The Fifth Floor (1978) User Reviews (21)

Disco Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest

[torrascotia · 5/10 · 17 February 2024]

Its obvious that some big wigs, or maybe small wigs, decided that because One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest was popular and that Disco was still flapping its huge collars and flares on the dancefloor, combining the two would be a hit. Well it wasn't.

I saw that because this only ended up on my radar after watching old Siskel and Ebert reviews, watching old trailers and somehow this entered my consciousness. The next day it pops up on Talking Pictures TV, so it would have been rude not to... The story is about a disco dancing student who ends up ingesting some drug which ends up with her being sectioned. The rest of the movie is her trying to prove her sanity, while being abused by various members of staff. This is many peoples idea of hell. And what I can tell you is that this is based on fact. A bunch of psychologists decided to do an experiment by pretending to be crazy in order to get sectioned. They were and nobody believed their stories about being psychologists. You can look this up.

So with a solid premise and with psychiatric input to the film, its strange that "the crazies" act pretty normal. I suppose real looking mental health patients aren't for show. What is surprising is the quality of the cast. There are so many faces that went on to be so well known in the following decade its a wonder this isn't more widely known.

The film does work in terms of engagement however and the story is well paced and executed. It obviously has some similarities to women in prison movies, but it doesn't really have the same sleaze or nudity. It is basically a disco-melodrama version of Cuckoos nest, without the same emotional punch. Although it does have a satisfying conclusion.

Scummy and fun

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 4 December 2019]

Growing up, the Saint Francis Hospital would always send people with mental issues to the fifth floor. I've had certain family members who would have semi-regular vacations to the fifth floor. It got to the point that whenever someone would discuss whether or not someone was acting strangely, they'd say, "Well, they're on the fifth floor."

This was going to be part of slasher month, except that it's in no way a slasher. Of course, the poster work and other marketing makes it seem that way. It's not. It's much stranger.

Kelly McIntyre (Dianne Hull, cryonics enthusiast and an actress in Christmas Evil) is a disco dancer who gets dosed, probably by her boyfriend. This brings her to the fifth floor fo Cedar Springs Hospital, where her boyfriend refuses to help her, accusing her of being suicidal.

Kelly's attractive, which means that she soon becomes the target of Carl the orderly. He's played by Bo Hopkins, who I have had the fortune of watching several films with him in them of late. Here he's out of control, a non-stop erection determined to ruin everyone's life.

This movie is packed with faces you'll remember, like Don Johnson's ex-girlfriend and Warhol movie star Patti D'Arbanville, Cathey Paine (Helter Skelter), horror icons Michael Berryman and Robery Englund, Sharon Farrell (It's Alive), Anthony James (the chauffer from Burnt Offerings), Julie Adams Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie and The Creature From the Black Lagoon), Mel Ferrer, John David Carson (Creature from Black Lake), Earl Boen (the only actor other than Arnold Schwarzenegger to appear in the first three Terminator films), Alice Nunn (Large Marge!), rock and roll photographer Chuck Boyd (who is also in the sexploitation film Dr. Minx and The Specialist, both from the same director of this movie), Machine Gun Kelly (who was the announcer in UHF), disco singer Patti Brooks (whose song "After Dark" was on the soundtrack of Thank God It's Friday! and recorded two duets with Dan Aykroyd for Dr. Detroit), Milt Kogan (Barney Miller), 1961 Miss Universe Marlene Schmidt (who is in nearly every movie this director did) and Tracey Walter. Yes, Bob the Goon from Batman.

This star-studded journey into mental illness comes straight out of the mind of Howard Avedis, who brought us all manner of literally insane movies like Mortuary and They're Playing With Fire, two movies that I recommend highly. He knows how to take a salacious topic and make it even smuttier, which I always adore. Well done, Howard (or Hikmet).

It might seem like a TV movie for a bit, then there's full frontal nudity and you'll feel safe, like a warm straitjacket has been put on you, allowing you to just lie back and enjoy the magical exploitation within.

