Outside of a 50-minute film titled FRANKENSTEIN'S PLANET OF MONSTERS! director Brad Anderson's feature resume is filled with independent romantic comedies like NEXT STOP WONDERLAND and HAPPY ACCIDENTS. Anderson found the location and was inspired to write a horror film set there. He proves very adept at building tension and creating real fear in his audience. This is one of the scariest films I've ever seen.
The story follows a group of asbestos removers as they work inside an abandoned insane asylum. Gordon (Peter Mullan, THE CLAIM) is the owner of the business and is keeping a secret about his wife from the others. Phil (David Caruso, first season of NYPD BLUE) has a tense relationship with Hank (Josh Lucas, SWEET HOME ALABAMA, DEEP END) because the later stole Phil's girlfriend. Mike (Stephan Gevedon, also co-write & BOYS ON THE SIDE) is a law school drop-out, who becomes obsessed with an old patient through listening to her old therapy sessions. (The film gains more tension as we lead up to session 9). Jeff (Brendan Sexton III, WELCOME TO DOLLHOUSE, BOYS DON'T CRY) is the rookie and afraid of the dark.
The characters are what make this film so good because the driving force of the story is learning about them. The setting is not the plot. This is a "haunted house" movie where the secrets lying within the characters are far more thrilling than the secrets lying within the walls of the scary asylum. The location just adds atmosphere. It's one great location though. The plotting is perfectly paced with one incident building on top of another until total havoc breaks loose. As Mike listens to a new session, the increasing eeriness works as a ticking time clock — what's on the session nine tape?
Mullan, who often plays intense characters, is great as the unstable leader. Caruso and Lucas play off each other well as feuding former friends. The simmering resentment is just one more key element of this slow burner. Gevedon serves as the viewer's eyes and ears into the strange environment. Sometimes we wish he wasn't leading us into the abyss. Sexton is like a cat that is afraid of his tail.
Horror schlockmeisters need to learn something from this film. Gore does not equal scary. Tension equals scary. The tension at times reaches unbearable levels. The film is really worth checking out even if you're not a fan of horror flicks because it's just a darn good movie.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
