Asylum (R-2008)

If you are considering picking up this horror movie, take my advice: pick up "A Nightmare on Elm Street" instead. What? You say you saw that one already? Watch it again. "Asylum" is basically a pale imitation of Wes Craven's classic. On a University campus, there is a former mental asylum which has been converted into dorm space. As the story goes, the asylum used to be run by Dr. Burke (Mark Rolston). Dr. Burke was around in the 1930s and specialized in treating troubled children. Of course, his methods are barbaric and somewhat sadistic. It involves selective lobotomy using large pins pushed through the eye socket. The patients eventually revolt and kill him. Fast forward to modern times when a group of college kids learn of this legend and decide to explore the "unfinished" portion of the asylum/dorm. They soon find out that Dr. Burke is "still around" and can get into your thoughts, eventually killing you. (Gee, doesn't sound too much like Freddy Krueger, does it??). Dr. Burke even gets his own awful catchphrase: "Give me your suffering.". So, take my advice: Skip this and pop in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" instead.

Grade: D