Not Bad Thriller

[gwnightscream · 5/10 · 21 February 2020]

This 1978 thriller stars Dianne Hull, Bo Hopkins, Sharon Farrell and Robert Englund based on true events. This tells about a disco dancer, Kelly (Hull) who decides to drink one night to get over a failed relationship, but is drugged. Soon, she's committed to a psychiatric hospital because she's thought to be suicidal and is confined to the fifth floor where she befriends a group of seemingly, unbalanced patients. Kelly finds herself in a nightmare trying to prove that she's sane, but it becomes impossible and she endures the floor's negative aspects like Carl (Hopkins), a sexual predator, orderly. Farrell plays Melanie, a very depressed, patient Kelly befriends and Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) plays character acting, patient, Benny. This isn't a bad thriller featuring a decent cast, especially the attractive, Hull and tense moments. Give this one a view if you're into psychological thrillers.

"Spread your beautiful wings and fly away!"

[Vince-5 · 14 May 2001]

The Fifth Floor is a fun little horror/women-behind-bars hybrid with a great cast. The story, about a go-go dancer railroaded into an asylum, is based on a truly horrifying premise: Under certain circumstances, everything you say or do can be interpreted as a sign of madness. This could've been a very dark, lurid nuthouse shocker, but, perhaps in a bid for respectability, the sleaze factor is considerably played down. The result is a lightweight cult creation that, although lacking in ferocity, still comes across thanks to good acting and a real sense of helpless fear in key scenes. Pattie Brooks sings a very catchy number called "Fly Away" in the opening disco scene. Not bad at all.

Hopkins Is Great

[jack31961 · 5/10 · 26 December 2007]

Really only one reason to see this movie, and that is the performance of Bo Hopkins. He makes almost any role he does come alive, especially a villain. I told him that, when I had the chance to meet him several years ago. He didn't exactly agree with me about his role here, but he remembered this movie, and said the production values were very good. The story is enthralling, and you squirm, because you know it can happen to you. Tension throughout, and you do get sucked in, but you feel about the same way at the end as if you drank cheap malt liquor the night before. Tired, and with a bit of a headache. But if you are a Hopkins fan, it is worth a peek.

A Friday night late show in the boogie basement!

[emm · 3/10 · 7 April 1999]

Long live Film Ventures! Once again, all movie and no substance really pays off big time! THE FIFTH FLOOR is best classified as light exploitation that adds Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund in his early embarrassment of a movie role. Yes, the 50s and 60s were ridiculous, but the late 70s makes things even worse by cashing in on the disco fad. That's all the fun this one has to offer. Where, by golly, did the REAL ending go??? Try checking out this film, plus FVI's all-time schlocker DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE for nostalgia's sake. And remember, don't forget to put on those dusty polyester jackets and play those scratchy records of the Bee Gees! Now that's weird!

Forgettable little thriller

[preppy-3 · 2/10 · 6 October 2008]

I caught this in 1980 as part of a double bill at a theatre. The other film was the sick "Don't Go In The House". This was only a little better but that's very faint praise.

Supposedly based on a true story (I have my doubts) this is about a college girl who is wrongly sent to an insane asylum by a vengeful boyfriend. OK--just the basic premise is silly. Really--a BOYFRIEND has his girlfriend committed???? Where's her family? On what charges? So--right off the bat--it doesn't make sense. In the asylum we meet the yawningly familiar type of lovable psychos. We also meet the nasty orderly--he's played by Bo Hopkins so you KNOW he's evil. The film is filled with the regular pointless female nudity, a dull plot and pretty terrible acting. Only Hopkins (who is obviously having fun) even tries to give a good performance. For his acting alone I give this a 2. Otherwise it's pretty run of the mill and dreary.

Not bad

[adriangr · 7/10 · 10 August 2007]

The Fifth Floor is an engaging piece of work that was much better than I expected. Using a tag line like "From the disco floor to the insane asylum" is asking for trouble but the film deserves better than that.

