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Session 9
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Starring: David Caruso
Genre:
Horror/Thriller
Run Time: 97
min.
Release Date:
August 2001
On The Web:
Unofficial Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
I like the horror genre as much as the next twisted
individual. I enjoy being scared out of my chair, covering my eyes
during certain graphic moments, sitting glued to my seat as some
character you've become emotionally vested in opens a door you know
should never be opened. But this film delivered on none of
those.
First, let's start with the films basic outline: a group of hazmat
workers have been contracted to clean up the abandoned Danvers Mental
Hospital in Massachusetts. It's a creepy looking
monstrosity-of-a-building which seems to develop as a sort of character
all on its own. And as the workers delve into the building's rooms, they
find little odds and ends that attract each worker: one finding coins
and rings; another finding interview tapes (9 of them) from a patient
with multiple personality disorder; and still another worker finds
...insanity and death.
Where this film fell down was in plot. It didn't seem to have one or ---
probably more likely --- was buried so deep in the film's nuances that
you'd be hard-pressed to find it with a microscope. Now I'm not asking
for everything to be spelled out in black and white for me (in fact, I
hate that), but film makers also need to be conscious of
not losing their audience completely.
Let me explain. If the makers of this movie wanted me to understand the
motivation of the terrible things that happened in this place and their
effects on the hazmat team, they utterly flopped at doing so. I have no
idea why one of the team members began killing everyone around him. Or
what influence the building had on him. Or if he was somehow connected
with the hospital at some point in his life. Or what "the lobotomy
chair" had to do with any of it.
There's a reason this film hasn't sold well and is not available at most
video rental stores. It'll only appeal to those who absolutely love
disassociated threads in a movie's message. But that's certainly not for
me. I need at least one thread to hang on to.
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Image from Session 9
DVD cost: $9.99
Purchase:
Tower.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
A subplot was filmed
involving a homeless woman who lives in the asylum. In the original
ending, she witnesses all the murders and then kills Gordon. According
to the DVD commentary, this subplot was removed because test audiences
became confused, thinking she was actually Mary (the voice on the tape).
Movie Quote: "The
insurance figured that with these new techniques they designed
they could release hidden memories."
Other Actors/Actresses
from Session 9
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