Bedlam

2011, 30 minutes

Asylum

It is 1821. The notorious asylum Bedlam is the common destination for many of England's men and women with 'sicknesses of the soul'. This film tells the story of the monstrous masked figure, the Bird Man, who brought about it's downfall. Our protagonist is Edmund. He is an epileptic admitted to the asylum as a young man who was suffered there for a number of years. The asylum is every bit as bad as it's reputation suggests: the patients are treated with a neglect and cruelty, in a rancid and labyrinthine building. When they are not being downtrodden by the brutal guards of the asylum, they are being exploited by the criminals allowed into the asylum to fence goods. It is truly a world unto it's own, and not one you would want to stay in for long. Dr Freeman, who runs the asylum, has many new and outlandish ideas for cures. However, he seems to have little care for how many patients he kills in failed experiments on his path to scientific discovery. Edmund is terrified of Dr Freeman's latest plan to cure him, which would involve cutting out part of his brain, to 'remove' what causes his seizures. Motivated by the threat, Edmund steals a medieval plague mask and wears it while acting our violent vigilante justice on those mistreating the patients. So, the persona of the Bird Man is born. This inspires a violent revolt among the patients, and they attempt to break free of their captors. In doing so, they imitate the Bird Man's violent methods. Edmund must decide whether the violence, brutality and underhand dealings he must employ to win freedom are truly worth it. Dr Freeman eventually offers him an ultimatum, and Edmund must truly decide whether he should continue the violence and overthrow his captors once and for all. This is the story of a man who thinks survival, freedom and justice came hand in hand, and finds they are three very separate things.

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