Asylum of Darkness (2017)

Better Late Then Never

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Blistering performances.

Watching Asylum of Darkness... it's a weird, but intriguing movie... its weirdness is actually what keeps me interested... it reminds me of the feel of Necronomicon (1993) or other Lovecraft-influenced stories, tales from the crypt, creepshow... it's pretty insane, with a lot of gory alien-ness and old B movie sci fi actors from the '70s and '80s... I have to say it's a lot better than I thought it would be... totally crazy movie... Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica) is great, and apparently this is the second film in a trilogy... Season of Darkness (2012) is part 1, this is part 2, and Heartland of Darkness which I'm not sure if it ever came out...This is considered the "lost" film of Scream Queen Linnea Quigley (Silent Night, Deadly Night, The Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master). Director Eric Swelstad abandoned the project before finding a distributor and the title has yet to be released to a mass market audience. Over the years various producers including Jim Wynorski, Rob Spera and Jody Savin have expressed an interest in putting the finishing touches on the film, with the intention of finally releasing it.Showing a poor 3.3/10 rating on IMDb, to me is so undeserved and likely from people who aren't embracing of low budget weird horror... but I think they're treating it unfairly... my rating: 7/10

Production quality is not great, but give it a chance. It's very odd, a bit twisted, but worth the watch.

Some will not like this movie. It's allegorical in nature and requires a lot of patience. But if you're in the right frame of mind, what you end up with is a lot to chew on. My girlfriend and I had a two hour discussion on the various merits and flaws of this film. We agreed that the performances were outstanding. We thought the direction was solid as well. It kept our interest and the movie flowed in a sort of dream logic that made it a surreal experience. I've pretty much decided it's a low budget masterpiece. My girlfriend agrees, though she thinks it's flawed because of budgetary limitations. She loves the ending wherein the hero finds redemption and chooses love over madness. I just think it's a helluva interesting ride. Not sure what it means but it leaves a lot to ponder.

I haven't seen a film this strange in a while and appreciate it's attempting to be different. Does it succeed as a good movie though? Depends on what your looking for. Positives: the lead performances were all convincing for a low budget genre title. Nick Baldasare had the arduous task of portraying a person on the edge of sanity. His performance could have warped into a lot of cliché "crazy" type acting, but he made it believable. Richard Hatch also delivers the goods in one of his final roles. I thought the look of the film was also a plus and the effects, while old school, had a nice retro feel that added to the fun. The only negative was the film's length. I thought it could have been cut by 20 minutes and been a little better experience. All in all, you will like this movie if you don't need details and plot points spoon-fed to you. Expect the unexpected and enjoy!