Asylum of Darkness

Unrated

11/7/20121h 57m

Premiere Release (US)

~ There Is Evil Inside Us All ~

Overview:

Mental patient Dwight Stroud escapes from an asylum and is mistaken for a motivational speaker named Artemis Finch who has money and women at his command. Dwight accepts the craziness of the situation, but as strange faceless figures begin to hunt him down, Dwight must deal with an escalating spiral of supernatural danger and hallucinations.

Director:

Jay Woelfel

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

escape
supernatural
madness
escaped mental patient

Cast

Nick Baldasare

~ as ~

Dwight Stroud

Amanda Howell

~ as ~

Ellen

Richard Hatch

~ as ~

Dr. Shaker

Tim Thomerson

~ as ~

Detective Kesler

Tiffany Shepis

~ as ~

Hope

Frank Jones Jr.

~ as ~

Van Gogh

John Hawk

~ as ~

Artemis Finch

Patricia McBride

~ as ~

Jackie

Scott Summitt

~ as ~

Oscar Werner

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Wuchak
Written 3 month(s) ago
5
It’s, um, creative

A murderer (Nick Baldasare), who has been assigned to a mental institution after being declared “not guilty by reason of insanity,” escapes the state hospital and assumes the identity of another man. Curiously, the man’s wife accepts him (Amanda Howell) and the hallucinatory story proceeds from there.

“Asylum of Darkness” (2013) was originally called “Season of Darkness” when it was screened at a festival, but the distributor adjusted the title for its 2017 release. It was written, scored and directed by Jay Woelfel for $200,000, shot in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Despite the micro-budget, it’s artistic in its depiction of reality from the delusional mind of an insane person. The old school practical effects are mostly effective, but sometimes cartoonish and goofy.

It's technically superior to Woelfel’s spare-change budgeted “Ghost Story” (2004); and the story is more compelling compared to his “Closed for the Season” (2010). Unfortunately, it’s overlong and Tiffany Shepis’ role is too small; she should’ve played the wife IMHO.

However, if you like artsy indies and are patient, you’ll probably find something to appreciate. It's too puzzling for my tastes, but at least it’s different.

Richard Hatch and Tim Thomerson appear in peripheral roles. It runs 1 hours, 57 minutes.

GRADE: C