Implanted with a deadly device, one cop turns on the city’s most dangerous experiment.
STREET ASYLUM
They didn’t clean up the streets. They rewired the cops.
A wounded Los Angeles cop joins an elite street-clearing unit, then discovers its officers are being electronically stripped of restraint and turned into sanctioned killers.
Quick Answer
Street Asylum is a 1990 American action, science fiction, and thriller film directed by Gregory Dark about a wounded Los Angeles cop who joins an elite unit, only to discover its officers are being electronically stripped of restraint and turned into sanctioned killers.
Programmer's Pick
Street Asylum doesn’t just flirt with psychotronic mayhem—it wires it directly into its spine. Expect wild-eyed action, a satirical jab at police state tactics, and a cast that dives headlong into the film’s techno-dystopian sleaze. Only in cult cinema does a Watergate conspirator play an S&M-loving police chief.
— SassyFlix Programmer
Overview
Details & Specs
- Director
- Gregory Dark
- Writers
- Gregory Dark, John Powers
- Release
- 1990
- Runtime
- 1h 34m
- Country
- United States of America
- Language
- English
- Genres
- Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Also Known As
- Ryder, Dødens bakgate, Street Asylum (original title)
Cast & Crew
View all →
Why Cult
Officers are fitted with devices that turn them into uncontrollable killers, warping the very idea of law enforcement.
Watergate’s own G. Gordon Liddy steps into the role of a sadistic police chief, adding real-world infamy to the chaos.
A dystopian Los Angeles teems with lawless streets, off-the-rails cops, and a special unit that’s anything but ordinary.
Low-budget filmmaking lets the film’s wild premise and campy excess run riot, making for true cult curio status.
Scene Gallery
Threat File
Questions from the Vault
When was Street Asylum released? +
Street Asylum was released in 1990.
Who directed Street Asylum? +
Street Asylum was directed by Gregory Dark.
How long is Street Asylum? +
Street Asylum has a runtime of 94 minutes.
What genre is Street Asylum? +
Street Asylum is an action, science fiction, and thriller film.
Where can I watch Street Asylum? +
You can watch Street Asylum on SassyFlix.
How are officers in Street Asylum turned into killers? +
Wounded officers have devices surgically implanted in their backs that strip them of restraint and transform them into programmed killers for the S.Q.U.A.D. unit.
What is the purpose of S.Q.U.A.D. in the film? +
S.Q.U.A.D. is a special police unit tasked with cleaning the streets of criminals by any means necessary, using officers who have been electronically altered to act as executioners.
Trailers & Clips
