Allan visits the Philadelphia Asylum to meet its famed director, Dr. Gross, and to discuss Gross' controversial treatment, the "Soothing System." Allan is shocked when Dr. Gross states that the Soothing System is no longer in use. As the two men walk Dr. Gross explains his theories of treating the mad mind, disciplining the body, and harnessing the dangerous "irresistible compulsion" that fosters madness. Gross invites Allan to dinner to meet his staff and to introduce Allan to the latest treatment known as the "System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether." Loosely based on a Poe tale, filmed in daylight, and edited for a new cinematic generation, this film exposes and overexposes Edgar Allan Poe, Philadelphia, and the strange characters that inhabit this mad world.