Cert 15
110 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, disturbing scenes
Quite often I am surprised by which movie releases cinema chains choose to screen.
Such was the case with Stonehearst Asylum which can boast a very impressive cast and a decent storyline.
It did appear in some Showcase outlets but there was such little confidence in it that it was released simultaneously on video on demand.
Mind you, some might argue that it will not be long before all films go the same way.
Brad Anderson's picture, which was originally called Eliza Graves, is an eerie thriller set in a mental asylum at the turn of the 20th century.
It stars Jim Sturgess as a student doctor from Oxford University who is looking to widen his experience in the study of the mind.
He is taken in by the asylum's chief (Ben Kingsley) but pretty soon all is not quite what it appears behind the high walls of Stonehearst.
Sturgess convinces as the naive student while Kingsley is nicely twisted as the power-crazed doctor.
Meanwhile, there are also impressive contributions from David Thewlis as a murderous henchman, Michael Caine, as an angry physician and Kate Beckinsale as an inmate who appears to be the most sane of them all.
Stonehearst Asylum, which is based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe, is a dark film on several levels and manages to send a few chills down the spine.
Actually, I think it would have been even more effective on the big screen but I didn't have chance to watch it there so settled for an itunes version.
I would say that if it were creepy on an ipad in the passenger seat of a car then it would certainly work well anywhere else.
Director Brad Anderson: We did a lot of research on Victorian asylums and had many visual references to keep it as real and believable as possible. Those places actually had weird rooms where they gave people hydrotherapy and put them in spinning chairs and that kind of stuff, which were thought of as legitimate ways to cure someone of mental illness.
Reasons to watch: It's what they would call an old-fashioned chiller
Reasons to avoid: Its storyline is a little predictable
Laughs: none
Jumps: two
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7/10