In a futuristic insane asylum , the inpatient fight to stay at bottom because the outside cosmos has become so crazy . Welcome to the dark , Gilliam - esque world of Rania Ajami ’s Asylum Seekers .
“ What do you call a imp that has spring up neurosis ? ”
“ A human being . ”
Welcome to the asylum , where your doctor will be an tremendous face fungus , sporting a loudspeaker at its centre . Your nurse may cue you of the fell ballet instructor from Suspiria , and her assistants Mickey and Mini are always on hand . The twisting corridor head to all kinds of freaky chambers and freaky quarters , as The Beard says himself , “ Our architect was also an inmate . ” The only job is that the reality on the outside is now so crazy , that space on the inside is limited . Anyone hoping to remain will have to convince Doctor Beard and Nurse Milly that they ’re the real plenty . “ May the safe moonstruck win . ”
get into six hopefuls : First there ’s Dr. Raby who we meet at a dinner political party in the first scene . A former child prodigy and ‘ virginal nymphomaniac ’ , he ’s flip like crazy and ca n’t take his eyes off the cleavage of the pretty kindergarten teacher sat opposite . bombard by vacuous yak he snaps and screams , “ I do n’t wish modest talk ! ” Next up it ’s a “ Trophy Mouse - Wife ” called Maud , who has delusions of pregnancy and an obsession with hygiene . Paul piss an impressive entrance as a gun sum up survivalist family military personnel with a short fuse . Sexy but paranoid vamp Miranda swishes in with an air of anxious fashion , convinced that she ’s being look on by obscure cameras and that , “ they know about the cappuccino with the spoonful raise anti - clockwise . ” A techno - savvy teenage “ Lolita ” called Alice is in constant communicating with her internet acquaintance and want all the knowledge in the world for herself – she runs on electrical energy by the path . eventually it ’s hip - hop bonk homo Alan round off off our collection of misfits ; he ’s perhaps the most unusual of the bunch as he ’s convinced that he is in fact … ah , I ca n’t spoil it . rent ’s just say he wears an enormous pinkish fur coat and talks like a sassy , wise - cracking opprobrious chick .
aright from the word go the centering is on the Weird with Asylum Seekers . I remember read an interview with Richard Elfman about his film The Forbidden Zone , where he explain that the intention was not merely to showcase the talents of his melodious Friend , but to make a really bizarre movie that would become a cult hit . I felt a little bit betrayed reading that . Are n’t fad films made in earnest and ‘ notice ’ by the lover and then treasured ? I mean , can you make a cult cinema , or are they created by the fans ? It ’s an interesting question and one I kept asking myself during Asylum Seekers . Everything with this film is designed to be slightly loony ; the sets , costume , script , tv camera employment and music are all offbeat , colourful and surreal . There are obvious nod to Rocky Horror , Phantom of the Paradise , The Holy Mountain and many other ‘ cult ’ celluloid that Asylum Seekers seems to be inspired by .
gratefully , it all works surprisingly well . After a slightly shaky start in which the likely inmate are introduced with MTV style graphics and montage , they ’re sat in a waiting way for observation . Each character has unequalled quirks which we get a line about through their internal vox , and as Doctor Beard explains , he ’s not there to judge them , but he is there to diagnose them . Frau Nursey and her bickering helper brush into the elbow room and take them on a term of enlistment of the infirmary , where we foregather more unusual case including a seductive Voodoo lady who carry out more tests on the hapless lot .
The cinema skips along breezily with frequent musical numbers , fantasy readiness - piece , the occasional conflict or explosion and lot of funny dialogue to keep it run . While I was terrified it might take a turn for the self - lenient , or worse , ego - important , theater director Rania Ajami has kept in mind that she has an audience and that we need to be flirt with , which I was throughout . The last act takes a turn for the truly surreal and quite worrying as the yardbird begin to lose controller of their minds in a mannequin strewn hallway episode that would make Kubrick grin . A love life chronicle develops , a individual army is form , everyone take disco biscuit , Nurse Milly begins to reckon about retreat in that way we all do after a hard day , and finally , the dead on target identity operator of that crafty old Beard is revealed . Did I mention that the mental hospital literally operate on fruit , with a heavy accent on the want of banana tree ?
Doctor Beard : “ What ’s the situation ? Blackberry ? Redcurrant ? ”
Nurse Milly : “ Just bang-up , sir . ”
As much as I enjoyed Asylum Seekers it continue to be said that this is n’t a film for everyone . Fans of all the films I mentioned above will apprehend it ’s wallop out visuals , dizzy musical turn , colourful character and self - aware , tongue - in - buttock dialog ; but if you opt your films as serious theatrical role study or rotund dramatic event then arm yourself with a few looking glass of alcohol ( or whatever your penchant , this one looks 4.20 friendly ) before checking - in to this ward .
For fan of post - apocalyptical photographic film , though , I see this as a genuine treat and one infernal region of a rollercoaster ride . I ca n’t wait to see what the gifted Ajami get up to next – continuation ?
This Charles William Post by projectcyclopsoriginally appeared at Quiet Earth .
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