'music'. Ben Kingsley is suitably menacing and clearly the star of the film while David Thewlis is a suitably menacing supporter if only seen a couple of times. Kate Beckinsale does well as the wrongly (?) committed love interest though strangely none of the villains, nor anyone else, seems to notice her connection with the good 'Doctor' Newgate or that she seems to be totally sane. Jim Sturgess does what Jim Sturgess does and that doesn't need much acting.But the film takes a long time to get going, at least the first 60 minutes are rather slow. From then it becomes more interesting though it does still seem to be a little episodic.The film claims to be based on a short story by one of the great short story writers, Edgar Allan Poe, but adapting a story of a few pages to the 'Big Screen' is always fraught with difficulty. This one goes down as a reasonable, though somewhat uninspiring, attempt, although the ending is unexpected and well done.My vote is lifted to 6 only by the villainous performance of Ben Kingsley as the whole film eventually becomes rather too ridiculous. Kate Beckinsale, supposedly a gentile lady of the first half of the 19th century, head-butting an aggressor really doesn't work.It is watchable and not a bad film. However, it is far from a great one.