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Although many films have been set in asylum environments, few have chosen to film in actual mental health facilities. This list features productions that prioritized authentic locations, even if their portrayals of life and treatment within these institutions were not always accurate.
The following movies, both famous and obscure, dedicate substantial portions of their runtime to real asylums, either during their operation or after closure, using these settings as pivotal elements in their storytelling.
10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Milos Forman’s adaptation of Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel sets a high standard for realistic portrayals of asylum life. Shot at Oregon’s Salem State Hospital, established in 1883, the film explores the clash between individual freedom and state-imposed control. Jack Nicholson’s character, McMurphy, embodies the rebellious spirit, while Louise Fletcher’s Nurse Ratched symbolizes the rigid, oppressive authority of the system.
Michael Douglas produced the film, with his father Kirk having acquired the book rights and previously portrayed McMurphy in a stage adaptation. Kirk intended to reprise the role in the movie but was too old by the time production started after numerous delays. The actors playing patients slept in the actual ward used for filming, and real patients were cast as extras, also assisting during the shoot.
Filmed on a limited budget, Nicholson agreed to a lower fee in exchange for a share of the profits—a wise decision, as the movie became the fifth highest-grossing film at the time. Nicholson and Fletcher won Oscars for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, and the film also secured awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
9. Doom Asylum (1987)
Richard Friedman’s horror film sits at the lower end of the quality spectrum, using the asylum setting primarily to amplify the eerie atmosphere of its sensational plot.
A disfigured former coroner, injured in a car accident, is taken to an asylum and later resides in its basement after its closure. He emerges to terrorize and murder unsuspecting teenagers who explore the abandoned building. The film embraces its teen slasher roots, featuring the typical array of quirky, awkward, attractive, and nerdy characters popular in ’80s rental horror. One character roams the asylum in a bikini, while a group of fake punk rockers firmly anchors the movie in its decade.
The film features gory and occasionally creative effects, though they often lack realism. While some parts of the asylum (Essex Mountain Sanatorium in Verona, NJ, established in 1907) appear plain and ordinary, others are hauntingly atmospheric, filled with decay and remnants of rusted medical equipment. Ultimately, Doom Asylum achieves its goal of delivering absurd, lighthearted entertainment by embracing its own absurdity and refusing to take itself seriously.
8. Session 9 (2001)
Brad Anderson’s film positions the asylum as both a central plot element and a character in its own right. The production secured a remarkable location: Massachusetts’s Danvers State Hospital, which opened in 1878 and is widely regarded as one of the most iconic asylums in the U.S. Although it closed in 1992 (the film claims 1985), the massive Gothic structure dominates the screen from the opening scene, appearing both majestic and ominous.
Gordon, portrayed brilliantly by Peter Mullan, heads a small crew bidding to remove asbestos from the abandoned asylum, committing to an implausibly short two-week timeline. As strange events unfold and a team member vanishes, tensions rise, and Gordon’s grasp on reality begins to falter under mounting pressure.
A team member discovers a collection of old interview tapes with a patient who seems either mentally unstable or possibly possessed. These numbered “sessions” build toward a darker revelation in tape session no. 9, suggesting a sinister influence on the characters. Session 9 is a slow-paced, psychological thriller that relies more on atmosphere than shock, with the real abandoned asylum providing a deeply immersive and historically rich backdrop, blending fact and fiction more effectively than most asylum-set films.
7. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Winona Ryder acquired the rights to Susanna Kaysen’s 1993 memoir and brought in director James Mangold to adapt the 1960s-based story. Ryder stars as a young woman diagnosed with a personality disorder and admitted to a mental institution.
The film’s setting, renamed Claymoore Hospital, was actually filmed at Harrisburg State Hospital in Pennsylvania, which operated from 1851 to 2006. The authentic location is meticulously recreated to reflect the time period, adding depth to the narrative.
Although some characters align with common stereotypes of asylum patients, the film’s autobiographical roots and realistic setting provide a layer of credibility. It distinguishes itself by aiming to humanize its characters rather than sensationalize their conditions.
6. Grave Encounters (2011)
A group of fraudulent paranormal investigators spends a night in a deserted asylum for a supernatural TV series in Colin and Stuart Ortiz’s first film. While found-footage horror films and asylum settings are common, Grave Encounters stands out with its straightforward scares, gripping narrative, eerie visuals, and initially unlikable characters who grow more relatable as their terrifying ordeal unfolds.
