[trebor8273]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

Based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story The Systen of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether, the film stars Jim Sturgess as a young doctor who arrives at Stonehearst Asylum to take up an apprentice position under Doctor Lamb (Ben Kingsley). However unbeknown to the young medical practitioner nothing is as it seems at the asylum.

Despite owning three volumes of Poe material both stories and poetry i don't recall ever reading Doctor Tarr. However whilst watching this film it is clearly a very influential tale having seemingly inspired Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Asylum, Shutter Island, Don't Look in the Basement and of course this delightful Gothic melodrama.

The film plays out as if a homage to Roger Corman's Poe films of the sixties. Director Brad Anderson has clearly been influenced by the likes of House of Usher in this interpretation of Poe. Set at the turn of the twentieth century the asylum is of course a hive of creepy corridors, but also instances like the asylum burning at the climax and the classic trait of the doomed love affair, a plot device used in all Gothic storytelling not just horror. The depiction of the asylum is naturally grim and harrowing but thankfully Anderson steers clear of depictions of graphic torture and gore, something Corman also steered wide of. It's not just Corman where the films influences lie. Val Lewton's brilliant 1946 masterpiece Bedlam also provided some inspiration especially with the photography which is at times outstanding.

Whilst the film is relatively blood free and quite sedately paced i still found it an absorbing and creepy, suspenseful watch due to the fact i find asylum methods of drugs and sedation quite horrific and was delighted to find out who was actually running Stonehearst and for the most part running it with a fair degree of success. It was only when Kingsley perfected the electro shock method as the way to go that my sympathies turned back to the facilities original staff locked deep in the dungeons below.

What initially made the film stand out to me was it's superb British and Irish cast - Jim Sturgess, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Kingsley, David Thewliss, Brendan Gleeson, Jason Flemying, Sinead Cusack and Michael Caine - needless to say the film is performed impeccably with every word uttered believably spoken.

It's no secret that my fave genre of the macabre is Gothic horror, also that i have a penchent for British films. To me Stonehearst Asylum succeeds as a fine example of both. From first minute to last i loved the film and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who also enjoys the Gothic greats of Roger Corman.

really like the sound of that one if not too sleepy will watch it, after I finish night of the wolf late phases, which I've just started but think i will really enjoy.