Review of Stonehearst Asylum (2014) by Kevin N — 06 Dec 2014

Having read the source material, I have to say that this is true to the idea but not in its execution. For example, the source work by Poe was intended as a comedy and was a commentary on asylum practices of the day. I think that if the source work were to be developed into a comedy along the lines of "Clue" it would be a wonderful rendition.

However, that said, this film represents what I find wrong about Hollywood interpretations of literary works. It throws in big names, tries to play a middle ground between mystery, comedy, and gothic darkness without successfully achieving any, and then throws a love story in the mix. I rolled my eyes at the last bit and frankly felt that the Asylum would have been better with Hannibal to spice things up.