WFG RATING: B

A Popcorn Movie Productions/Fountain Productions film. Directed and edited by Antoine Fountain. Written and produced by Dennyann Giambone. Cinematography by Emmanuel Francique.

Stars Steve Caruso, Dennyann Giambrone, Warren Franks, Katrina Dibala, Angela Rector, Lindsay Hamilton, Jeff May, Brandon Wagner, and Penny Richardson. 

A band of inmates at a mental institution discover the truth about the ones in charge in this indie thriller. 

Dr. Leekie and the Dibala family are in charge of the Brookhaven Mental Institution. When JD, a new patient, arrives, he is met with a somewhat warm welcome from fellow patients Delilah, Angel, and Baby Lizzy. Kat Dibala is in charge of the facility with the doctor while Dawg and Butchy serve as the security. At first, JD and the others get to talk to Dr. Leekie about why they are there and to talk about their issues. However, soon enough, things begin to spiral.

When friends and family call the facility to talk to the patients, Kat constantly rebuffs the callers and tells them they are not allowed calls. At dinner, Kat forces the patients to eat all of their food or they will face consequences. Suspecting something isn’t right, the patients sneak away one night and discover the truth about Brookhaven. They decide that they must find a way to escape or they will never leave. 

Written and produced by Dennyann Giambrone, this film can be seen as both a psychological horror film with more horrific tones. The story of a mental facility run by a somewhat mild-mannered doctor and a psychopathic woman is something reminiscent of another recent film, Final Recovery, where a psychopath runs a drug rehab facility. Matter of fact, these two films would make a great double feature in indie terror. 

Stephen Caruso gives off a double edged sword in the role of Dr. Leekie. He comes off as someone who shows genuine care for the patients. Even when in the case of one, he is confronted in terms of going through said patient’s past, he remains calm while the patient in question has a complete meltdown in an attempt to calm her down. The same can’t be said for Kat, played with such ferocity by Giambrone. Her rebuffing of the callers and the dinner scene shows how far Kat will go to keep the dark secret of the place. She gives off vibes similar to Charlene Tilton’s Nanna Lou in Final Recovery, but amped up to ten. 

The patients are great in the film. Warren Franks’ JD is the newbie of the group and comes off as something calm and concerned. If there is a standout among the patients, it’s definitely Lindsay Hamilton’s Baby Lizzy, who walks around in pigtails carrying a baby doll as if they are the real thing. As she is the aforementioned patient who has a complete meltdown in which Dr. Leekie is calm and collected. However, upon the patients learning the shocking discovery, Leekie still manages to stay calm even when he gives electroshock treatment to the patients. 

Psych O’Ward is a pretty good indie thriller with some pretty good performances. There are a few shocking moments but you have to appreciate the hard work the filmmakers put into making the film. Pretty good job.

You can see the film exclusively on Sparkk TV