(Not to be confused with Sucker Punch (2008 film).) Sucker Punch is a 2011 American fantasy, steampunk action film directed by Zack Snyder and co-written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya. It is Snyder's first film based on an original concept. The film stars Emily Browning, as a young woman who is committed to a mental institution. In order to cope, she envisions the asylum as a brothel and teams up with four dancers/prisoners to escape before she undergoes a lobotomy. As she collects the items she needs to escape, she enters another level of fantasy, in which the women become strong, experienced warriors.