Asylum

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Asylum

PG

Released Oct 11, 1972

1h 28m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

12 Reviews

52%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) goes on a job interview at a British insane asylum, he learns that he must interview the asylum's inmates in order to be considered for the position. Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who is wheelchair-bound because of an assault by an inmate, tells Dr. Martin that he will consider him for the position if he can discover which of the inmates is Dr. Starr, a former head doctor at the asylum who suffered a nervous breakdown.

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Jeremiah Kipp

Slant Magazine

Asylum tries telling similar tales (twice) and comes up pathetically short in the scare department.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 19, 2006

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

If nothing else, a horror movie about cabbages could help Rosenberg work through his obsession and save a lot of analyst's fees.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 23, 2004

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Tim Brayton

Alternate Ending

Asylum's individual tales of madness and terror don't end up entirely live up to the pulpy brilliance of its framing narrative.

Rated: 3.5/5

Oct 29, 2020

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Robert Sullivan

Los Angeles Free Press

Robert (Psycho) Bloch's script is tightly and intelligently written, but at times he tends towards predictability.

Jan 3, 2020

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Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

One of Amicus's best

Jul 26, 2019

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

One of the best anthology films.

Rated: B+

Jun 15, 2014

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Garry A

This anthology horror flick is really good. The stories are creepy and weird. The music is a nice compliment.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

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Brenda M

As a young child, for some bizarre reason, I was allowed to stay up and watch this! Absolutely terrified me! Such fond memories...of course it doesn't hold up as well to some of the cinematic and story telling techniques of the 2020's but fabulously terrifying in 1972!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

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Horror fan 4

Another great anthology film from amicus productions. Peter Cushing is in all 7 movies. Tim Treakle

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/01/24

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Kalin D

Weird but wonderful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

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Audience Member

A great all star cast including Hammer Horror icon Peter Cushing star in this anthology of four stories told by inmates of an asylum. Written by Robert ‘Psycho' Bloch. The stories are all very entertaining and at times quite gruesome, especially one story featuring dismembered body parts which come back to life. Made by Hammer's rivals Amicus, they became well known for their anthology films in the 1970's. This is one of their best.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

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Audience Member

All right, so there is this shrink who wants to work in a madhouse. During the job interview he's told that the actual head of the asylum is upstairs and mingles with the inmates. To get the job he needs to talk to the patients and find out who the actual professor is. This is the envelope for several short stories. This is obviously a "could watch". You don't have to watch it, but if you do you will not regret it, especially if you like old-fashioned brit horror and/or anthology movies and/or Peter Cushing. 65% (rt 3,5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

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Synopsis

When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) goes on a job interview at a British insane asylum, he learns that he must interview the asylum's inmates in order to be considered for the position. Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who is wheelchair-bound because of an assault by an inmate, tells Dr. Martin that he will consider him for the position if he can discover which of the inmates is Dr. Starr, a former head doctor at the asylum who suffered a nervous breakdown.

Director: Roy Ward Baker
Producer: Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky
Screenwriter: Robert Bloch
Production Co: Amicus Productions, Harbour Productions Limited
Rating: PG
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 1972, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 6, 2016
Runtime: 1h 28m

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