Review by Mark Cappuccio
Belief in something is always more powerful than not believing at all, which is the central premise of this new ‘horror’ movie, starring Kate Hudson. It tells the story of Caroline Ellis (Hudson), a young hospice worker from the Louisiana bayou, determined to help the elderly, after caring for her dying father. In order to earn enough money to go to nursing school, Caroline takes a well-paid job, as a live-in caretaker for the elderly owner of an isolated plantation house near New Orleans. Violet Devereaux (the excellent Gina Rowlands) does not really want Caroline’s help with her sick husband, Ben (John Hurt). She resents the intrusion into her house and life, mainly because their lawyer, Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), has pushed them into hiring extra help. Despite the hostility from Violet Caroline accepts the job, but soon finds that there is something wrong in the house. When she is given a skeleton key to open all the doors in the house she, strangely, stumbles across one door, in the attic, that the key refuses to open… The scene is now set for dark magics, sinister goings on and things that most definitely go bump in the night!
I was not sure what to expect from this film, as it came out of nowhere, but starring such talent as Hurt, Rowlands and the brilliant Sarsgaard I was intrigued and, surprisingly, not disappointed. Yes, it does start with the very bog-standard young blonde girl in a spooky house premise: thunder cracks, lightning strikes, rain falls and many weird noises are heard, creating suitable tension and suspense as Caroline creeps around, trying to find out what lurks behind the attic door. This put me off at first, but when she finally does get the door open (hey I’m not spoiling it, really!) the film takes a turn in a different direction, into the little known belief system of Hoodoo. Although related to Voodoo, it is not actually a religion, per se, but a set of beliefs incorporating influences from Spain, Africa, France, the Caribbean, native Americans and even Jewish folklore. This new twist was something that, for me, lifted the film out of its predictable setting and
took it to a whole new level.
Hudson is pretty good in the role, and being easy on the eye helps, and you do actually feel for her character, as she really does just want to help Ben, and get to the bottom of the mystery. Playing against her more well known ‘quirky comedy parts’, she is convincing as Caroline, which helps drive the story along. But with acting legends, such as Gina Rowlands camping it up as over the top Violet, it is hard for Hudson to truly shine. Hurt is criminally underused, playing his whole part in either a wheelchair or in bed, but managing to make us feel for Ben’s plight nonetheless. Sarsgaard is excellent, as ever, but I cannot say too much about his role, without spoiling the fun. The direction comes from Iain Softley, who recently gave us the understated ‘K-Pax’ and ‘Hackers’ prior to that. In this film he cranks up the tension, revelling in the dark swampy setting, utilising moody lighting, sound and music to create a creepy atmosphere of brooding menace.
Overall, I found this to be slow to start but something that developed into a well-crafted, dark and evil little thriller, with an ending that comes as a genuine surprise – which is good for a horror film coming out of the States these days. See this as an antidote to all the sunshine I am sure we will get eventually this summer!
On general release now from UIP
Certificate: 15