Supernatural (TV Series) Asylum (2005) User Reviews

Brother fighting evil with some crazy on top

[zombiehigh18 · 8/10 · 28 October 2011]

Dean gets a text message with coordinates of a haunted asylum. Th place is inhabited by some spirits, one of them is for a Dr. Ellicott that drives his victims insane with Sam falling as one of his victims. This is one of the stand alone episodes that gives the viewer a break from the intensity of the story arch.

There are some good parts of this episode:

1- Sam is getting annoyed about not being able to find their father and Dean refusing even the probability of him being hurt.

2- I liked the charade they did on the cop. They are making a good team.

3- Sam is angry that Dean is blindly following John's orders without even questioning it.

4- In the scene with the psychiatrist Sam still has conflicted feelings about his brother. He doesn't know whether to run away from him or to appreciate and stick with him.

5- I like the fact that Dean is a natural protector. He always makes Sam take people out to safety (check out the start of the "Faith" episode) and he volunteers in the risky stuff without even thinking. Some people may find him reckless but I think it's part of who he is always thinking about the safety of others (especially Sam's).

6- Gavin, you are an idiot. What were you thinking taking your girlfriend into that place. I'm glad she dumbed you.

7- I'm still hurt that Sam (even if he wasn't himself) would actually hurt his brother but even then Dean says sorry for knocking him out.

8- Dean, you are never in the "sharing caring kinda of mood". You are hurt so you should tell him or things will get nasty between you two.

9- Does Sam ever sleep? How can he keep going?

10- And finally the mysterious John Winchester decides to give his sons a call. Really!

My vote is 8 out of 10

Spend the Night in the South Wing, and the Spirits Drive You Crazy

[claudio_carvalho · 9/10 · 10 December 2006]

In Rockford, Illinois, while investigating possible trespassers in the South Wing of the Roosevelt Hospital, two policemen find a group of teenagers drinking in the place. One of the policeman drives insane and kills his wife, committing suicide immediately after. Dean receives a message in his cellular with the coordinates of the asylum, and drives with Sam to the place. The brothers disclose that the patients riot against the director, Dr. Ellicott, who conducted painful and cruel experiments with the patients and his body has never been found. Further, that there is a local legend that any person that spend the night in the asylum, the spirits drive he or she crazy. Together with Kat and Gavin, a young couple that is trapped in the Asylum, Dean and Sam spend the night in the cellar of the South Wing trying to find the hidden body of Dr. Ellicott to burn it and destroy the fiend.

"Asylum" is another scary episode of "Supernatural", where the two brothers help a young couple. There are many jokes with famous movies and characters along the story, in a good balance of horror and comedy. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Asilo" (" Asylum")

Brothers against Evil: Asylum of the Damned

[Coventry · 9/10 · 26 April 2007]

Already ever since the first episode turned out terrific, I've been waiting for the "Supernatural"-team to do an episode set in an old-fashioned mental asylum, as they form the absolute greatest location to enact a creepy and atmospheric horror story! Luckily I didn't even had to wait that long, since installment n° 10 takes Sam & Dean to a little town in Illinois where mysterious things are going on in the closed down and abandoned Roosevelt sanitarium. Following a strange mobile text message from their father, which causes some disagreement between the two brothers, they investigate the case of a police officer who killed his wife and then committed suicide after having set foot in the asylum. It is said that the former patients' restless spirits still wander around in the dark corridors and drive to insanity everyone who dares to spend the night. Sam & Dean discover that the walls of the asylum are hiding far darker secrets, as the old head doctor subjected the patients to all kinds of crazed medical experiments. The asylum setting is outstanding and instantly reminded me of all the sinister madhouses used in old-fashioned British horror productions, like "Dark Places" and "Don't Look in the Basement". The script even provides the asylum with a typically delightful – albeit a little clichéd – background including deadly riots and medical staff members that are far more deranged than the actual patients. "Asylum" is a downright splendid entry in the even more splendid "Supernatural" series that, as confirmed by the other reviewers around here, only gets better with each episode. There are a handful of extremely efficient jump-moments in the script and the special effects are creepy and convincing, as always. Each episode also contains more and more references towards older horror classic, which is surely something the fans of the genre appreciate. Dean particularly seems to be fond of Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" in this episode, while Sam mentions "The Amityville Horror".

