Meh.
That simple, single-syllable word repeated itself at least a hundred times during my viewing of “The Skeleton Key,” the latest in Hollywood’s line of PG-13 “atmosphere-over-gore” horror (or “psychological thriller”) films. “Key” has three good things going for it. There’s the performance of John Hurt as stroke victim Ben, and Gena Rowlands as his creepy wife Violet; and, there’s a pretty cool twist-ending (one which doesn’t ignore the proceeding events, and throw them out the window, like a lot of films with such endings). Hurt and Rowlands are fantastic, and the ending is just plain neat. Other than that, the movie is, well, meh.
Kate Hudson plays Caroline, a young nurse who gets caught up in a mystery involving Hoodoo (not to be confused with Voodoo), ghosts, and dark secrets from the past. In case you don’t know, Hoodoo is a kind of folk magic, involving incantations, conjurations, and the like; Voodoo, on the other hand, is a religion. All of this is, normally, terribly interesting; in “The Skeleton Key,” however, it doesn’t aid the story much. By this, I simply mean that the story is filled with quite a few holes, none of which are filled with cool concepts like Hoodoo magic. Ooh and awe all you want; but sooner or later, you’ll see past the “Texas Chainsaw Masscare” remake-style visuals (old dilapidated buildings, color-drained palettes, etc.), the creepy music and characters (Violet will make your skin crawl), and you’ll see why Hollywood should just stop making these kinds of movies. The plot is, in a word, meh.
I think you’ve gathered by now that most of the performances aren’t special. John Hurt and Gena Rowlands are damn good, but everyone else pales in comparison. I’ve never thought much of Kate Hudson anyway; this film did nothing to change that perception. Peter Sarsgaard is merely decent as Violet’s lawyer and Caroline’s confidant, Luke. And the rest… Well, why should I waste my time? You get the idea – say it with me now – meh.
I’m really beginning to lose what little faith I have in Hollywood’s ability to produce good horror movies and/or thrillers. I’m not one of those that believes a horror film has to be rated R to be any good; but, well, there aren’t many PG-13 horror flicks to prove otherwise. With the dismal performance of other recent horror films (such as “Land of the Dead” and “The Devil’s Rejects”), one begins to feel a little worried about horror’s immediate future in Hollywood. Horror has and always will survived hard-times; I’m not worried about a horror-less future at the cinema. However, with films like “The Skeleton Key” missing the mark, I am worried that Hollywood my abandon one of my favorite genres for quite some time. Let’s all hope that somebody comes along and makes the next genre-reviving masterpiece – and soon! If not, we’ll all be stuck thinking – yep, you guessed it…
Meh.
– Isorion
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
