I often look forward to movies set in asylums, but this movie just didn't deliver in scares or interest. The viewer isn't told much about the suicide of Nicholas's father, and it only comes through in flashbacks. The "friend" is actually Nicholas's doctor, who called the night before because he wanted Nicholas to investigate the disappearance of several patients. I knew almost right away who the bad guy was, and this movie didn't strike me as different from any other movie set in an asylum. There were crazy characters, one female character who was often in trouble or being used by male orderlies, and the one crazy person who was crazy but maybe not crazy.
This movie was dull, in fact it was so dull I din't actually pay a lot of attention as people were murdered. I was utterly disappointed because I like Robert Patrick and Malcolm McDowell, and this was just a waste of their talent. None of the characters were that interesting to me, and I was actually not invested in any of them. I didn't care about what happened to them, and as the main character was a private investigator, I was surprised how clueless he seemed to be. He wandered around the asylum like a bonehead, almost everyone knew who he really was, and there was no one taking care of anything. It was just annoying and boring.
So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely not. Was it at all scary? Absolutely not. Was it worth an hour and a half? Nope.
So don't waste your time. Skip this one.