Shock Asylum (1997) User Reviews

Institutionalized!

[one4now4 · 5 March 2006]

This is the ultimate levelling of psychiatry through cinema as far as I have yet seen. Mild-mannered Mr. Gaxton arrives at a mental hospital for a quick mental health checkup as a requirement for getting a corporate job. A lobotomized nurse and the insane mad scientist of a psychiatrist (played with a nonchalant and natural knack by the friggin' hilarious Stephen Colbert) quickly decide that he is "reluctant and angry", and soon he must undergo torturous, potentially deadly "treatment" in the hospital from hell. Don't get me wrong now; this is a comedy, albeit a very dark one that is armed with one hell of a social suckerpunch. Still, the filmmakers themselves supposedly being ex-mental patients makes a lot of sense, because I've been there and can see that this is a pretty astute diagnosis of the crazies practicing psychiatry from first-hand experience, even if power drills went out of style some time ago. Like a few other shorts I've reviewed, this is (or was) available on a compilation called "Smash Cuts: Totally Twisted Shorts Fest" that was being rented exclusively through Hollywood Video. To tell you the truth, you should probably just look for that, even though its version of "Shock Asylum" does seem to be condensed (unfortunately).

Committed to Hilarity

[harpy-586-446497 · 10/10 · 19 January 2013]

Shock Asylum is a black and white twisted dark comedy short co-directed by Dan Dinello & Paul Dinello (Uncle & Nephew). The film follows patient Mr. Gaxton who arrives at Phrenia State Hospital for a routine psychological exam required by his corporate employer. A brief examination by a mad psychiatrist (Stephen Colbert) finds Mr. Gaxton to be "angry & uncooperative." It leads to series of therapies that includes shock therapy and some other surprises - all in the name of "trying to help you." Colbert and Dinello are hilarious - they made this before Strangers With Candy & the Colbert Report, while working in Chicago at 2nd City. The video is only available from shockproductions.com on a compilation that includes Beyond the Door (Colbert & Dinello) & Wheels of Fury (Dinello & Sedaris), both of which are also hilarious.