Gets better all the time

[julien-52 · 10/10 · 20 January 2007]

I read some good comments about this show through various sources, so thought I would give it a chance. A big plus to "Supernatural" is that it comes from a lot of really kick a$# people from "The X-Files," my all-time favorite addiction. The pilot wasn't great, but as I've learned you have to keep watching a few episodes. Now I'm absolutely hooked. "Skin" was really good. Reminded me a bit of "Tooms" from X-Files. "Asylum" was one of the best! It's a bit like "Session 9" but scarier. I am a hardcore horror fan, and this one had me very nervous. "Scarecrow" is a bit "Jeepers Creepers" but excellent. You can tell that the writers of this show love horror and you get a lot of great in-jokes. In "Asylum" you get some references to "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and in a previous episode, maybe "Home," Dean mentions that his brother has the ability to "shine," a reference to "The Shining." What makes this show so exceptional is that the writing is typically good; some twists on some familiar story lines and great character development. I adore Dean. He's probably my new favorite TV character - a witty, smart aleck who's all rebel. Love this show. I hope they keep on getting better!

Session 9Ish

[shwetafabm · 8/10 · 22 May 2020]

Like another reviewer said, it reminds of session 9 on its premise, which is one of the best horror movies, its ok for a tv setting, plus we see the boys getting more personal and also some of their tricks. Dean just looks super cute in these eps, so weird since he is 27 in it, i also noticed that the girls are kinda similar, maybe to remind of the mother i think they are done well tho which maybe is surprising me since what i remember from watching spn years back was its lack of female potrayal.

Watched it yesterday

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 15 July 2006]

I just watched the show yesterday. I remember a horror movie with a similar plot on TBS a while back. The film was Creepy, gross, with the evil doctor who causes rage to go wild. The accident at the beginning is the formula for the plot. One learns about the Winchester brothers' conflict with the psychiatry twist. Dean is the domineering, and non-emotional one who conflicts with his brother. In the wrong light, such a attitude can be mistaken for being arrogant and cold. The pace and the story is well timed. The camera work and special effects are visually frightening. 8 out of 10. What is the deal about their dad at the ending? I like the good guy/bad guy role where one pretends to be a nosy reporter and the other brother saves the cop from having deal answer the nosy brother's questions. The good guy then gets all the details as the cop is more willing to share the asylum's history with him.

Underwhelming Scares, Overwhelming melodrama

[CubsandCulture · 8/10 · 3 September 2019]

This is really the first time the brothers have a physical altercation that wasn't just a misunderstanding. That aspect of the episode is very well done...a lot of thematic weight in the 5th season comes from the family dynamics that were made crystal clear in this episode. Unfortunately, this great material is embedded in a clumsy ghost story that has a uninteresting villain and one very lazy means of providing exposition. There are classic scenes here but not a classic episode on the whole.

Sam & Dean go to a Haunted Insane Asylum

[katierose295 · 7/10 · 17 March 2008]

A lot of people like this episode, and while it's not my favorite, I do think that it has a very atmospheric quality. Personally, I like the mythology arc episodes better than the monsters-of-the-week, but if you're looking a scary horror film-like episode to watch with the lights out, this might be a good choice. This is also the episode where the John finally calls the boys. And their problems in this episode (especically Sam's continuing feelings of frustration over fighting evil instead of just devoting all their energy to finding John and Dean's insecurities about Sam's commitment to their partnership) drive a lot of the action in "Scarecrow." All in all, if you're watching on DVD you should probably give "Asylum" a shot.

"Asylum" revolves around a haunted insane asylum. People keep breaking in, getting possessed and going crazy. They are consumed by rages that lead them to kill the people around them. John contacts the boys, text messaging them coordinates of the institution. Sam is getting increasingly frustrated with John, something that will come to a head in the next episode "Scarecrow." For now though, he takes out his frustration on Dean, and his brother's tendency to blindly follow John's orders and take the lead on jobs.

