Stonehearst Asylum (2014) is a psychological thriller based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether. Directed by Brad Anderson, the film stars Jim Sturgess as Dr. Edward Newgate, a recent medical school graduate who arrives at Stonehearst Asylum to work as an apprentice under Dr. Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley), the facility’s charismatic but unconventional superintendent. Newgate soon becomes enamored with a mysterious patient, Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale), and begins to suspect that all is not as it seems within the asylum’s walls.

As Newgate uncovers unsettling secrets, he learns that the real asylum staff have been overthrown by the patients, led by Dr. Lamb, who has taken over the facility. The plot thickens with dark twists as Newgate navigates moral dilemmas, grappling with questions of sanity, identity, and the ethics of psychiatric treatment.

Stonehearst Asylum combines elements of horror, suspense, and dark humor, with atmospheric visuals that bring a Gothic feel to the film. The cast, including Michael Caine as Dr. Benjamin Salt and David Thewlis as Mickey Finn, adds depth to this eerie exploration of madness and control. Known for its unpredictable twists, the film raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of mental illness and the blurred lines between sanity and insanity.