Session 9
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Movie Reviews of Session 9
Movie Review: Very Creepy. Very cool.
Summary: 5 Stars
Session 9 is a smart, dark, chilling feature compared to the otherwise torturous banality found in most horror/thriller films.To begin, it has a unique plot line; it's a film about an asbestos clean-up crew hired to remove the substance from an abandoned asylum. That is cool enough to get my attention. How many films have you seen about asbestos workers? But it gets better...
The crew has it's various characters, all a bit extreme in one way or another: the mid-life crisis, the dense teenager, the jealous ex-boyfriend...and a few others. These characters set up the tension of the film at the start. You can see they each have some form of conflict and anguish going on in their lives at the start. Which causes them to be a little bit on edge. On top of that, they have to work around this intensely hazardous material on a daily basis. And still further, their current hire is to work in the creepiest place you can think of.The abandoned insane aysylum. It only gets creepier from there.
It's full of surprises,and INCREDIBLE cinematogrpahy.It' just a pleasure to absorb using all your senses.
The actual location was an old insane asylum. No sets were used. And that is half of what makes the movie as great as it is. If you are fortunate enough to watch the DVD version with all the extras such as commentary, and featurettes, you will learn that the actual location had a serious effect on the actors while they were there. The more you listen to their actual experiences the more the film takes on a new light and may very well make you watch it again with a different perspective. You begin to realise that a lot of the actors didn't have to do much "acting" when they were supposed to be frightened in their scenes and that has such an amazing effect on the film. I found it to be so much more entertaining to watch a film where the actors were just as creeped out as the audience. That gave it a realism most films will never have. It's over-all just the most pleasure you can derive from being freaked out!
Movie Review: Not one bimbo or special effect; just brilliant psychological horror
Summary: 5 Stars
Friday the 13th always made me giggle; computer generated special effects bore me. If you are a fan of the old black and white Twilight Zones, early David Lynch films and like spooky abandoned Victorian buildings, you're in for a scary treat! Next, add a cast that seems made for their roles and you're in (a good scary movie kind of) hell.
Each character is a mix of bravado and vulnerability. David Caruso keeps you guessing. Peter Mullan is brilliant as the desperate man with marital problems. Josh Lucas with his electric eyes, smirks and tattoos (in the film) are perfect for mischief making and going to places you don't want to visit. Stephen Gevedon is calm with an underlying darkness that gently envelopes you into its lair. Brendan Sexton III is strangely charming as the mouthy mullet head kid with little boy fears. Although we've seen the line "F--- you!" delivered in too many movies to count, David Caruso, with those eyes and finger pointing, makes it new and unforgettable.
Sounds are also very important in this film. The occasional music makes use of the Beatles "Number Nine" variety with its backwards notes. A boom box that might add some cheer to a large echoy room is turned off since it might unhinge particles that "go into your lungs and create little time bombs" (I don't recall the exact line). A cell phone ends up disconnecting characters from themselves. The old tape player of Mary Hobbe's sessions helps bring a sense of going back in time to when it was originally recorded. Dripping water from leaky ceilings and bumps in the night are used sparingly. There are no cheap tricks in this film. Every detail is a set up for the grand unraveling.
The imagination can generate horror far better than any special effects. You'll love the way this film coaxes you into a world of madness that you can almost understand. Now that is scary.
The DVD has cut scenes and an alternative ending that you should not miss.
Movie Review: A Creepy and Atmospheric Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Danvers Mental Hospital, built in the mid-1870s, now sits empty on a hill in Massachusetts, closed since 1985. The Hazmat Evacuation Company underbids other crews to clean up the asbestos that can be found all over the asylum. The team members: Mike (played by Stephen Gevedon, one of the film's writers) finds a series of taped sessions in the basement. Henry (Josh Lucas) discovers hidden treasure in the tunnels beneath the asylum. Jeff (Brendon Sexton III) struggles with his fear of the dark. Phil (David Caruso) tries to keep the crew working as a team. The team leader, Gordon (Peter Mullan), longs to return to his wife and child.As the team begins to work, the eerie building begins to work on them.
