MADHOUSE is a piece of trash horror film that seems to want to be the next GOTHIKA, although it's so cheaply made and poorly-shot that it's a bit of a chore to sit through. It's also one of those films made in the early 2000s that looks incredibly dated for modern audiences, amazing really when it's only 12 years old as of my viewing. Compare it to similar produce from the 1990s or even 1980s and you can instantly see how dated it looks.

The film features BLAIR WITCH PROJECT actor Joshua Leonard in the lead role and you quickly realise why he wasn't in many films (clue: he isn't very good). He plays a young intern who arrives at a creepy old mental institute and soon becomes involved in the usual run of weird goings-on amid the staff and patients. The patients do their best to be weird and disturbing but when one of them is a Divine rip-off they just come across as quite sad. Supporting cast members include one-time popular starlet Jordan Ladd (CABIN FEVER) and old-timer Lance Henriksen stuck in the clichéd role of the institute director. The worst thing by far about MADHOUSE is the horribly cheap direction from a guy who has made GINGERDEAD MAN 3: Saturday NIGHT CLEAVER. I think that says it all.

This is an excellent ghost/horror mystery that takes place in a mental hospital. Joshua Leonard is a young intern who comes to work at the hospital. He quickly sees that things are not quite right. As he is investigating the strange going-ons he starts to see the ghost of a young boy. He is given conflicting stories. The patients are considered to be very bad off, although some seem very sane.

I loved the visual effects, both in the beginning and later on during the tale. Excellent use of shadows and lighting coupled with a good soundtrack. The acting was good. The plot tells you something is wrong and there must be a twist.

Brief sex, nudity and f-bomb.

The psychiatric intern Clark Stevens (Joshua Leonanrd) comes to Cunningham Hall, a mental healthy facility administrated by Dr. Franks (Lance Henriksen),for a training period before his graduation in medical college. He gets close to the resident Sara (Jordan Ladd) and to Ben London, a dangerous patient lodged in cell 44 in the basement of the clinic. Clark becomes intrigued with a boy, who seems to be a ghost, and finds that Dr. Franks does not use real medication in the patients. A further investigation shows hidden dark secrets in the clinic.

"Madhouse" is an unknown low-budget movie with a surprisingly great gory story. The direction is sharp, the screenplay is very well tied up and in the end it is a worthwhile horror movie, highly recommended to be discovered by fans of this genre. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Casa dos Horrores" ("The House of the Horrors")