Dianne Hull plays Kelly, a friendly girl who works at a disco club (not sure what as!), who has a sudden seizure one night while dancing and is rushed to hospital. When it is found that she has strychnine poisoning, Kelly claims that she has been poisoned, but alas for her, no-one believes her and she is sent to a psychiatrist as a possible suicide, which, due to a few more misunderstandings, leads her to being incarcerated on the "Fifth Floor", which is a special secure ward for the insane. Can she establish her sanity and get out of the place and back to normality? What I liked about the film is that it plays the scenario of Kelly's plight out quite seriously. The more she complains, accuses the staff of lying and refuses to take treatment ( a very good performance here by Dianne Hull), the more deeply she gets herself trapped. While watching you find yourself thinking: "Yes I guess that's exactly what a mad person would do and say as well", and her plight struck me as all too believable. The biggest spanner in the works for poor Kelly is a corrupt and lascivious orderly called Carl (effectlively played by Bo Hopkins) who likes to sexually assault the younger female inmates and then blame their later accusations on hysteria. He takes a shine to Kelly and the two scenes in which he abuses her are quite unpleasant. Thrown into this are some good minor performances by the other inmates that Kelly befriends, including a pregnant girl called Cathy and a seriously unhappy and troubled woman named Melanie, played with genuine feeling and impressive intensity by Sharon Farrell.

So, although the plot is nothing new (sane person committed to an asylum by mistake), the film does a good job of handling it. Although the situation is kept small scale, you can certainly feel for the central character, and with great performances all round and a couple of rather surprisingly brutal scenes, it all goes towards making "The Fifth Floor" a place you really should visit.

Sharon Farrell Steals Scenes

[cultfilmfreaksdotcom · 4/10 · 14 May 2013]

When Dianne Hull's otherwise energetic and sexy college student/disco queen Kelly wakes up in a mental ward (like Dorothy back in Kansas), surrounded by onlooking patients with endearingly unique personality traits, you'll think this was a heartfelt made-for-TV movie. That's until the full frontal nudity occurs within that fifth floor, a mental ward that isn't such a bad place after all.

Except for Bo Hopkins as Carl, who seems like a nice enough attendant but he's dead-set after Kelly's body. He's already raped another inmate, that being scene-stealer and poster girl Shannon Farrell as Melanie. With shaggy dirty-blond hair and an eclectic range of emotions, she's the person most effected by what our main character Kelly should be more effected by: being stuck in a blue-walled purgatory that offers random electroshock therapy like peanuts at a ball game.

Kelly, falsely accused of attempting suicide, had been intentionally poisoned. There doesn't seem to be any way out of the ward except one successful escape that doesn't last very long since Kelly's boyfriend (John David Carson) is in cahoots with the friendly head doctor (Mel Ferrer). Meanwhile strict nurse Julie Adams has real Nurse Ratched potential but turns out sweet and friendly, making Bo the sole antagonist.

With frightfully promising taglines like "Once the door closes here, it never opens" or "The Nightmare is knowing You're Sane," it's much too cozy a cuckoo's nest for our sexy and vulnerable ingénue, who winds up teaching the patients how to disco dance and assert themselves... That is, except for Sharon Farrell's emotionally-scarred Melanie, stubbornly remaining the only worthy example of (what could have/should have been a much edgier version of a) character-driven 1970's exploitation that, despite the flaws and missed opportunities, is still somewhat intriguing.

Other inmates including Patti D'Arbanville (BIG Wednesday), Robert Englund (the original Freddie Kruger), Anthony James (who starred in THE TEACHER also directed by Howard Avedis), and Earl Boen (the doubting Thomas of the TERMINATOR franchise) add little to the overall melodrama but it's a nice bouquet of character-actors nonetheless.

The nightmare is knowing you're sane.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 17 January 2019]

The lovely and appealing Dianne Hull ("Aloha, Bobby and Rose") plays Kelly McIntyre, a college student and disco dancer who suffers seizures on the dance floor one night. It turns out that she's been the victim of strychnine poisoning, but too many authority figures think she's delusional and suicidal, prompting them to place her in the psychiatric ward - the fifth floor of the tile - of the hospital. She has a very hard time convincing people that she's quite sane, and avoiding the lecherous paws of ultra-creepy orderly Carl (Bo Hopkins, "The Wild Bunch").

This is a reasonably entertaining exploitation-drama, somewhat forgotten over time, that should be of interest to fans of the genre. Purporting to be "based on" a true story, it's got an effectively sordid premise, complete with some nastiness and nudity along the way. It takes Kelly's tale seriously, allowing us to build sufficient sympathy for her as well as for some of her fellow inmates. It does have some genuine pathos going for it; Patti D'Arbanville plays a pregnant inmate named Cathy afraid of having her baby taken away, and Sharon Farrell (in a standout performance) is the frail and vulnerable Melanie; ones' heart just goes out to this poor, messed-up woman.

