Why watch Asylum
A strong, reliable pick for tonight. Delivers exactly what you'd expect from the genre with solid execution. Pour a drink, dim the lights, and let the opening scene pull you in — this one earns your evening. Expect the kind of story that lingers after the credits roll, the kind you'll want to text a friend about before bed.
— The What2Watch desk · US
Where to watch
The story
A young psychiatrist applies for a job at a mental asylum and must pass a test by interviewing four patients. He must figure out which of the patients, is in fact, the doctor that he would be replacing if hired.
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Reviews & ratings
V
veridical5.5Dec 30, 2015
One of the better anthology films from England's other house of horror, Amicus. The framing story that leads into the final story with Herbert Lom and a really creepy (if a bit slow) robot doll is crazy and the basic idea I think holds up for a series. The other stories are a mixed bag. The first one is quite grisly, but it's unclear how the narrator knows all the details she tells. The second scores points for featu…Show more
John Chard7.0Oct 2, 2018
Creaky, funny and rather unsettling. The house of Amicus productions brings to us a horror anthology directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by "Psycho" scribe Robert Bloch. The four stories center around Robert Powell's job seeking Dr. Martin. Whom upon arriving at the classy, yet foreboding looking Asylum (New Lodge, Winkfield, Berkshire, England), is required to interview the four patients up on the top floor so…Show more
CinemaSerf6.0May 28, 2023
Robert Powell (never the strongest character actor) is a young psychiatrist tricked into interviewing four patients in an asylum in order to get a job. Each have a fairly fantastic tale to recount that might explain their current predicament - or, maybe - just maybe, their recollections are true!? My favourite of the four stories features Peter Cushing as a tailor tasked with making a suit from a particularly pliable…Show more
By the numbers
Rating
6.0/10
Runtime
1h 28m
Year
1972
Votes
193
Top cast
Peter Cushing
Smith
Patrick Magee
Dr. Lionel Rutherford
Herbert Lom
Byron
Britt Ekland
Lucy
Barry Morse
Bruno
Charlotte Rampling
Barbara
Barbara Parkins
Bonnie
Robert Powell
Dr. Martin
Sylvia Syms
Ruth
Richard Todd
Walter
James Villiers
George
Geoffrey Bayldon
Max Reynolds
Ann Firbank
Anna
Megs Jenkins
Nurse Higgins
John Franklyn-Robbins
Mr. Stebbins