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Pre-Sex in the City Chick Takes On An 80's Slasher: Doom Asylum (1987) Review

If you’ve ever read any of my previous posts you’ll know my lack of appreciation of the comedy/horror genre.

Sure, if it’s actually funny (ie: Shaun of the Dead) I can get into it but those titles are few and far between.

The only ones I can enjoy to great lengths are usually 1980’s comedy/horrors and literally 1980 to 1989.

There was a severe lack of humor in most 90’s horror but it’s funny to actually be able to pin point and confine something to a decade like that.

Usually things spill over a bit into the next decade or came spilling in from a previous one.

That brings me to 1987’s Doom Asylum a movie that I have never seen until recently.

Once the mid 80’s hit most horror was dabbling into the comedy genre with equal enthuasm.

nce I was such an impresonable youth during this period, I can stomach and even love some of the comedy / horror out there from that period.

Movies like Slaughter High (1986), Girlfriend From Hell (1989) and Prom Night 3: The LastKiss (1990) all have special places in my heart and always will.

So viewing

Doom Asylum knowing it’s year of creation and it’s genre, I had an open mind and heart.

Unfortunately, my naivety may have got the best of me.



Story here is mple.

It starts with Mitch and Judy cruing down the road open champagne bottle in tow celebrating Judy’s success with her lawsuit.

I believe Mitch is her lawyer.

Judy’s judgement has given her millions and Mitch and Judy are about to start their lives together.

They seem genuinely in love in a 80’s, cocaine sort of way but still, love exists there.

Mitch, lacking attention to the road, plows straight into an oncoming vehicle killing Judy and apparently himself.

Cut to coroner’s office and they are in the process of hacking up Mitch for the autopsy.

Here’s where the steamrolling humor begins.

It starts like a freight train and never lets up.

For example, the coroner is eating a sub and wearing sunglasses while performing the autopsy.

Mitch wakes up and kills the coroners and heads out of the hospital.



10 Years Later…

Apparently, Kiki, Judy’s daughter, is to inherit her dead mother’s millions and is on a trip to collect the money along with a stereotypical bunch of friends.

There’s the jock that’s really indecive and wimpy.

Very un-jock like.

Kiki is a total flake who asks to call her boyfriend, the wimpy jock, Mom so she can feel better about things.

There’s the book worm played by one Kristen Davis pre-Sex In The City fame.

There’s also the stunned, baseball card collecting nerd and the token black guy.



When the gang arrives at this asylum, I’m not even sure why they go there, there’s an all-girl group in the middle of band practice.

Tina and the Dickholes or something.

I can’t remember to be honest.

They’re the worst I’ve ever heard and I know that’s intentional but still, really offenve.

Tina is really over the top.

Again, I know this was intentional as this whole movie is an obvious big joke but she was really grating and made me want to stop the flick.

Living in the asylum is Mitch who’s just been waiting to exact revenge.

His make-up is pretty laughable but whatever, it’s the 80’s.

Eventually, Mitch gets to buness and offs the black guy first.

Thank god.

He was too much.

Next is the keyboard, anarchist wannabe from the band.

The effects here were a bit laughable but was that intentional or not?

That’s the problem with some of these old horror comedies.

While some movies are self-aware like this one, just how aware were they?

It’s tough to take the piss out of these ones when they already know they suck.

I wouldn’t stand for them today but during that 10 years, they ruled.

For some reason the director thought it a good idea to randomly insert black and white scenes from another movie in there.

Not quick cuts either but full minute or two long scenes and then slam back into the regular movie.

Not sure what the point was there.

I’m guesng what was happening in the movie was reflected in what was happening with Mitch, the killer.

Either way, I had no idea what the movie was so unless you saw it before, you had to assume what was going on.

They weren’t mple scenes.

It was all too “inde” for my tastes.

Anyway, the movie lumbers on with kill after kill in the group until we are left with final girl, Kiki.

That’s as far as I’ll go here.

There's not much else to say.

Pretty standard slasher stuff here.

Wrap Up:

I’ll admit, although the humor was terrible for something that was intentional, this movie had that 80’s charm to it.

There’s isn’t a ngle scare or an ounce of suspense to be found but I still found it entertaining.

It’s one of those “so bad it’s good” movies yet it isn’t because it was aware it’s bad.

So I don’t know, if you have a love of all things horror related from the 80’s like I do then you’ll probably enjoy this one.

If you don’t love 80’s, low budget horror with groan inducing humor then please, skip it.

It’s not for you.

Direction:

4/10 – Richard Friedman has stuck pretty solidly to the horror genre for most of his career.

I haven’t seen a lot of his movies but I do own Born (2007) and am currently looking for Phantom of theMall: Eric’s Revenge (1989).

He could have done a lot more here to create terror, suspense or even better laughs.

I blame everything wrong with this movie squarely on him and the writers.

Effects: 2/10 – Pretty laughable.

Performances: 2/10 – I’ve never seen such a bunch of terrible actors in my life. I know they were being intentionally hammy, but they didn’t have to be so wooden about it.

Script: 2/10 – There was a script?

Pacing: 5/10 – It’s a terrible movie but at 70 or so minutes, she’s definitely brisk.

That was a saving grace.

They knew they didn’t have much so no need to drag it out.

Overall 3/10 – I know that score is low but there is a certain entertainment to it.

It’s terrible in the Don’t Go In The Woods (1981), Pieces (1982) vein but I still watch them frequently and love them unabashedly.

Alternate Artwork:

Not bad, thank you for share