The film does a great job of really having you hate the Carl character. This is one of Hopkins' best roles and performances, and you keep waiting for this person to get some sort of comeuppance. Other roadblocks in Kelly's way include an administrator (guest star Mel Ferrer) and a head nurse (Julie Adams), who tend to dismiss Kelly and her plight.

The quirky characters are a highlight, enacted by a variety of familiar faces: Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund (his entrance has him pretending to be a doctor), Anthony James (the antagonist in director Howard Avedis' "The Teacher") as the hostile Derrick, Earl Boen ("The Terminator") as the nerdy Phil, and Alice "Large Marge" Nunn as Emma. Pay close attention and you'll spot Michael Berryman ("The Hills Have Eyes" '77) as another inmate; however, Tracey Walter ("Repo Man") is harder to spot. Director Avedis and his actress wife Marlene Schmidt, who came up with the screen story, have small roles in the film.

Overall, this is engaging trash, that is more vivid than one might see in a TV movie treatment of such material.

Seven out of 10.

Disco madhouse

[crazyferret-03421 · 8/10 · 8 July 2023]

The 5th floor is one of those drive in type b movies that's sort of like one flew of the cuckoo nest without the comedy . It's very dark and boasts a very good cast Diane Hull is a disco queen who is accidentally poisoned by a bartender and taken to an insane asylum, a sleazy orderly played by Bo Hopkins , Julie Adams as a nurse , a very young Robert Englund years before he played Freddy Krueger, Anthony James as a very unstable patient , Patty D'Arbanvulle, Sharon Farrell, and Earl Boen as patients, John David Carson as the girls fiancé . And last Mel Ferrer as the hospital director who thinks the girl ( Diane Hull) tried to commit suicide. And she is trapped in the asylum trying to claim she was poisoned, no one believes her of course not even the fiancé . I enjoyed Robert Englund in a role so opposite of his horror roles . This movie was panned as a dog of the week on siskel and ebert. But I enjoyed this 7 solid stars .

It's not OFOTCN, but it'll do

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 7 March 2024]

THE FIFTH FLOOR is a lower budgeted movie very obviously indebted to the success of the all-time classic ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, and inevitably it's a far lesser movie. But that doesn't mean that it's not watchable, and I found myself getting into it in a fair way as I watched. This one's a female-led production in which a woman is drugged and ends up in an institute from which she can't escape. The cast is particularly good, with an ultra-sleazy Bo Hopkins supplying the menace and the likes of an endearing Robert Englund playing in support. The main actress inhabits the role well and there are no slow parts.

"Once the door closes..."

[gjung01 · 9 March 2004]

"Fifth Floor" was actually better than I had expected. What makes it rise above the other, run of the mill B-movies/television movie of the week is the good performances from lead actress, Diane Hull and the supporting cast including Sharon Farrell and Bo Hopkins as an orderly who abuses his authority and terrorizes the young heroine.

Following a young college co-ed disco dancer who is inexplicably poisoned by strychnine in her drink is determined to be a suicide risk and delegated to the titular "fifth floor" psychiatric ward of a hospital for observation for 72 hours. Of course, a lecherous orderly makes things difficult for Kelly and her stay ends up being prolonged and not even her fiancee believes her cries for help. Diane Hull who played Kelly, manages to convey vulnerability and strength at the same time. The only people she can trust are the fellow patients on the ward who help her with a couple of escape attempts. The supporting cast is a who's who of character actors including a younger Robert Englund a.k.a. "Freddy Krueger" as one of the patients. One stand out performance is Sharon Farrell as Melanie, a truly broken woman who may have been made worse by her stay on the fifth floor and trapped there. Looking like Farrah Fawcett, she definitely conveyed the manic madness and becomes an unlikely ally of Kelly. Bo Hopkins, as the abusive orderly, is chilling and disturbing as the villain. The movie was made in the late 1970s and this is very noticeable with the CHIPS like background music and 3 disco dance numbers. Although a bit contrived at moments and an ending that ends abruptly, the film held it's own on it's B-Movie budget and I would go as far as to say that I liked it better than the similarly themed, "Girl Interrupted" which also was based on a true story. Nothing more is made of the true story that this film was based on or when it happened. I have heard of a similar film about an undercover reporter who poses as a mental patient and this is only known to one psychiatrist who unfortunately dies and every time the reporter attempts to tell the staff they give him more tranquilizers. It seems unlikely that this could happen but at the same time it is plausible under certain extreme circumstances where people are going to assume that you are paranoid. Very scary thought indeed.

