Stonehearst Asylum

 STONEHEARST ASYLUM

Director : Brad Anderson
Year : 2015
Genre : Thriller
Rating : ***

 

Based on the little-known short story 'The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether' by horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe, 'Stonehearst Asylum' is a creaky but immensely fun gothic thriller from 'The Machinist' and 'Transsiberian' director Brad Anderson. Starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Kingsley, Jason Flemyng, David Thewlis and Michael Caine, 'Stonehearst Asylum' tells the story of an apprentice doctor who enters the titular mental asylum to free a woman he believes doesn't deserve to be there and quickly discovers that all is not quite right with the patients. Or the staff. Andersons overly resistant direction keeps the chills to a minimum but the set design by Alain Bainée and the cinematography by Tom Yatsko is suitably creepy, the sound effects and John Debneys scoring help to add to the movies mysterious and foreboding aura while the performances from the cast, most notably David Thewlis and Ben Kingsley are wonderfully camp and over-dramatic.