Movie Review - Stonehearst Asylum

Stonehearst Asylum

(2014)

Icon Productions / Sobini Films : Lionsgate / Millennium Entertainment

7.5 / 10

From a master of mystery & suspense, comes a journey into the dark depths of the mind...

...well not exactly.

This is based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, "The System Of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether."  The term here is "based".  Because they've tagged on Poe's name they've made it into the horror genre without making a horror film.  In fact. there's not much mystery or suspense in this movie either.

Don't get me wrong this is a solid story with a great cast of British actors, including good performances from Kate Beckinsale as Eliza Graves, Ben Kingsley as Silas Lamb, David Thewlis as Mickey Finn, Jason Flemyng as Swanwick, and Jim Sturgess as Edward Newgate.  Brad Anderson also does a good job of bringing out the performances of the cast and setting a decent atmosphere within the confines of the asylum, not as unsettling and mysterious as it should have been, though.

There was plenty of settings and scenes where Anderson could have created tension and suspense, which could have added an oppressive atmosphere to the asylum, making the film stronger and a little darker.  For me, this film was too light and required more sense of mystery, given the synopsis of the story - there could have been twist on twist. 

However, the main storyline was the blossoming love story.  This annoyed me as the stronger elements were pushed to the side and even ignored - with all that is lacking in this film, I believe it's more drama than anything else.

That said, the story was okay but it was the good acting, direction, and location, which kept my attention and my finger from hitting the stop button.

A good film but could have been so much more.

Worth a watch while cuddled up with your loved one on the sofa.  A watch once movie.