Asylum (2008)
Studio: Synapse
Theatrical Release: April 16, 2008 (France)
DVD Release: November 13, 2012
Director: Olivier Chateau
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
What's that old saying? Don't judge a book by its cover? Does that apply to DVD's as well? Just from looking at the cover of this movie and knowing it's some low budget gangster film, my expectations were pretty low. The gangster film has really run its course. I think the 1990's really killed the gangster film for me after countless Pulp Fiction wannabees and rip offs. However, the fact that Synapse released the DVD and that it was a French film, it peaked my interest a little. Maybe Asylum could be different than most recent American gangster films?
This black and white, shot on video thriller centers on Jack, a small time hood who desires to move up in the gangster world. Jack spends most of his time hustling rich men over a game of Russian Roulette that happens to be fixed where Jack and his friend always win. When a big time gangster captures Jack and his friend for stealing a large sum of money from him, he demands Jack to kill a high profile gangster for him, thus calling it square. Jack agrees but sets the gangster up by giving him to his arch rival, another high profile gangster. All of this excitement happens within the first 30 minutes of the film.
Jack is now employed by this new mob boss who assigns Jack an assistant in collecting. The assistant is the mob boss's nephew and when the assistant accidentally shoots himself in the head with Jack's gun, Jack knows he's a dead man and tries to escape. Unfortunately, he is caught and brought out into the woods by two of the gangster's henchmen for what looks like his execution.
But Jack isn't killed. He is chained up to a tree and is forced to stay there, starve to death and be eaten by bugs. The gangster owns this land and no one can hear Jack's screams. Even the key for the lock that he is chained to is a few yards away, taunting Jack. What happens for the rest of the film is Jack's slow demise and desperate attempt to free himself.
So what starts out as a gangster film turns into a psychological thriller, and an interesting one at that. The film seemed like a very loose blend of Miller's Crossing meets Misery. Director Chateau keeps the pace moving quickly and thanks to an excellent cast, Asylum is an interesting little film. I could have done without the crummy sepia color look with grainy quality. That got on my nerves at times and some of the editing was annoying but aside from those small complaints, Asylum works as both a drama and as a thriller. It's as if the film is split into two parts and both sections provide some exciting plot twists.
The DVD, as I said, is suppose to look like crap which I guess I don't understand why. However, there is an interesting making of featurette and a great short film called "Homer" by the director which is essentially a day in the life of a rabbit who is able to break free from his cage. After watching both Homer and Asylum, its apparent that director Olivier Chateau has some talent and I look forward to seeing more films by this Frenchman.
[Rating: 3.5]
Theatrical Release: April 16, 2008 (France)
DVD Release: November 13, 2012
Director: Olivier Chateau
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
What's that old saying? Don't judge a book by its cover? Does that apply to DVD's as well? Just from looking at the cover of this movie and knowing it's some low budget gangster film, my expectations were pretty low. The gangster film has really run its course. I think the 1990's really killed the gangster film for me after countless Pulp Fiction wannabees and rip offs. However, the fact that Synapse released the DVD and that it was a French film, it peaked my interest a little. Maybe Asylum could be different than most recent American gangster films?
This black and white, shot on video thriller centers on Jack, a small time hood who desires to move up in the gangster world. Jack spends most of his time hustling rich men over a game of Russian Roulette that happens to be fixed where Jack and his friend always win. When a big time gangster captures Jack and his friend for stealing a large sum of money from him, he demands Jack to kill a high profile gangster for him, thus calling it square. Jack agrees but sets the gangster up by giving him to his arch rival, another high profile gangster. All of this excitement happens within the first 30 minutes of the film.
Jack is now employed by this new mob boss who assigns Jack an assistant in collecting. The assistant is the mob boss's nephew and when the assistant accidentally shoots himself in the head with Jack's gun, Jack knows he's a dead man and tries to escape. Unfortunately, he is caught and brought out into the woods by two of the gangster's henchmen for what looks like his execution.
But Jack isn't killed. He is chained up to a tree and is forced to stay there, starve to death and be eaten by bugs. The gangster owns this land and no one can hear Jack's screams. Even the key for the lock that he is chained to is a few yards away, taunting Jack. What happens for the rest of the film is Jack's slow demise and desperate attempt to free himself.
So what starts out as a gangster film turns into a psychological thriller, and an interesting one at that. The film seemed like a very loose blend of Miller's Crossing meets Misery. Director Chateau keeps the pace moving quickly and thanks to an excellent cast, Asylum is an interesting little film. I could have done without the crummy sepia color look with grainy quality. That got on my nerves at times and some of the editing was annoying but aside from those small complaints, Asylum works as both a drama and as a thriller. It's as if the film is split into two parts and both sections provide some exciting plot twists.
The DVD, as I said, is suppose to look like crap which I guess I don't understand why. However, there is an interesting making of featurette and a great short film called "Homer" by the director which is essentially a day in the life of a rabbit who is able to break free from his cage. After watching both Homer and Asylum, its apparent that director Olivier Chateau has some talent and I look forward to seeing more films by this Frenchman.
[Rating: 3.5]
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