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Lucina (Carla Borelli) wakes up at Pleasant Hills Hospital and has no idea why she is there. The mysterious Dr. Spector (Charles Kissinger) tells her that she has had a nervous breakdown and that she is not allowed to leave or have visitors until he cures her with his special brand of "treatment". She has no recollection of her breakdown and begins to experience some strange things. During dinner she is forced to sit at a table occupied by a blind girl, a mute man and a wheelchair-ridden woman. They are also there to be cured of their afflictions by Dr. Spector's special treatment. At the other dinner tables the patients are draped in white robes with hoods covering their faces. Lucina hears chanting coming from behind the walls and is chased down the hall by a man in a fright wig and bad makeup. Meanwhile, Lucina's fiance, Duncan (Nick Jolley), comes to visit her at the hospital and is told by Dr. Spector that she is not allowed visitors. Growing suspicious, Duncan does some research on Spector and discovers that the good doctor has a shady past and should be over 85 years old. Why then doesn't he look a day over 45? Duncan goes to the police and brings a detective over to Pleasant Hill. They find the place deserted as if it wasn't lived in for years. Duncan finds the charred head of the mute man , so he and the detective join forces to find Lucina. It turns out that Dr. Spector is a devil worshipper and plans on sacrificing Lucina to Satan in order to sustain his eternal life. Can Duncan and the detective save Lucina's life? They shouldn't have bothered. This Kentucky lensed film was the directorial debut of the late William Girdler, a quirky director who would later find his mark with such films as THE ZEBRA KILLER (1973), SHEBA BABY (1975), PROJECT: KILL (1975), GRIZZLY (1976), DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) and THE MANITOU (1978) before losing his life in a helicopter crash while scouting locations for a film. This is the only Girdler film I do not care for due to the slow pacing and cheap makeup effects. The appearance of Satan in the final reel is laughable and ruins the overall effect of the film. The acting is generally good and the late Charles Kissinger (who had appeared in most of Girdler's films) essays three roles in ASYLUM: Dr. Spector; the aged caretaker of the deserted hospital; and Martine, the female head nurse of the hospital! Kissinger was also the Fearless Fearmonger, a local horror host on TV in Louisville, Kentucky for many years. Girdler followed ASYLUM with THREE ON A MEATHOOK (1972), an atmospheric chiller based on the life of mass murderer Ed Gein and ABBY (1974), a decent black version of THE EXORCIST. Skip ASYLUM and rent these instead. You can thank me later. A United Home Video Release. Also available on DVD from Something Weird Video. Rated R. { text from critcononline.com }