Check into the Sanitarium with Our Top 11 Insane Asylum Horror Films
Steve Barton
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A Clockwork Orange
What do you do with a bunch of ultra-violent youngsters who just won’t stop terrorizing the good people of London? You can put them in jail, but when they get out, they’ll probably be worse than when they went in. How about using them for experimentation? In this case our hero, Alex, is subjected to the Ludovico technique, where he is strapped to a theater seat and forced to watch countless hours of violent video while being exposed to nausea-inducing drugs. Two weeks of this treatment, and viola! The criminal is rehabilitated. Well, kinda.
Halloween
Yes, most of Halloween was shot in Haddonfield. But before The Shape made his way into town, there were some very intriguing moments in Smith’s Grove Sanitarium, located a mere 150 miles from the sleepy town of Haddonfield. In fact, this is where the film draws its strength and ability to build tension. Donald Pleasence’s excellent portrayal of Dr. Sam Loomis illustrates the backstory of Michael Myers in a way that has the viewer already scared of him before his adult form ever steps on screen. And indeed the escape scene with the wandering lunatics is one to be remembered!
Session 9
Session 9 is a dream movie for fans of great atmosphere. Set in the abandoned Danvers Lunatic Asylum, an asbestos removal team attempts to clean up the structure when strange, haunting things begin to happen. The beauty of this film is the masterful pace of the unraveling of the mystery. Tension builds well, and we are drawn deeper and deeper into just what happened at Danvers. As the story of patient Mary Hobbes and her multiple personalities becomes unveiled, the film gets progressively darker. Excellent vocal work provided by Jurian Hughes helps add to the already creepy film. Not a box office juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination, but it simply must be considered a success as every real horror fan is more than familiar (and usually impressed) by the sharp work in Session 9.
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