Top 10 Best Asylum Movies
5. Unsane
One of the more recent asylum movies out there, Unsane remained relatively unnoticed among the slew of films hitting theaters in 2018. However, it’s one of the most intense thrillers I’ve seen in years. Claire Foy plays a woman named Sawyer terrorized by a stalker who drives her into a mental hospital that is horrifying. More interested in the state funding they’re receiving from the states than in helping their patients, Sawyer tumbles down a bureaucratic rabbit hole as the institute continues to gaslight her. To make matters worse, something as trivial as being locked away in an asylum isn’t going to deter her stalker from getting to her and she’s thrown into a living nightmare. It’s not the most flattering look at mental institutions, but it’s one of Steven Soderbergh’s finer films and probably the best movie ever shot on an iPhone 7.
4. Shutter Island
Who would have thought that mental institutions weren’t exactly the most therapeutic places back in the 1950’s? Shutter Island follows a U.S. Marshal (played by Leonardo DiCaprio); who travels to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island to investigate a missing patient. What follows is a twisted psychological thriller that I’m not going to ruin for you, but trust me when I say that this is a far cry from director Martin Scorsese’s typical films but is definitely just as good. It features a stellar cast including the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsly, and Michelle Williams who are all at the top of their game. Shutter Island is an incredibly dark movie that explores the horrific conditions many used to face in psychiatric hospitals, but that’s exactly what makes it one of the best asylum movies I’ve ever seen.
3. 12 Monkeys
12 Monkeys is one of those weird asylum movies that asks the question, “What if they’re not crazy?” In it, a time traveler from the future arrives in “modern times” hoping to stop a terrorist from unleashing a deadly virus that decimates the world. The only thing he knows is that his target is currently in a mental institution. Of course, time traveling isn’t a perfect science (at least according to this movie) and he finds himself constantly missing the moments he’s supposed to arrive in by, well, years. It’s enough to drive anyone crazy and with a story like his, it’s no wonder he soon finds himself committed. Luckily, the man he just might be looking for might be in the same hospital he’s in. 12 Monkeys is a cult classic that managed to inspire a pretty successful series as well. So, if you haven’t seen it, make sure you check it out.
2. The Silence of the Lambs
A lot of the characters we’ve seen on this list of asylum movies are more or less harmless. However, not all those who end up in mental institutions are there to “recover.” Enter Hannibal Lector, one of the most terrifying horror movie icons of all time who happens to reside in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Lector isn’t there because he suffered a breakdown and needed help healing his mind. In fact, he used to be a psychiatrist who was supposedly helping those who needed it most. Of course, he hardly subscribes to the “do no harm” part of the Hippocratic oath. While most of the movie might not take place in the hospital, a huge portion of The Silence of the Lambs revolves around the visits Clarice pays to Lector in his humble abode.
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Not everyone in a mental hospital has a good heart. Randle McMurphy might be the hero of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but only in so much as a statutory rapist can be a hero. Of course, when it comes to the place he ends up, he might just be one of the good guys. The hospital he’s placed in is run by one of the most spine chilling villains in all of movie history, Nurse Ratched. A woman who sees her self as the one responsible for punishing and tormenting those sent there to heal. She finds herself with quite the adversary though in the rebellious McMurphy and the two butt heads even as she subjects him to the worst “treatments” she can. This is far from a feel-good film, but it’s one of the best asylum movies I’ve ever seen.
There are tons and tons of other asylum movies out there, and a lot of them are pretty damn good. The 10 that made this list though are the best of the best I’ve seen over the years go. Of course, I haven’t seen them all and if there’s a movie you think should have made the list make sure you leave a comment below to let me know. As always, I’ll be updating this list from time to time as new movies hit theaters. So, make sure you check back from time to time to see how the rankings might have changed.