InjunNose I don't know much about William Girdler (I've seen only one other film that he directed, "Three on a Meathook", which wasn't nearly as entertaining as this one), but it's obvious that he put a lot of heart into "Asylum of Satan". Remember the horror movie you wanted to make when you were a kid? Well, Girdler made it for you. The plot is thin: a beautiful concert pianist (Carla Borelli of "Days of Our Lives" and "Another World") suffers a minor breakdown and ends up at an old, scary-looking asylum in the country, where she hears sinister chanting and has a number of extremely vivid nightmares. What's going on at Dr. Jason Specter's Pleasant Hill Sanitarium? You'll have to find out for yourself! While most of the cast fails to impress, Charles Kissinger (as Dr. Specter) makes a good bargain-basement Vincent Price. Nick Jolley must have known even at the time that he was delivering a stupendously awful performance as the heroine's hot-tempered, houndstooth-clad boyfriend, and a couple of the bit players--Mimi Honce as another patient at the asylum and Jack Peterkin as the physician who reluctantly transfers Borelli to Kissinger's house of horrors for "special treatment"--recite their lines in the corny, mock-dignified cadences of daytime TV, suggesting that Girdler plucked them from the same talent pool as his female lead. (Honce sounds like she's doing a Correctol commercial, and Peterkin reveals, in unintentionally hilarious fashion, a gaping continuity error in the script: he says he warned Borelli a year earlier that she was overworked and, literally in the next breath, splutters that "she's only been under my care a short while!") To a great extent, "Asylum of Satan" works because of its imperfections, not in spite of them--and, believe it or not, is formidably eerie in spots. Watch this film a few times and you'll develop a soft spot in your heart (or your head) for it ;)

filmwolf-2 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...) FilmWolf

LordBelial That's about all that can be said about this movie... easily one of the worst I've ever seen, and it was completely undeserving of the NC-17 rating it was given (at least the copy i rented)... I've (seriously) seen worse PG movies, with regards to both violence and sex/nudity. The soundtrack was atrocious, the wardrobe was even worse (yes, I know it was low-budget, but they could have done a LITTLE better...), it was just a really really bad movie. I wouldn't recommend spending the 80 minutes it takes to watch it, even if you are able to see it for free... PLEASE don't spend money to rent/buy, believe me, it's not worth it.

ChuckD-3 ..it would have won 10 oscars compared to this turkey! I have only one thing to say about this film. BAD!!!