Session 9
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Movie Reviews of Session 9
Movie Review: Brilliant Suspense Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't want to call this a horror movie. It is not particularly frightening. I don't want to call it a thriller, because it moves at a very slow and steady pace. I WOULD like to call it a suspense film, because from start to finish, there is a certain tension that you may not be able to put your finger on, but will haunt you even as the closing credits begin to roll.
Session 9 is the story of an asbestos cleaning crew, working to clean out Danvers Insane Asylum (a real location, beautifully used in the film) within a week, an extremely difficult deadline given the size and scope of the job. Their motivation is a substantial bonus if they meet their deadline.
But tensions start to rise among the members of the crew... Something about the building perhaps that seems to be bringing it out in them. And, as the movie churns forward, you will discover that some of the men have may be hiding something as well.
Director Brad Anderson keeps a slow and steady pace throughout, only escalating the pace in the final thrilling minutes. He uses his gorgeous location to great effect. The exterior of the hospital is gorgeous in itself, and is captured with some great aerial shots, but the deteriorating interior, with dripping pipes, slick floors, and graffiti covered walls, is haunting and leaves a lasting impression. The sound effects and music help drive the film, and never feel out of place. Everything is captured on high-definition digital video, I believe, but seems fitting.
The acting is phenomenal throughout, and the movie feels almost like a character study rather than a suspense film. And although it is not scary necessarily, (the IDEA behind it is a bit frightening), the film often draws comparisons to Kubrick's The Shining, and the comparisons are fitting. Both films use enormous, lonely, abandoned buildings to generate tension and bring out the worst in their characters, and use steadily sweeping cameras to great effect, and both films are divided in to days, using titles ("Monday") in similar fashion.
The bottomline, then, is this: Session 9 is a terrific little suspense film. If you are disappointed at first, I might suggest giving it another try. For me, each viewing is more enjoyable than the last, and it was not until the second that I began to really appreciate it's genius. Recommended.
Movie Review: Solid acting, tight script, creepy and atmospheric
Summary: 5 Stars
It's tremendously spooky and atmospheric. Very disturbing. It's filmed on location at Danvers State Mental Hospital in Danvers, MA. I was just up there a couple weeks back with a friend, but we couldn't get onto the property because we hadn't cleared it yet with the MA Film Commission and the State Police -- we're planning on another outing in June.The film is very simple. It's about five Hazmat guys who go in to remove asbestos with a one week time limit (or they lose their big bonus). While there, odd things start happening, they start acting differently, one of them stumbles upon some old reel-to-reel tapes in a deserted storage room. They are recordings of psychiatric sessions between a doctor and a woman who harbors a terrible secret buried beneath layers of multiple personalities.
The setting is downright creepy. The hospital itself seems alive, like a character all its own. This movie is successful in bringing to the screen something THE HAUNTING (remake of the Shirley Jackson novel inspired film) and Stephen King's ROSE RED failed to do -- it proved that some "houses" are just "born bad."
Watching this film reminded me of some of the images I'd seen personally when doing a little "investigation" of the old Connecticut Valley Hospital a few years back, and of stories my Mom had told me earlier about her investigations of the place -- she was actually able to get a worker to give her a tour of the subterranean tunnels and "cells" where they housed the more "disturbed" patients -- the violent psychotics, the criminally insane. It's full of dark passages, cramped areas (claustrophobes will go nuts! ;)
It's not your typical modern horror film. It's mostly psychological. The director compares it to films like THE SHINING and DON'T LOOK NOW (and even THE EXORCIST).
Give it a look. Solid acting from David Caruso, Steven Gevedon and others make the characters real. A tight script with an emphasis on dialogue keeps them alive (for awhile anyway ;) No flashy special effects means the scares come from other places ;) All in all, a fine horror flick that will satisfy fans of atmospheric and psychiatric horror. Fans of only the teeny bopper pseudo slasher films like I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and SCREAM will find it mostly boring and too difficult to follow ;)
Movie Review: "I live...in the weak...and the wounded!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Nowadays, there are so few real, quality horror films that get enough recognition. Sure, there are a good deal of great films that are under the radar of the mainstream, but when a really good horror movie of recent times comes around, it's definitely worth notice. And "Session 9" is worth the notice!
Taking influence largely from "The Shining", in my opinion, "Session 9" is a psychological horror film with a great deal of intense and mysterious atmosphere that's laid on thicker than Thanksgiving gravy. The powerful sense of dread and chilling mystery presented throughout the film is simply enticing and definitely makes you want to see the whole thing. In addition to the asylum, which is one of the big reasons why the film is so great, this film delves pretty deeply into psychology with the recorded sessions of the asylum patients. This part definitely sucked me in, because psychology has always been a topic of great curiosity to me.
