The Fifth Floor
A young woman collapses on the disco dance floor of what's revealed to be strychnine poisoning. Assuming that this is an attempt at suicide, her boyfriend and doctor have her committed to the Fifth Floor, an asylum with obviously crazy inmates and a predatory orderly. The problem is, she's still sane!
Why it matters
A tense, paranoid descent into institutional horror that riffs on ’70s mental health fears with a pulsing disco backdrop.
- A rare blend of psychological thriller and asylum exploitation, capturing post-Vietnam distrust in psychiatry.
- Strychnine poisoning sets up a paranoia stew that never lets up—sanity feels like a fragile illusion.
- Features a creepily predatory orderly and a cast that sells the claustrophobic dread without cheap jump scares.
- For fans of grim, low-budget ’70s horrors that explore societal anxieties through the lens of confinement and control.
Director
3 horror films in catalog
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
43
Slow Burn
33
Psychological
86
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
100
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
28
Survival
33
