Joe Mack
"Asylum of Fear" follows a team of paranormal investigators as they go on one last job to a haunted mental institution where children have reportedly gone missing. While searching for evidence of what is haunting the abandoned building, they stumble upon clues that reveal what made the former head doctor snap and go on a killing spree through the halls decades earlier. Unfortunately, the more they uncover, the more they struggle to make it out of the asylum alive because something inside wants that mystery to stay dead and buried.
A man disappears on the same day he makes his fortune in this re-imagining of a true story, which is still unsolved. In this version of the disappearance of Ambrose Small, the setting has been changed from Toronto, 1919, to Chicago of the same year. Gorgeous cinematography in mostly black and white underscores the racial tensions of the time, while intentional anachronisms and Calgary-raised director Daniel Nearing’s postmodern vision give the film an otherworldly quality. While the investigation of Small’s case is a central device, Nearing’s real objective is to expose the characters of the time and stoke the flames of mystery.
