Very disappointing...

The Worst Film Ever

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Overall, this movie was good but nothing special. We've seen the narrative a hundred times. Young woman enters strange premises, strange things happen, young woman heroically investigates everything culminating in action and the supernatural. Now let's take a look at the ending.Was I expecting something better? Sometimes yes. I already guessed Hudson would be the victim, but I was also hoping all this hoodoo/voodoo nonsense was something to mess with her head to distract her from some very practical sinister evil. Scratch that. Hoodoo is real.Given that this was so far a generic horror/suspense, I was expecting Hudson to emerge victorious. The real ending is a bit better. It was more realistic. A girl from the north snooping around against her better judgment to leave and jumping at every hint of hoodoo tid- bit as 'evidence' when she in fact does not know anything about it is probably going to fail miserably. Kudos to the film for that.But what about the revelation that the perpetrators were Justify and his wife all along? That adds an element of disturbing to this flick like nothing else. Essentially the bankers lynched their own children. Is that making a statement about how it was foolish of them to resort to violence when they didn't know what they were up against? If so, that's highly objectionable. And the viewer is left with the sudden revelation that Justify and his wife were evil all along. Why is there nothing else in the movie hinting toward this? What was the point of telling us the black servants were mistreated? Would they have spared the banker's children if they weren't? They don't seem to have any qualms left about hijacking innocent women. Voodoo aside, its hard to believe they are just evil to the point of being psychopaths in that they are completely disinterested in whether their victims deserve this kind of end.

It's not just the skeleton key that opens all the doors, it is also one soul, that is able to posses all other skeletons.The Skeleton Key created a twist, by throwing the viewer off with the obvious... And I feel, it was executed sublimely.Violet was the obvious culprit. Luke, you were very suspicious of, and once your suspicions are brought to light, you feel that perhaps, you have the film figured out, until...You find out why the mirrors aren't up. Until you find out Luke's role. Until you find out, why Ben needed to leave.I'm not a big Horror fan, but, this movie feels very original. The twists are - if you didn't see them coming, eyebrows raising. The ending is... Perhaps one of the best I've seen in the genre.ONLY with the most insanely "Justifiable" script, ONLY with that... This movie could have an awesome sequel.I started off with a 6/10, in the beginning while the mystery was being set up. It wasn't moving at a pace of my liking. However, when the story shift gears, so did my rating; from 6, to 7/10.There after, the twists and the ending... Pushed me to an 8/10.For this particular genre, I feel The Skeleton Key had some meat on it's bones. It's not necessarily scary, but, it is... Neat.

I have to say Kate Hudson was so like Lara Croft on this because her stunts and actions were just awesome! Although, this movie was more odd and you would be asking yourself a lot of questions. It really isn't that scary but you do get a few jump scares that normally just give you a few heart attacks. Nothing bad will happen, I promise!I just wonder, how did Cecile and Justify get into the lawyers and Caroline's body? OK so I know Caroline got hit by the mirror and different faces were shown but again, how on earth were they able to transfer themselves onto the bodies?! This is a really good movie at the same time and it'll definitely give you chills! Happy Halloween! :D

With October coming up,I started looking round for a Horror movie that I could pick up for a friend to view.Talking to a family friend,I got told about a tense sounding voodoo film,which led to me getting ready to unlock the skeleton.The plot:Disguised by the disinterested attitude that her fellow care workers are showing to patients, caregiver Caroline Ellis decides to move to New Orleans after seeing an ad in the paper for a care person being wanted.Meeting Violet Devereaux at the family plantation house,Ellis is told that she is to help Violet look after her husband Ben,who has suffered a serious stroke.As Ellis settles into the job,Violet gives Ellis a "skeleton key",which will allow her to open every door in the house.Looking round the house,Ellis finds a photo of the past owners with their slaves.Getting asked to get an item from the attic,Ellis goes up and is shocked to find a locked door shaking in the corner of the room.Putting the key in the lock,Ellis discovers that despite what Violet has said,that the key does not unlock the door. Continuing to hear the door shake,Ellis starts to investigate the secret past of the house.View on the film:Filmed on a real plantation house,director Iain Softley & cinematographer Daniel Mindel uncover every haunted corner of the building with elegant crane shots,which along with setting out the entire location,also creates an eerie atmosphere of something unsettled lurking in the house.Along with the gliding shots of the house,Softley also stabs sudden shots of black & white footage into the title,which gradually reveal the frantic voodoo chants that Ellis has crossed into.Treating voodoo (and Hoodoo) in a respectful manner,the screenplay by Ehren Kruger takes advantage of Ellis outsider Statius,by piling all of the mythical tales and hidden secrets of the house on Ellis shoulders,which leads to Ellis struggling to pick up on Violet's menace laying just under the surface.Giving Ben just a handful of words,Kruger smartly makes Ben's non-verbal signs of unease be the driving force to Ellis uncovering the secret of the house,which leads to Ellis unlocking a deliciously dark, macabre twist ending.Made just 3 months after she had her first child,Kate Hudson (who looks rather alluring in a topless scene) gives an excellent performance as Ellis,with Hudson always keeping Ellis belief in care at the centre of the character,whilst also displaying clear signs of nervous excitement over the voodoo and hoodoo culture that she has entered.Joining Hudson,Gena Rowlands gives a wonderfully tense,brittle performance as Violet Devereaux,whose sly smile hides horrifying secrets,whilst John Hurt superbly shows silent fear as Ben,as Ellis opens the door with a voodoo skeleton key.