Stonehearst Asylum

I really like this type of movies. Although I was strongly reminded of Shutter Island the entire time, I didn’t really mind this at all. They don’t make many films like this. Stonehearst Asylum has a great atmosphere, great actors (mainly Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine) and two pretty decent plot twists that will keep you awake at night and are a nice fit into the complete puzzle. What more could I want from such a film? (06/02/2015)

Not an adaptation of “The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether", no. At least not really. In fact, the short story serves as a springboard for the film, as a foundation that, let's face it, is just asking for a good time. And the delightfulness was successful - the screenwriter managed to follow Poe exactly in his style, which made me very happy. Plus, the cast (one heck of a cast, only Michael Caine didn't have much space much again) and the truly weird atmosphere (a midnight ball to the accompaniment of Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre!) make Stonehearst Asylum a pleasantly uncomfortable spectacle, though probably a one-off.__P.S. I hadn't seen such an ugly picture on an original DVD in a long time - much of the film takes place in dark rooms or basements lit only by candles or kerosene lamps, and it looked very ugly indeed on screen. Black was more blue, orange was red... And so on. (16/01/2016)

An interesting cast and interesting source material, but ultimately nothing to hold my attention. The film is beautifully stylized, and the sanatorium is wonderfully eerie, but even so, Stonehearst Asylum doesn't quite fall into the category of films that are truly worth seeing. I found it incredibly tedious. (27/10/2014)

If you're going to make a film about a madhouse with a weird mystery, then a) make the screenwriter supercharge the plot with functional characters, or b) tell the producers that the main character will pull money out of wallets, but that her insistent harassment in the plot will kill credibility in addition to compactness; I consider the final point, when the smarter third of the audience started laughing in relief, as Anderson's raised middle finger (to everyone). 3 ½. (27/07/2015)

I've been looking forward to Stonehearst Asylum since the first trailer and I'm even more surprised at how great it is. We can count the number of insane asylum thrillers on one hand, and for that reason alone we have to appreciate this very atmospheric, superbly directed and acted thriller, which throws so many twists and turns at the audience in the last half hour that I slowly started to squint with joy. A truly awesome cinematic experience with an amazing cast and one of the best final twists in recent times, it put a smile on my face. 80% (29/10/2014)