The boys investigate and it turns out that the old doctor in charge of the asylum was evil and like to do experiment on his patients. They rioted and killed him. But his spirit still haunts the place. The ghosts of the patients try to warn people, but the doctor infect visitors with a killing rage. Sam & Dean save a teenage couple, Kat & Gavin, who break in to the asylum on a date. (She voted for a movie.) The doctor's spirit goes after Sam & Dean. It fakes a phone call, pretending to be Dean trapped in the asylum basement. It gets Sam alone then infects Sam. Dean goes after Sam, but Sam is blinded by rage and shoots his brother with a rock salt gun. Dean manages to knock him out and salt & burns the doctors bones. Sam is cured and tries to apologize to Dean. Dean says it's fine, but he's obviously still hurt. The boys go back to the hotel where they get a phone call from John.

There are some good things about this episode. I like the fact that Sam is still trying to find his place in the world of Hunting. He's adamant that Dean isn't his boss, he's conflicted when he tells the psychiatrist about Dean & their never ending road trip. But, he's willing to rush off into danger to help his brother when he gets that phone call and, when he gets into trouble, his first instinct is to call out for Dean assistance. They're still working on their partnership, but it's clear that Sam & Dean make a good team. When Sam's not possessed, anyway... I also like teenagers in peril, this episode. Kat is the one who has to man the shotgun. And when Sam says that they can't panic, Gavin's response is "Why the h*ll not?" They have more personality than a lot of the monster-of-the-week victims. Also, the ghosts in this episode are pretty creepy looking. They sort of "fast-forward" their way around, and blink in and out. Very cool.

On the down side, it kinna makes me sad that Sam pulled that trigger. Granted he was all possessed & crazy, and the gun was empty anyway, but still... It hurts Dean that his brother could do that.

My favorite part of the episode: Dean's helpful lecture to Kat, "Haven't you ever seen a horror movie? Next time pay attention! If someplace is haunted, don't go in." It just makes me laugh.

Against the current here

[Furrerd · 4/10 · 19 December 2009]

The number of goofs in this episode was higher than the first 9. They don't follow their own rules about spirits where destruction of the body makes the spirit dissolve. This one dropped a second body. That body, and Dean, drop about 20 feet from Sam but then they are right with Sam. Flashlights go out in an unlighted asylum, at night, and we can still see everything. It's night but light is streaming through the windows. A ghost that died in 1960's is making cell phones calls? Come on! There is no way Sam could get a psychiatrist to see him in the same day he makes an appointment and the doctor talks to Sam like it wasn't his first visit. Sam and Dean knew there were other bodies in the asylum and innocent spirits still lurking and didn't do anything to help them. That doesn't seem like a thing the Winchester boys would do. Oh and after crawling around on a dirt filled mattress and all around a nasty asylum the girls' makeup and hair is perfect and not a smudge on her white shirt.

While the implementation of this episode had problems the premise was good and a few times I was not creeped out but nervous as Dean sat reading Elicots' journal. I just knew that an object so intensely personal to the ghost would draw it to the person violating it's sanctity. Elicot didn't appear. Maybe that is a fault for such an important object or place (like Elicot's office) should draw the spirit when a living being touches or enters. When they separate I want to scream... 'that's how you die! Always stay together and watch each others backs!' but they don't listen to me :o The Elicot spirit and his special ability was a very nice touch. It's prime-time show but I do wish the horror of Elicot strapping one of his victims down and using anticipation of torture to creep us out further.

Especially because of the lighting goofs I gave this a 4. Sudden darkness or the flickering of the whole scene's lighting as the flashlight flickers is all that more terrifying. The lighter coming or the flashlight reviving and instantly a spirit is in their face is shocking. I understand the directors wants us to see his scene but then make a mention or obvious connection by Elicot touching an electric socket and the lights coming on. Have the characters respond to the fact an asylum with no power suddenly has lights in the one room. Blue white lights flickering as electric arcs just like Elicot's finger power.

Seriously, MCG could have done better.