Archie Bunker's niece!

[gregorycanfield · 6/10 · 21 May 2022]

Yes. Dianne Hull played Archie's niece in one All in the Family episode. In this movie, she plays Kelly, who is mistakenly sent to an insane asylum. Dianne's performance here is kind of bland, but she still drove me crazy! No pun intended. Dianne's casting was curious. She was at least 30 years old at the time. Yet, her character was supposed to be a college student? Well, whatever. Why did Dianne drive me "crazy"? Her nude scenes were the best parts of this movie. Also, she looked like she was wearing little or no makeup. Natural is very, very sexy. Perhaps, I shouldn't have criticized Dianne's performance. Actually, the acting, in general, is sub-par. There was the potential for a good thriller here, but the movie is mediocre. In contrast to other reviewers, I don't think Bo Hopkins is the reason to watch this movie. He plays a sadistic hospital employee, but his character is more unlikeable than effective. Sharon Farrell is good as a genuinely disturbed inmate, but she doesn't look good. I can really recommend the movie because of Dianne Hull! Her acting left something to be desired, but her nude scenes made up for everything!

You'll be FLOORED!

[videorama-759-859391 · 8/10 · 5 July 2017]

Let me set the record straight, on this one. This is in no way, a bit movie, where I don't want illicit substances, other reviewers on, but this none other a fine solid, absorbing drama, based supposedly on a real incident, where a woman supposedly picked up the wrong drink, where a jilted boyfriend, had spiked it with Strickinine (and don't go off at me, for spelling it wrong) so our pretty lass Hull, ends up in a psyche ward, on the fifth floor, or as one crazy puts, Psycho city, where her introduction, is pure gold. The movie is a lot of fun, I found, with some real cooks, played by good supports, one being Robert Englund, before he put on that decapitating monster mask, and those ripping claws. We really see the depressing realities of daily life, inside this place, and we really sympathize with Hull's helplessness, her ordeal, only heightened, by a male orderly, and sexual deviate, Hopkins, who takes advantage of our pretty philies, even chance he gets, really creating a nasty piece of work, with a love to hate performance, the bath scene implanted in my memory, from my first watch of 1985. Julie Adams, was good too, as a matron, as was Mel Ferrer, strong as the chief doc, and as a memorable performance crazy, suicide victim, D'Arbanville left a lasting impression, while another actor you'll recognize, where there's a great irony involved here, where this time as a patient, he's on the other side of the door. This is a very involving and I'll say it again, absorbing, little nifty film, another of these well made seventies movie's that warrants viewing, with stars we don't see now. Forget the bad hype. Please.

Saturday Night Cuckoo's Nest

[mcdamsten · 16 October 2004]

Although this was made in 1978, I recall seeing this with Don't Go In The House in 1980 at the drive-in theatre. Oddly enough I was attending psychiatric technician training at the time. Bo Hopkins after introducing himself to the unfortunate disco heroine as 'your friendly psychiatric technician' goes on to deliver a good performance with convincing menace beneath a superficial cheery 'therapeutic' demeanor. Sharon Farrell is convincing as a patient. The always creepy Anthony James gives one of his best performances and, horror fans, Robert 'Freddie' Englund is also on hand as a patient. Toss in some disco and you got some kind of late 70's semi-classic drive-in entertainment.If nothing else, watching Bo Hopkins puffing on a cigarette as he worked reminded me of 1980, when it was commonplace to see staff and patients smoking on a unit. Note too, that Bo appears to be working AM, PM (Swing) and Noc shift in this movie. No doubt racking up some good OT money but perhaps driving himself to some of the behaviors he displays. (For me) nostalgic fun ** out of *****

"Crazyhouses Kinda Make People Crazy!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 15 October 2019]

THE FIFTH FLOOR opens at the Demons Disco Club, where Kelly McIntyre (Dianne Hull) arrives to join in on whatever disco dance craze is taking place at the moment. One must say that she certainly has the moves!

