MOVIE - GOTHIKA - Review Rating $$$$$ $1/2 (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - Halle Berry (Miranda Grey), Penelope Cruz (Chloe Sava), Robert Downey Jr. (Pete Graham), Charles S. Dutton (Dr. Douglas Grey), John Carroll Lynch (Sheriff Ryan), Bernard Hill (Phil Parsons) & Dorian Harewood (Teddy Howard).
DIRECTOR - Mathieu Kassovitz (Hate, The Crimson Rivers & Cafe au Lait)
Gothika starts off promisingly enough but gradually reverts to the "B" movie that it really is. Up to the point that this occurs, about halfway through the movie, Gothika succeeds in its basic mission of being spooky. Be forewarned though, once Gothika turns the corner and becomes a full blown "B" movie, its pretty pathetic.
The only really questionable aspect of the first half of the movie is what the heck is a hottie like Dr. Miranda Grey (Berry) doing with more than average Joe, Dr. Grey (Dutton). Their brief intimate moment is scary in its own right.
The setting, a psychiatric hospital, is largely responsible for making the premise of Gothika intriguing. For a brief moment there is hope that Gothika will be a smart examination of some creepy aspect of the human condition. The Doctor becoming the patient theme is intriguing. This plot development isn't fully explored and becomes a means to an end rather than a meaningful examination of the flip side of this coin. As hope fades, but before Gothika dissolves completely into a poor man's Sixth Sense, the movie still manages to maintain your interest with a few moments that will make you jump in your seat.
This is largely the reason that I've decided to give Gothika a marginally positive recommendation. The audience I watched the film with, unlike numerous other supposedly scary films I've seen recently (Ghost Ship, & The Ring), was actually spooked at several points.
Unfortunately, instead of delving deeper into psychosis, Gothika turns into a bad murder mystery. The script really doesn't play fair in this regard and in its haste to wrap things up totally skips important details. There is simply nothing in the script that would allow you to figure out the whole mystery beyond a simple elimination of possible suspects seconds before the climatic scene. The killer, perhaps sensing this incongruity, thankfully confesses all before his ultimate demise. The crime is also, in my opinion, unnecessarily sadistic.
The performances, for the most part, are adequate. Berry's and Robert Downey Jr's talents are wasted though in this mediocre production.
If you're looking for psychological thrillers, that do delve deeply into the human psyche, than I strongly recommend either Spider or Frailty.
Gothika is another "I see dead people" horror film that succeeds at its basic mission but doesn't raise the bar one iota.
Running time - 95 minutes
Check out my TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2003 & WORST MOVIES OF 2003 lists.
Alternative Reviews:
Roger Ebert's Review
Peter Travers / Rolling Stone Review
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
Gothika Official Web Site
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© Copyright
2005
David Schwartz.
Last update:
2/28/05; 1:48:26 AM.
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