Asylum of Satan

So William Girdler's screen debut was running a little slow through 1972 but it's not all that bad! Charles Kissinger is a great actor in which he later appeared in almost of all of Girdler's other films. Nick Jolley superfly hero of the 70's appears also wondering why he was'nt in anything else. ASYLUM OF SATAN is a good film about a girl taken hostage to the Asylum were doctor's zombies and critters run wild! Kissinger plays Satan himself. Give ASYLUM OF SATAN a shot if you are a big fan of Girdler's films. Yes the film is very violent with way too much sex, but hey it's still worth watching.

Scrubby but watchable occult nonsense, ASYLUM OF SATAN finds an attractive young woman being subdued within a strange private hospital. Waking from sleep in fear and confusion, she is told by staff that she has been placed under the special care of a certain doctor, along with a handful of other patients with various personal afflictions which said doctor insists he can treat. There's one problem, however...his sure-cure is the same for all maldies, and the most common side-effect is rigor-mortis. One-by-one the patients disappear, leaving our young heroin to search for a means of escape. The mystery culminates in a Black Magic ritual which conjurs Satan himself...and he is one scrawny, bedraggled looking Lord of Darkness, I must say.

While this is unquestionably a B minus production, it does manage to entertain, and it more-less succeeds in keeping itself steeped in a creepy, otherworldly atmosphere. As 70s drive-in fodder goes, ASYLUM OF SATAN might be a bug's nose above the yardstick...neith fish nor fowl.

4.5/10

Get this title into your mind right now: ASYLUM OF SATAN. Why? Because the 70s was known for tons of low budget movies about the worst of both worlds: crowded asylums and Satanic possession. Before watching the movie trailer, I saw the full-length feature. What you get is absolute nonsense. This, being made a couple of years before THE EXORCIST, helped bring in numerous offerings about the Devil. Here, it's same old, same old. Cheap special effects are the excuse for a rotten-apple horror chiller, with rubber snakes and toy bugs taking toll on two innocent lives. Now, I've just seen the trailer, and I would have been better off giving a donation of twenty dollars to film preservation. An interesting note: the warning label on United's copy of the film is mistakenly misleading. Movies such as ASYLUM OF SATAN are junk food for your head. Just add a television set.

William Girdler made his directorial debut in 1972 with the surprisingly decent exploitation flick Three on a Meathook, and since then basically everything he's directed has gone on to become notorious - though mostly that's because his films are so low quality, not because of any content. That is certainly the case with Asylum of Satan; a mind numbingly bad horror film which features nothing that would shock an audience of young children. The film focuses on a woman who wakes up in asylum, despite her feeling that nothing is wrong with her. The doctor is adamant that she must stay...and it son transpires that there's more to this medical centre than meets the eye. The film is very short; running at under eighty minutes and I am really glad it wasn't longer as the majority of the duration is mind-numbingly boring. The plot basically just plods along for the entire film and the 'twists' to the story do nothing to make the film any more interesting and it gets tiresome quickly. The title does promise an appearance from the dark lord, and the film doesn't disappoint in that respect. It takes a long time to get there, but the ending is at least hilariously campy - the appearance of Satan is memorable for all the wrong reasons, however. Overall, this really is a horrible film and I would recommend it only to hardcore William Girdler fans...if there are any.

I have to start off by saying that I'm a little biased in favor of this movie, being that director William Girdler was a native of Louisville and that the film was shot here. The movie is fairly run-of-the mill 70's drive-in fare, with stretches of talky dialogue, leading actresses who can't act and a monster/creature that doesn't QUITE live up (or should that be "down"?) to it's billing. Strangely enough, the film's odd sense of pacing does lend itself to some semi-creepy scenes (like the "flashback" in the dining room) and in parts, is vaguely reminiscent of the original "Carnival of Souls". And I have to conclude by saying what a treat it was to see the late, great, local horror-film host Charlie Kissinger, playing Doctor Spectre AND his head nurse "Martine". (yes, you read it, right, he was in DRAG...)

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