Sanitarium (2013)

After the wide variety of horror flicks I was able to digest while the kids were gone, decided to r take a break for a night.  Hell, after anything by Ulli Lommell, anyone deserves a break. To get back into the swing I decided to run to the video store for my next selection, the 2013 independent click Sanitarium.

Plot/  three stories of the mentally ill: 1. Artist begins taking orders from the dolls he exhibits. 2. Eight year old boy, cruel father, concerned teacher and hallucinatory monster come into conflict. 3. Professor convinced of the Mayan apocalypse prophesies, builds bomb shelter to save his family.

When i saw this one at Family Video, i had no idea what to expect. Some of these anthologies can be fun, but others not as much. This one was the typical format, three stories sandwiching a theme or character, and it worked rather well. Not really a horror flick this was more a case study on insanity and how these characters got to the sanitarium. The acting was solid, the cinematography decent, the atmosphere worked and the storylines were interesting, with the first installment being the best. Yes this one did lack blood, gore and violence, but that did not drag it down. If anything, the movie felt disconnected as the characters were not connected by anything other than the doctor and sanitarium, something that slowed the pace a little too much. In the end, this was one of the better low budget anthologies to come out in some time and pacing issues aside, was entertaining. Sure, it m may not m equal its potential, but it is worth watching. Give it a shoot the are worse choices out there.