Madhouse (2004 film)
| Madhouse | |
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| Directed by | William Butler |
| Written by | William Butler Aaron Strongoni |
| Starring |
Joshua Leonard Jordan Ladd Natasha Lyonne Lance Henriksen Mark Holton |
| Music by | Alberto Caruso |
| Cinematography | Viorel Sergovici |
| Distributed by | Lions Gate Entertainment |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Madhouse is a 2004 horror film, directed and co-written by William Butler and starring Joshua Leonard.
It was released directly to DVD on December 20, 2004 in the United Kingdom and on February 22, 2005 in the United States.
The film opens with a flashback depicting a young boy escaping from Cunningham Hall, a mental facility. The boy escapes through his window and manages to run into nearby woods, where two of the facility's staff pursue him. The boy escapes into an open area, when a car emerges from the darkness and runs him over, sending him tumbling into bushes. A man exits the car and looks on before returning to the car, assuming the young boy dead.
Clark Stevens (Joshua Leonard), a psychiatric intern, has come to Cunningham Hall Mental Facility to train before he can graduate to medical school. Inside, he meets some of the patients (with one convincingly pretending to be a doctor working there) and is welcomed by nurse Betty. Betty gives him keys to the facility and a walkie-talkie for communication, then takes him to the person in charge of the facility, Dr. Franks (Lance Henriksen). On the way however, they are suddenly interrupted by one of the patients named Carl, who claims that he "shouldn't be here" and patients aren't allowed to go home when they're mentally stable. Betty shrugs the accusations off and pushes Carl away.
In Dr. Franks' empty office, Clark examines his bookcase whilst waiting for Franks to arrive. He finds a book titled "Psychology and the Paranormal," which strikes his interest. He reads the first page, which implies connections between mental stability and the paranormal. Before he continues reading, Franks arrives. Clark and Frank talk about the facility and its patients, with Clark suggesting some improvements for the building, but Franks replies stern and bluntly. At this point, Dr. Morton and Dr. Douglas enter, wanting to meet Clark.
Clark now meets nurse Sara (Jordan Ladd) in the cafeteria, and she takes Clark on a tour around the facility. As they leave, mental patient Alice (Natasha Lyonne) sits watching a window, where she sees flashes of a demonic-looking boy. Sara continues the tour with Clark, but come across head nurse Hendricks, who talks to Sara privately. Whilst they're talking, Clark examines a flickering light when a mental patient claims "there's something up there." Sara returns and continues the tour, and finishes it off by taking him to the basement cells, where they hold the patients that are potential murderers and rapists - a place nicknamed "Madhouse."
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