The film reveals the usual deceptions of such shows, like bribing a groundskeeper to fake a ghost sighting, rigging doors to slam shut, and feigning reactions to invisible entities. The premise involves locking themselves in the asylum overnight, where increasingly bizarre events begin to occur. Though it avoids commentary on mental health and relies on familiar tropes, it builds a progressively nightmarish atmosphere, with the asylum itself seemingly working against their escape.
The asylum is named Collingwood in Maryland, USA, but filming occurred at Riverview Asylum in Coquitlam, Canada, which opened in 1913. Shooting took place in recently abandoned sections, giving the setting a modern, less decayed appearance. Despite this, the found-footage style and shadowy corridors create a tense, claustrophobic environment.
5. Shutter Island (2010)
Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel blends horror, psychological thriller, and police procedural elements. Two U.S. Marshals travel to Shutter Island, home to the high-security Ashecliffe psychiatric hospital, to locate an escaped murderer but discover unexpected personal connections to the enigmatic institution.
In reality, no asylum was ever located within a military fortification. However, the film accurately portrays the asylum’s interior and exterior, including details like the grounds and solariums. Many exterior shots were filmed at Medfield State Hospital in Massachusetts, established in 1896, and combined with other locations and CGI to create the fictional institution.
4. The Dead Pit (1989)
A sensational horror film by Brett Leonard (later director of The Lawnmower Man), this story features a stereotypical “mad doctor” psychiatrist conducting experiments on patients in the asylum’s basement. After being killed by another doctor, he and his remaining patients are sealed underground. Two decades later, a new amnesiac patient triggers an earthquake that opens the basement, unleashing the revived mad doctor and his zombie-like patients.
While many exterior scenes were filmed elsewhere, the distinctive clock tower and numerous interior shots were captured at Agnew State Hospital’s former high-security wing in Milpitas, CA (opened in 1906), adding a touch of authenticity. The film’s depiction of asylum life relies heavily on clichés, such as aggressive medication and the dramatized hosing-down of eccentric patients.
The day room, where several scenes take place, was also used in Green Day’s 1994 “Basket Case” music video.
3. Titicut Follies (1967)
Frederick Wiseman’s documentary on Massachusetts’s Bridgewater State Prison for the Criminally Insane is arguably the most disturbing film on this list, as it depicts unvarnished reality. The camera explores cells, hallways, medical rooms, and outdoor areas, often simply observing but occasionally capturing interviews. It offers a chilling exploration of the inmates’ mental states, illnesses, and actions, as well as the attitudes of the staff and the societal norms that deemed such an environment acceptable.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts banned the film, restricting its screenings to students, medical professionals, and legal practitioners until 1992. The stated reason was an “invasion of privacy,” though many believed the true motive was to suppress the film’s shocking portrayal of the state’s inadequate care system.
Shown to casts before filming other movies on this list, Wiseman’s documentary uses a passive camera and unguided interviews, allowing patients and staff to speak freely. Staff often incriminate themselves through their indifferent attitudes. Heartbreaking moments, like a doctor carelessly dropping cigarette ash into a feeding tube while force-feeding a patient, reveal the dysfunction and inhumanity of a system where rehabilitation seems nearly impossible.
2. The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Sean Penn portrays William Minor, a man committed to Broadmoor Criminal Asylum in Berkshire, UK, in 1872 after fatally shooting someone he believed was stalking him due to his mental health issues. During his time in the asylum, Minor became the most prolific contributor to the creation of the first Oxford English Dictionary.
While Farhad Safinia’s film uses two locations to represent Broadmoor, St. Ita’s Asylum in Ireland serves as the primary setting for both interior and exterior scenes. The massive structure, stretching 1,630 feet (497 meters), was the largest construction project in Ireland under British rule. It opened as the Dublin District Asylum in 1903 and ceased operations in 2017.
1. Asylum (2005)
Patrick McGrath, who grew up near Broadmoor Criminal Asylum in Berkshire, UK, where his father served as Medical Superintendent, often incorporates themes of mental illness into his works. This film adapts his 1996 novel of the same name.
The asylum depicted is High Royds in Menston, West Yorkshire, which opened in 1888 and closed just two years before filming. Though gradually abandoned, the overgrown grounds and worn interiors were enhanced with spray-painted greenery to simulate a summer setting. High Royds, one of the most impressive British asylums, was slightly altered to resemble a criminal asylum, including the addition of a barred iron gate in a corridor.
Featuring Natasha Richardson, Marton Csokas, and Ian McKellen, the film explores themes of mental health, jealousy, infidelity, and intense emotions, though it does so in a somewhat theatrical and dated style.