This is a surprising thriller. It doesn't rely on special effects to creep out the viewers. It's all done with lighting, with story, and the use of a video camera instead of a big, bulky movie camera. You feel that you're right there with the team, working in that immense building. (A good example is when Henry is walking back alone from the tunnels, up a staircase that is divided by a gate for staff on one side and patients on the other. The camera work and editing make this a genuinely creepy scene.) When the team is told some of the sordid history of the asylum, that lends to the fear that both the actors and the viewers sense.
All the actors give fine performances. That, coupled with a great script and great directing, make for one of the scarier thrillers to be made in a long time.
The DVD picture and sound quality are fantastic. Plus, the extras are definitely worth watching: a featurette on the Danvers Mental Hospital (a real place in Massachusetts), audio commentary, deleted scenes, story-to-screen with commentary. This is a creepy and atmospheric thriller that deserved much better at the box office.
Movie Review: Haunting Madness!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is one of the greatest suspense films of all times and yet has received so little attention. The director combines the suggestion of madness along with the weakness of the wounded human psyche to create a thrilling yet subtle terror movie.
Brad Anderson directs this film along the same route as Hitchcock, adding dim lighting, the illusion of fear and suggestions of madness around each and every bend. Filmed at Danvers State Mental Hospital the building itself is as creepy as can be with haunting hallways and torture gadgets, used on the unlucky and insane, lurking in every corner. Anderson allows this story to unfold without being overly graphic or campy. A five man crew is hired by the state to clean up the old hospital and rid it of the asbestos that is contaminating its walls but much to their surprise other contaminations exist. David Caruso is the crew negotiator suffering from anger related issues towards the crew man who stole his wife. His partner, Peter Mullan, is the first to become unknowingly sensitive to the evil that lurks in the walls. Another crew member discovers tapes in the basement that reveal the trauma of a patient suffering from multiple personality disorder and opens up more than he imagines. So in one week the crew is faced with various events that lead to a frightening conclusion.
Anderson opens up the definition of madness leading one to believe that we all carry a bit of it inside of us waiting to be ignited. In today's world where medication is the treatment rather than lobotomies it is a scary thought. Anderson manages to trigger our senses with eerie tapes and looming walls, suspending his viewers within the gloom of an empty madhouse. The voice of "Simon" grabs the weak and wounded how will he affect you?
Movie Review: Unique and Very Disquieting...
Summary: 5 Stars
I read about this one in an issue of "All Hallows" magazine, and decided to take a look... I was impressed enough to buy a copy after renting it!
Low budget flick, that I think was direct to DVD. Too bad, I'd like to see this one on a big screen. I had reservations at first, since I think David Caruso is a bonehead, but he turned in a great performance, along with the rest of the cast, much to my surprise. The real star however, is the location.
Filmed in an actual abandoned lunatic asylum, this is the scariest damn building I think I've ever seen. You couldn't pay me enough, or even buy me enough beer to spend a night in this place(and I DO love my beer)!!
The story builds slowly to a fascinating climax. As someone else stated, there is not a lot of gore, but that's fine with me. What gets to you is a gradually increasing aura of dread at what you don't see (for kind of the same effect, check out the original 1960 film version of "The Haunting"). This is a slow and relatively subtle film that really pays off.
Oddball camera work, a chilling score, believable (if sometimes irritating!) characters and an incredible location all add up to a winner. I do recommend viewing this film at least twice however, as it has what I call a "What the fxxk" ending. A second viewing is definitely worthwhile, as a lot of missed details reveal themselves that really clear things up (a bit!).
Finally, watch this one alone in a dark room for maximum effect, as this is an intelligent horror film that deserves all the attention and "atmosphere" you can give it. I wish they made more of 'em like this!