Do you know what I haven't done for a while? A film about a haunted asylum! Yeah there aren't enough of these is there? And with this film we see John Carpenter returning to the director's chair since 2001's 'Ghosts of Mars', having since worked as...something other than director on 'Vampires: Los Muertos'...um...okay, 'Halloween: Resurrection'...um...okay, and the remakes of 'Assault on Precinct 13' and 'The Fog'. Not boding well.
Kristen (Amber Heard) burns down a house. Not realising it's a crime, she is arrested and committed to an asylum, where she meets Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Emily (Mamie Gummer), and Zoey (Laura Leigh), all of whom are being treated by Doctor Stringer (Jared Harris). However, an evil presence is lurking in the hospital and is hunting the girls. It's a good thing they're the only patients in this hospital, or others would have been in danger as well.
This is pretty much a meh film. Not entirely sure why Kristen was sent to an institution simply because she has memory issues; she seems to be perfectly sane, the only indication is when Kristen was struggling when the police arrested her. Apart from that though the film is wonderfully written, providing the necessary character development and allowing the plot to flow. There are some unnecessary scenes, some of which feel like they were thrown in there for the Hell of it, but overall it is written well.
As I said the characters are developed, you do learn about them, though at the same time not a lot. But it's not just that, at best they're likable, at worse they're bland. They've all got their own traits and personalities but no-one really stands out except Kristen and Stringer. The staff, namely Roy (Dan Anderson) and Nurse Lundt (Susana Burnley), as well as Stringer himself, are normally seen as stereotypical "oh they're nuts we don't care about them" people. Stringer though is only seen doing this a few times, almost as if he's working in the shadows.
Now, the reason why Kristen and Stringer are the only real stand out characters, is because of the acting. And because Kristen is the main character. Heard is an outstanding actress who mostly dominates the scenes, while Harris is pretty much the best acting talent in this film, performing brilliantly as Stringer. Actually I have to say I liked Anderson's role as Roy as well, he's just not given enough screen time seeing as how he's a minor character. Everyone else though, they're okay, they're not bad, nothing spectacular.
The effects I will say do look really good...I can't think of a reason why, but they are good. I think it's more the make-up actually rather than the effects. Carpenter tries to use as little effects as he possibly can and this comes off remarkably well in the film.
So, you'd think this is a good film. Good acting, decent plot, great effects/make-up. But, bizarrely, it kind of isn't. I guess it's because it's all been done before, the scares, the story, nothing new is brought up, and that just makes this film really unmemorable. This is one of those films that really deserved more than this. I suppose it could be a good introduction to Carpenter for newer audiences, but it still isn't a classic compared to 'The Fog' or 'Halloween'. It's a so-so movie, one you can watch, but not one you'll be raving about.
Spoiler Section
You already know what the twist is don't you? Before you even buy the film you know what the twist is. Why? Because it has been done before! Kristen, or rather Alice (Mika Boorem) has a multiple personality disorder; basically everything was in her head. And, as I said, this was pretty much what anyone watching it was expecting.
That being said there are some clever bits involving this, namely how the personalities see everything else, like the hospital staff; initially we see them as jerks, but once Alice has been brought to the surface, we see a much kinder side of them. Though it doesn't explain why, when we see multiple personalities in a room, Stringer moves his face to talk to them; if they were all in the same body wouldn't he just stare straight at one person rather than tilt his head in another direction? And Alice was 'killed' when the other girls put a bag over her head, which doesn't explain why her face looks like it has been burnt off.
Basically, it there are some clever bits and some stupid bits when you think about how the twist affected the film.
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