Fantasia 2019 Review: ‘Jade’s Asylum’

Fantasia International Film Festival is one of my favorite festivals and one of the best festivals out there. They deliver the best of the best and this year is set to be one of the most spectacular ones yet! Fantasia 2019 had so much to choose from, but for my first film I decided to choose Jade’s Asylum. The story sounded liked quite the trip and oh boy was it!

This fantasy horror was directed and written by Alexandre Carrière. The cast includes Sebastian Pigott, Morgan Kohan, Drew Nelson, Kjartan Hewitt. Jeff Teravainen. Deanna Jarvis. and Tomas Chovanec.

Synopsis for Jade’s Asylum

While attending a housewarming party in Costa Rica, Jade Williams is victim of a psychotic episode. But Jade’s delusional jealousy disorder may have nothing to do with it. Don’t build a mansion on sacred ground, some landowners had said.

Man, this film was one hell of a trip! It was like an out of body experience where you see all this craziness happening, but nothing seems real and you’re not sure if it is. Much like a dream but with very realistic moments. The film is beautifully shot with great performances, and top notch special effects and makeup.

The cinematography is stunning and pays close attention to detail, which makes you feel more connected to the story and everything that is going on. Along with this, is the insanely awesome special effects and makeup – you’ll see this once you’re introduced to the local “residents.” These creatures that live among the land are a sight to behold and a living, breathing nightmare.

All of the performances are great. Most of the characters consist of rich, arrogant white dudes who have nothing better to do than drink, do cocaine, and have unsafe sex with many as women as possible. But once mayhem ensues, all that testosterone is out door and – terror, fear, and will to survive takes over. The stand out performance is from Jade, played by Morgan Kohan. She steals the show from beginning to end with her emotional and psychotic episodes. She’s one of the only likeable characters and you want her to survive above all others.

Final Thoughts

Jade’s Asylum is definitely one that I will have to watch more than once to fully understand everything going on but I’m totally okay with that because it insanely twisted and fun. I’m glad I had the opportunity to check it out for Fantasia 2019 and look forward to seeing what others thought as well!