Set mostly in 1964 (though veering into the present and even to the holocaust at times) at a decrepit insane asylum run by a repressed nun (an AMAZING performance by Jessica Lange), it follows the disturbing and metaphysical plights of several inmates.
Asylum includes Nazi doctors, aliens, demonic possession, serial killers, evil children, axe murderers, roving mutants, nymphomaniacs, an an elegant angel of death. It's kind of a lot to take. But somehow it mainly works. It is visually dark and monotonous and always creepy. The acting is for the most part very good, with a few standout performances (Sarah Paulson as the lesbian journalist wrongfully institutionalized, for example). And the plot lines are engaging, even as they slip into chaos and become a bit ridiculous. Still, given all that was thrown into this concoction, I think it managed to be a successfully tense and suspenseful exploration of horror motifs.
Favorite part: the possessed nun.
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