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Caroline (Kate Hudson – looking more and more like her
mother, Goldie, everyday) snags a new job as a live-in nurse
caring for the sick husband, played by a mostly mute, John
Hurt, of a cantankerous elderly woman at their run-down mansion
on the outskirts of New Orleans.
Caroline, a bit of a snoop, decides to have a look around
the house, and stumbles upon the rather spooky attic. There,
she discovers leftovers from the previous owners – a
couple of servants who delved into black magic – and
gets inopportunely interested.
Who were they? Do they have something to do with the sick
hubby’s stroke? Why can’t Caroline put up any mirrors
in the house? And what’s with the old guy scrawling ‘help
me’ across his bed-sheets?
A much more imaginative thriller than what Hollywood’s
served up lately – mercifully, it’s not a remake
of an old spookfest either, but something original. Iain Softley’s
The Skeleton Key might be still insolently Hollywood
– scares you can see coming from a reel away, fairly
controlled performances, and the odd expected plot twist –
but a lot of it is also quite inimitable.
From its fairly innovative storyline to its hard-to-guess
outcome, it’s a film that – although could’ve
been better, with an extra oil and grease near the middle
– both enthrals and satisfies.
It’s a rare case of film exceeding trailer, and in today’s
world where ‘preview puts cheeks on seats’ –
that’s an atypical thing (slap on the wrist for the studio
trying to market it as a horror film too, when it’s no
more than a nail-biting whodunit).
Points, no doubt, go to screenwriter Ehren Kruger, who penned
Hollywood’s impressive remake of The Ring a couple
of years ago. Here, he’s also put together a film that’s
as justifiably captivating as it is creepy. If only his middle-act
had been as engrossing as his first and third – he would
have had an even better movie.
Though the performances are quite good – Rowlands is
obviously having a great time here – the motivations
of their characters mightn’t ring true for some. Hudson’s
character, for one, seems to lack a healthy dose of logic.
Still, The Skeleton Key is one of the year’s
most pleasant surprise packages, and it’s a film that’ll
have a few of us – including your trusty reviewer –
paying more attention to rumours that the mother-in-law has
been trying to put on you since the day you met.
DVD Extras
There's a great batch of extras on the DVD. Seems there's
a featurette for every little aspect of the movie - from the
music, to Hudson's past, and casting all the characters -
but just press the 'play all' button to let them run one after
the other.
There's also an okay commentary from the director plus a
bunch of deleted scenes (my least fave of any extras offering
these days - they're just a waste of time in my opinion...
Zzzz).
Conclusion: Movie 70% Extras: 75%
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