Running at 1 hour and 40 minutes, this movie is longer than most slashers and about as long as more psychological films. However, the length of the film doesn't drag it down or make it boring, because the movie is able to fill all 100 minutes with interest and mystery. Honestly, the asylum is one of the greatest locations I've seen in a while in horror films. The written part is also done excellently, showcasing a strong plot and chilling series of events. In addition, the acting is great, with the actors showing how truly talented they are, regardless of how much mainstream attention they get.
Overall, with a dark and bleak feeling throughout, and a bitter ending, this is not a fun film by any means. However, "Session 9" is a film that will suck you into its mystery, depth, darkness and bleak appeal. If the feeling of this movie is too strong, I recommend washing it off with another great, modern-day horror film such as "Planet Terror" (even if it isn't 100% horror, it's great nonetheless). But as for this film, well, "Session 9" is the psychological horror film to beat of modern movies! Highly recommended for those interested in such a film, and to close, just because I love the quote so much, I need to say it again. "Where do you live?" --- "I live...in the weak...and the wounded!". Thanks for the time, and peace.
Movie Review: One Of The Greatest Psychological Horror Movies Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Plot: Danvers Asylum has been closed for a long time now. A cleaning crew has been assigned to remove all of the harmful chemicals and such that have built up throughout the building over the years. They must do this in only one week. The problem is, Danvers is a massive place. It will be quite stressful, but the men need the job. Surely enough, the old asylum begins to work on the crew's nerves. Although they are together, working side-by-side everyday, they each become more and more withdrawn to their own thoughts inspired by the creepy building. One member of the crew has discovered a series of old audio recordings of a psychiatrist and an inpatient named Mary -- a dissociative woman with multiple personalities. Something horrible had happened -- the thing that landed her in the asylum. And, as the tapes go on, more and more is revealed. Session number nine, the last session, holds the key to what happened and why Mary is so disturbed as she is. Terrifyingly enough, one crew member has been driven to the same edge. And, before the week is over, the tension becomes too much. Death occurs, and horrors beyond the boundaries of any sane imagination take over.
Session 9, upon the first viewing, is one of the creepiest films you could ask for. It's one of those "it's not what you see, it's what you don't see" feelings of dread that haunt the audience in the same way the characters are haunted. You never know what's going to happen. But don't think it's just another fix for a Saturday night creep-out. It is also great for multiple viewings because, it seems, each time you watch it, you catch little bits and pieces you didn't notice before that really get you thinking. Even though you'll know what happens at the end, you'll still find it plenty enjoyable just to see it all unfold time after time. Plus, the Session 9 DVD has some great special features, including a documentary on Danvers (yep, it's a real place) and the filming of the movie, deleted scenes, and more (as a little hint, you might want to use the director's commentary on the deleted scenes in order to understand how they fit into the plot). Session 9 is an excellent thriller/horror movie that deserves a spot in every DVD collection.
Movie Review: Simon Says...
Summary: 5 Stars
Danvers State Mental Hospital has stood empty for 15 years, after being shut down in 1985 due to scandal and budget cuts. Now it is a gigantic labyrinth (about the size of a small town) of moldering hallways, rooms, and offices. Built in 1871, Danvers is also a toxic hazard, full of asbestos floor tiles and crocolodite ceiling panels. Enter the Hazmat Elimination Co., the team that just outbid the competition by claiming to be able to do the clean-up job in a week, instead of the normal, more rational 3 week period. Gordon is Hazmat's boss, and he needs the money. You see, something terrible has just happened in his life that we are only given tiny clues and glimpses of before the true terror unfolds. Phil (David Caruso) has worked for Hazmat a long time and fears that Gordon may be wading slowly into the deep end. The rest of the crew includes Hank, a goof-off with a gift for sarcasm, Jeff, who is Gordon's nephew and has a serious case of nichtophobia (yep, he's afraid of the dark), and Mike, a law student with a calm nature and quite possibly the group's only brain. Danvers unleashes it's horror like a time-release capsule of dread, effecting these men in small ways, building up in them like the toxic dust they certainly must be breathing. Beneath it's silence and peeling paint, Danvers is a repository of the evils that transpired within it's walls. Hank stumbles upon a near fortune in old coins, glasses, and gold and silver teeth hidden in the bricks. It is when he returns alone by night, set on taking his treasure and leaving the state, that the real malevolence of Danvers shows it's shadow-covered face. Meanwhile, Mike has found a box full of session tapes for patient Mary Hobbes, that turn out to be the largest piece we'll get to the puzzle of Danvers Mental Hospital. SESSION 9 is an overlooked classic of mounting tension and invisible hauntings. Don't expect CGI boogeymen or cheap "jump" scenes every two minutes, this is a creeper that delivers it's jolts and shudders over time, making us squirm uncomfortably through the whole bloody thing! Come, visit Danvers, and you'll see what I mean. Highly recommended...