Good concept, poorly executed.

Absolutely the worst movie.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I don't know much about William Girdler (I've seen only one other film that he directed, "Three on a Meathook", which wasn't nearly as entertaining as this one), but it's obvious that he put a lot of heart into "Asylum of Satan". Remember the horror movie you wanted to make when you were a kid? Well, Girdler made it for you. The plot is thin: a beautiful concert pianist (Carla Borelli of "Days of Our Lives" and "Another World") suffers a minor breakdown and ends up at an old, scary-looking asylum in the country, where she hears sinister chanting and has a number of extremely vivid nightmares. What's going on at Dr. Jason Specter's Pleasant Hill Sanitarium? You'll have to find out for yourself! While most of the cast fails to impress, Charles Kissinger (as Dr. Specter) makes a good bargain-basement Vincent Price. Nick Jolley must have known even at the time that he was delivering a stupendously awful performance as the heroine's hot-tempered, houndstooth-clad boyfriend, and a couple of the bit players--Mimi Honce as another patient at the asylum and Jack Peterkin as the physician who reluctantly transfers Borelli to Kissinger's house of horrors for "special treatment"--recite their lines in the corny, mock-dignified cadences of daytime TV, suggesting that Girdler plucked them from the same talent pool as his female lead. (Honce sounds like she's doing a Correctol commercial, and Peterkin reveals, in unintentionally hilarious fashion, a gaping continuity error in the script: he says he warned Borelli a year earlier that she was overworked and, literally in the next breath, splutters that "she's only been under my care a short while!") To a great extent, "Asylum of Satan" works because of its imperfections, not in spite of them--and, believe it or not, is formidably eerie in spots. Watch this film a few times and you'll develop a soft spot in your heart (or your head) for it ;)

In the 70's there were many films about Satan ("The Exorcist, "The Omen") and many films about insane asylums ("One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest", "The Ninth Configuration"). It's no surprise then that someone would combine them. But it's a testament to the prescient genius of William Girdler--the man, the myth, the legend--that he did so in 1971! Of course, this film is completely inane, but so were all Girdler films, even the ones with big budgets and big stars.A woman has a nervous breakdown and wakes up in an asylum. She finds it strange (although not nearly as much as she ought to) that all of her fellow patients are dressed in white-hooded robes. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, who looks like "Meathead" from all in the family and is garbed in some of the worst 70's fashions ever witnessed, is trying to rescue her. After being turned away the first time, he comes back with a police detective and discovers that the asylum is abandoned and the doctor he spoke to, Dr. Spector, has been dead 20 years. He's very alarmed, however, when he finds out that the supposedly dead Dr. Spector "was picked up several times for worshiping Satan" (what's the police code on that--a "666"?). Several minor characters are killed for no other reason than to show off some ridiculous-looking special effects (paper bugs, rubber snakes, etc.). As in "Three on a Meathook" there's also a long romantic flashback interlude set to music (because horror fans, of course, are suckers for romantic interludes). Finally though, a guy in a VERY unconvincing Satan mask shows up and we learn that it's not good to offer Satan a non-virgin in a virgin sacrifice (he apparently hates getting beaten to the punch by a guy who looks like "Meathead").Obviously, this movie is pretty bad, but it almost sneaks into so-bad-it's-good territory. I'd definitely recommend it for fans of satanism, insane asylums, and William Girdler.

If you enjoy the 70's, bell-bottoms, fake beards, Creepy Crawlers, or shoving a red hot needle in your eye then this is your movie! I, on the other hand, simply enjoy making fun of it.It is simply bad. If it's not women being attacked by Creepy Crawlers and rubber snakes, it's a zombie who can't keep his Halloween teeth in his mouth. The lighting, sound, and sets are horrible (you can clearly see that Lucina's doctor and Dr. Specter's offices are the same friggin' room!) And the acting... oh the acting!Of all the "actors" in Asylum, one stands out above the rest. One man whose blandness out-shines all the others. He likes his clothes groovy, his cars mustard yellow, and his hair, side-burns and mustache big... really really big. This man is Nick Jolley. He alone is worth seeing this movie for. I'm not saying he's talented. Far from it. He's just so bad, he's funny.I would truly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys watching really bad films and cracking-wise a la MST3K. It hurts, but with a few well-placed jokes and a few good friends to share them with, it goes down much easier.

Everything you'd expect from a film with this title...nothing. I THINK I remember a woman in a weird house with a cafeteria with guys in white hooded robes staring at soft-boiled eggs on the tables... I remember the mustachioed guy and some painful-to-watch love scenes with said Village Person... I rented this years ago at a Blockbuster. I actually thought I was in for something remarkable- yes, I was duped by the box at a tender young age. I don't remember any sex, violence or nudity in this. Are there (*shudders*) multiple versions out there?? The copy I rented wasn't prerecorded, so I tacked on a little bit of a Disney animal movie on to the end there as a protest. If you have that tape, e-mail me. Look for the credit acknowledging the Church of Satan.