Asylum Blackout (2011)

I like to go to used movie stores. It's cheaper than the major box-chain retailers, and these stores have a wider and more diverse selection from people trading in their old movies they don't want anymore. Plus it's easier for me to take a short ten-minute drive, browse around aimlessly, and then pay a few bucks plus tax for a movie that catches my eye. No screwing around with Amazon and the shipping that costs more than the DVD itself.

Such was the case with "Asylum Blackout", a movie released by the IFC Midnight line that, thanks to the really neat cover, I noticed immediately. A cheesy, direct-to-video release. A cast of unknowns. Why the hell not, I thought. Let's do this. Rock and roll.

George, Max, and Ricky are what I call the Three Musketeers of Seattle. They're best buddies, are in a rock band together, and for their day job work in the cafeteria of a mental institution. They prepare and serve grub to the inmates. But things are slowly starting to unravel. Ricky lazily misses an appointment for studio recording time, and it's implied that this isn't the first time, either. Grungy and heartfelt good guy George is getting ever closer to his extremely beautiful girlfriend, which alienates him from his bandmates. Bitter and sardonic Max, truly believing their band will fall apart in hours, just gets more and more of a pissy attitude and lashes out at all those around him as time goes on between the trio.

But horror replaces drama and group dynamics when a storm knocks out power to the asylum. Sound familiar, gang? With the electricity shot, the electronic locks to the inmate's cells disengage, and the main exits become dead ends. To complicate things, crazed mental patient Harry Green, unbeknownst to the staff, has convinced the other prisoners to not take their medications. The other guards are killed in a separate wing of the institution, while the short-order cooks are at first conscripted by head guard J.B. to return the less violent inmates to their minimum-security cells.

Mayhem ensues. Brawls in a hallway! A buck naked inmate running all over the place! Totally random scenes like this brilliant gem. Long story short, a loony bin quickly turns into a charnel house. It gets nasty quick.

I really dig "Asylum Blackout", people. I enjoy realistic, ordinary characters. And at its core, that's what this movie is. The acting is decent. George and his bandmates are just like people you'd see hanging out in Massillon, Canton, and Akron hotspots. Plus the George character, even with his sucky job and everything falling apart around him, tries to be a good guy. Before the crisis, he takes the time to make the food taste good for the inmates, and even tells them (albeit through protective glass) to hang in there, or have a good day. George is probably one of the most sympathetic protagonists I've seen in recent horror. You really root for the guy.

I also love movies where characters are forced to sink or swim. And there's plenty of that here. George and crew at first do what any reasonable people would do - get to a phone, call 911, barricade themselves somewhere safe, and wait for help. But with tons of crazies afoot, this isn't happening. George is forced to kick some serious ass at one point, and towards the end of the movie there's one of the greatest OWNINGS in a dark hallway I have ever seen. But I won't spoil that, or the messed-up ending, for you.

If you see "Asylum Blackout" in a bargain bin or a used-movie store like I did, do the right thing and give it a happy home if you're a horror fan.

And watch out for people that you see spit out blue pills during lunch hours...