Uh oh!

Something goes horribly awry, causing Kelly to convulse violently on the floor, as if she's being tortured with cattle prods! Is this just her attempt at some daring new dance routine? The next thing she knows, Kelly's trapped in the nuthouse, being examined by Dr. Freddy Krueger! The rest is a nightmare for poor Kelly, who only wants to be free to boogie once more. Nothing can prepare you for the zany "group therapy" session!

If you've been searching for a movie that captures the rigors of disco, combined with the obligatory torment of the Women In Prison sub-genre, that is set in a mental hospital, then search no more! Ms. Hull's lethargic, near-dead performance is perfectly realized, and her fretting is unparalleled.

SPECIAL MENTION: For Bo Hopkins, who plays the sleazy orderly known as Carl with all the Carl-ness that anyone could possibly muster. No one chews gum or smokes cigarettes like Bo! No one!...

Damn the shock treatments , call my attorney

[SCIPIO-1 · 27 July 2001]

'Strong supporting cast. Dianne Hull is underrated in this movie. The storyline gets a little weak towards the end when the director has to tie up all the lose ends. The ending scene pretty much wipes away most of the good acting in this film. The shock treatment scene wasn't as brutal, or dramatic as it could have been. The scenery and locations for the time were an execellent choice. If you find yourself looking to pick up an extra movie for the weekend and want something not so light or heavy, rent this. Worth the two bucks.

Kind of like a TV Movie-of-the-Week, but with full-frontal nudity. . .

[lazarillo · 7 January 2012]

A woman (Dianne Hull) is poisoned with strychnine while disco dancing (now THAT might have been an effective way to stop disco). Everyone (including her clueless boyfriend) takes her poisoning to be a suicide attempt and she ends up involuntarily committed to a co-ed mental institution where there is a lot of melodrama, but really little that goes beyond a typical 70's TV movie of the week. Her main antagonist is a corrupt male orderly (Bo Hopkins) who pressures her for sex. Her fellow inmates, meanwhile, include a young Robert England and an (apparently genuinely) pregnant Patti D'Arbanville.

A lot of stuff in this movie seems rather preposterous today, but back in the 70's perhaps not so much. This movie kind of reminded me of the the contemporary theatrical film "Human Experiments" and the TV movie "Nightmare in Badham County". Dianne Hull was one of those very cute 70's actresses who appeared in a few things and then pretty much vanished into oblivion. This is perhaps her most memorable role aside from "Girls on the Road" (where she'd played a hitch-hiking teenager who almost has sex with "Papa Walton"). Her full-frontal nude scenes are about the only thing that separate this from a tame TV movie, but she does give a pretty good performance. And it's always fun to watch Bo Hopkins play a redneck villain even if he's not quite as memorable as he is in "White Lightning" and .

This is probably not a movie that's going to make a deep impression on anybody, but it's entertaining enough I guess.

The nightmare is knowing your sane

[dtucker86 · 5 September 2003]

I saw this film as a kid and I remember the advertisments for it on tv made it look like it would be as scary as The Shining. It really isn't scary at all. The actors do a fine job, Dianne Hull (whatever happened to her?) makes a nice damsel in distress. Its funny seeing Robert Englund before he played Freddy Kruger. A young disco dancer is mistakingly committed to an asylum after someone drugs her. It makes you think because there really have been a lot of cases like this. I don't remember what happened in the end, but I don't think it had a happy ending.

Entertainingly preposterous film based on a "real story"

[augiedog · 25 March 2000]

If this really happened, heaven help us all! If you're looking for a really entertaining bad movie, this is the one! A disco waitress is mistakingly admitted to "the fifth floor", a psychiatric ward in a hospital after being drugged by an evil co-worker. While there, she battles unscrupulous and apathetic doctors and staff, and still manages to teach her fellow inmates the latest disco dance moves.