Doom Asylum (1988)

Who payed the critics

Pretty Good

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

Back when video stores were open you'd find all sorts of unknown movies on their shelves, in particular plenty of horror films that had no chance to be found at most multiplexes. These films were made with heart, zero funds and in some cases knowing that their best bet was going straight to video. Some companies made their money off of movies made for the video market and others got their start that way. The movies were usually not that great, featured plenty of gore/effects and were enjoyed more for their entertainment value than their cinematic achievements. One such movie had the promise of being something that gorehounds were going to adore. The cover featured the staples of movies of this sort, a combination of a malformed murderous killer and women in bikinis. Those two items alone meant that teens and horror fans knew the film would contain all the elements that they were looking for while perusing the aisles and shelves of mom and pop's video store. Yes, DOOM ASYLUM provides everything you expect.The movie opens with lawyer Mitch Hansen (Michael Rogen) and his girlfriend Judy LaRue (Patty Mullen) cruising down the road celebrating his latest victory that landed her millions. While celebrating he ignores that road and looks up to see another car coming and crashes resulting in his being badly hurt and Judy dead. The bodies taken to the morgue the coroner and his assistant begin to do their autopsy on Mitch when his body twitches and he sits up. Disfigured both by the wreck and the already started autopsy and driven mad by the death of Judy he kills the pair. Fast forward 10 years to a group of teens are driving down the same road in search of good time. The group consist of Kiki the daughter of Judy (both roles played by Petty Mullen), her dim boyfriend Mike (William Hay), Dennis (Kenny L. Price) a baseball car collecting nerd, Darnell (Harrison White) our token black actor and obviously the first to be killed following slasher film doctrine and Jane (Kristin Davis) the philosophy spouting psych major who analyzes everything. And yes, Jane is played by THE Kristin Davis who went on to fame in SEX AND THE CITY. The group is heading to visit the site of Kiki's mother's demise to help her get over her past. But they are the least sympathetic group one can find. Mike is unable to make a decision, Jane just complains, Darnell is just out for a good time and Dennis is just card obsessed. They show at the asylum where the coroner used to operate. Legend has said that it's haunted and that the man who killed the coroner and his assistance still roams the halls. What they find instead is a female punk rock trio practicing in the building led by shrieking vocalist Tina (Ruth Collins). Yes, somehow the power is still running through this condemned and run down building. The two groups are more combative that comingled with the exception of the drummer being attracted to Darnell. Kiki's group picnics on the grounds, gets water bombed by the punk trio and Darnell sets out to tell them off and get some face time with the drummer. Which of course he does so alone setting him up to be the first kill of the film. Yes, Mitch is still roaming the halls, scarred with chunks of skin missing and tendons exposed in what looks more like a mask than individual pieces of makeup. From there the stereotypical moves take place with individuals walking off on their own in spite of the danger to look for those who went off before. The body count rises and the inevitable face time between Mitch and the Judy lookalike Kiki happens close to the end.So is the movie good or bad or so bad it's good? The answer is yes. It's bad in that the acting on display here for the most part is terrible but how could it be any better with the dialogue provided. The effects offer an incredibly watered down blood and obvious looking stand ins for appendages. It's good in that some of the terrible dialogue being spoken is hilarious. The jokes work on a lower level (including one subversive punk rocker being killed admitting she voted for Reagan) and the performance by Rogen is so over the top as to be amusing. The movie also doesn't take itself seriously as if all those involved knew this was not going to be a great movie but decided to throw everything at the wall anyway. The movie is not quite one of those so bad it's good films but comes incredibly close. Honestly it's a bit better than those types of films. It takes the checklist for slasher films and knocks off each item on that list one by one. The movie is textbook slasher and fans of the genre will not care if the dialogue is Shakespeare like or not. The movie is made for fun, not enlightenment.Arrow Video is releasing the film to blu-ray for the first time. Unsurprisingly they're presenting it in the best possible way ever which they do on a consistent basis. The movie looks great with a brand new 2k restoration from the original camera negative. If that wasn't enough the film is presented in two formats, a 1:85:1 ratio or a 1:33:1 version which means pillarboxed or theatrical size on your screen. Extras include archival interviews with producer Alexander W. Kogan, director Richard Friedman and production manager Bill Tasgal, MORGUES AND MAYHEM a brand new interview with special make-up effects creator Vincent J. Guastini, MOVIE MADHOUSE a brand new interview with director of photography Larry Revene, TINA'S TERROR a brand new interview with actress Ruth Collins, a brand new audio commentary track with screenwriter Rick Marx, a stills gallery, a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourne and for the first pressing only a fully illustrated collectors booklet featuring new writing by Amanda Reyes. As I said, Arrow offerings always seem to provide more bang for the buck than you would expect even exists for movies like this. Fans of video stores and horror hounds need to pick this one up. Gorehounds need to add this to their collections. And everyone else might want to give this one a look and just have fun with it provided you start with low expectations. Doing so means you just might get a laugh or two out of the film and have some fun.

As a boy growing up in NJ I had the privilege of knowing one of the crew of this film and living 20 minutes from Essex County where this now demolished asylum once stood. Back in 1987 we got to see them filming the part where they were praying in the chapel of the asylum. I remember the killer Mitch scared the bejesus out of me as a kid and I think I even had some nightmares. That old asylum was damned creepy and there was a lot of supernatural presence. Today my brother and I still have the autographed photograph of the actor who played the killer. I'm 26 now and I'm a die-hard fan of the genre for those that want to talk horror movies, you know how to reach me!Dave

I am somewhat of a fan of bad horror movies. A guilty pleasure, I suppose one would call it. I love this movie. The first time I rented it, someone had taped over all but the first half hour. So I saw just enough to hook me into a several year hunt for the full video. When I saw it I was elated to find a movie that didn't take itself at all seriously. The people who made this movie KNEW it was bad and they didn't care.. why? Because it's FUN!!! The 'evil' character in this movie has the most wonderful comedic lines as he commits his villainy. The other characters are totally stereotypes taken from every slasher movie made. I suggest everyone who is a fan of offbeat B (okay it's probably a v) grade movies, check this out.

hey! it's slasher 80's fun, I agree with the guy that said that this is pure Friday entertainment, we have gore, a deformed killer, some hot chicks, and creepy settings. One thing that creeped me out, is the way this killer uses the instruments to kill,, it's so primitive! Don't be fooled by the box of the film, though it looks stupid, and the killer seems to be a joke, the movie is not that terrible. It's a baaaaaaaad movie, but after you watch you can say , that you can watching ANYTHING. Just recommended for true slasher fans!!!