Sanitarium

This isn't your average horror anthology by any regard and the unique way of this film's storytelling may put off many viewer's that are expecting a V/H/S or Tales From the Crypt type of film. Instead what we get is a look into the minds of three different mentally ill patients and the horror that is real to them in "their" world. Since there are three installments, I'll outline them individually, although there is one constant throughout the film and that is Malcolm McDowell as Dr.Stenson, who gives a bit of a narrative connecting one story to the next.

The first segment,"Figuratively Speaking" stars John Glover, who convincingly plays the fragile artist Gustav, whose connection to his creations(which pays a nice homage to the Puppet Master franchise) & some foul play by a trusted friend, lead to his ultimate downfall.

Segment two, "Monsters are real" involves a young boy named Steven(David Mazouz "Touch") who has the unfortunate case of Catatonic Schizophrenia. At the young age of eight his life crumbles around him as his visions of a beast like stalker begin to plague him. His teacher Ms. Lorne, played by the gorgeous Lacey Chabert, tries to render help to Steven when she suspects abuse from home. All of which leads to quite a mysterious conclusion, blurring the lines between imagination & reality.

The third segment, "Up to the Last Man" stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Professor James Silo, a husband & father who becomes deeply obsessed with ancient Mayan prophecies telling of an upcoming apocalypse. As his grip on reality fades he begins to design the mother of all bomb shelters and like in the second segment, insanity & reality become intertwined.

This is a film about perspective, it's purpose isn't to terrify or deliver buckets of blood, but to bring to light the views from inside the minds of these three random, but quite unique patients all remanded to the same asylum. It walks us through the horror's that the exist only in their minds, well, mostly only in their minds, as the viewer is left decide what in fact is real. The direction is executed perfectly in each story by directors Bryan Ortiz, Bryan Ramirez and Kerry Valderrama. Equally noteworthy was the score, giving each piece it's own specific atmosphere & identity. If this sounds interesting then by all means give it a go. It's no masterpiece, but it made for an original & intriguing watch.

OK, Malcolm McDowell is just here as a "name", he's merely the narrator. Moreover, his comments are not particularly welcome, particularly after the second scenario.

That aside, this is a very good horror movie, a trilogy of tales in classic fashion. The cast is fine, the photography is excellent, the soundtrack lush and properly climatic. It's as good as any other horror/macabre movie out there right now, certainly on a par with "The Purge" for example, but fewer than five votes here? Zero critical reviews on R/T or linked here? I don't understand that at all, my first instinct was that this must be some crapola indie film, and I'd expect maybe two 9 or 10 star reviews comparing it to the best of Hitchcock (by people who had never posted any other reviews until they were hired to work on the film). But it's not, it's a well made, mainstream film with real actors and professional craftsmanship. By all means check it out.

I had no idea this was an anthology, before I watched it, but it makes sense. It's also very obvious, after the first segment is over 30 minutes into the movie. Although I was wondering right before that end, where the "movie" was going to go ... the story of seemed over, so I was kind of intrigued. Turns out that particular story was over.

The segments themselves are pretty decent, with a lot of star power behind them (or at least actors some might recognize). Not sure if Lou Diamond Phillips is on anyones radar the past decade or so. It's nice seeing him and other faces though and they're doing a good job, which is needed to keep this from falling apart. Apart from the main location (it's in the title), you could make another connection between the segments ... it's a bit of a "conspiracy" so to speak, but if you connect the dots ...

Some horror films purposefully leave/cut out of scenes in order for your mind to fill in the blanks, perhaps creating more suspense. Some films are very in your face and over the top, leaving nothing to the imagination and often challenging us to continue watching. This movie falls under the first category. Incidentally, I don't think that was the intention of this movie as much as a latent function due to it having no subsistence.

When I hear 'Horror Anthology' I suppose I secretly hope for something along the lines of 'Creepshow' or 'Tales From The Darkside: The Movie.' But this baddie is not even in the same ballpark.

It has so much going for it in the production value, title & setting and utilizes about 5-10% of what was available. The three stories do not have any connection (not that they need to) other than Malcom Mcdowell occasionally popping up as "The Doctor" to narrate or clarify parts of the three boring stories.

This movie has zero gore, and extremely sparing use of blood. I almost wonder if they were going for a PG-13 release because other than a couple female breasts, there's nothing here to justify an R rating. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that EVERY horror movie needs to have heads rolling and blood splashing everywhere; but in the case of a boring movie like this, it would have helped. I cannot recommend this to anyone who is a horror fan.

The direction/writing was really good but the acting was even better. If I had any complaint it would have to be about the production design which seemed to be pretty basic in some spots, but it was a minor issue. But again, the acting was great and the direction were really good. Contrary to the other reviews, this is NOT a PG-13 movie, it is R scary despite the lack of blood. Remember these stories (except for one) occur in the minds of the people and therefore does not NEED a lot of blood. The scariness is in the old-fashioned suspense and in trying to figure out what is real or not and in good old-fashioned acting. I hope they make another one someday. But I doubt it. It certainly showed the acting talents of seldom used actors like Lacey Chabert and Lou Diamond Philips.