The Skeleton Key (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Hoodoo is an old African-American voodoo-like magic that only works if you believe in it. In 'The Skeleton Key', a mystery/thriller directed by Iain Softley, Caroline (Kate Hudson), a 25 yr. old hospice worker who cares for the elderly finds herself in New Orleans and caught in the middle of a freaky Hoodoo mess. It's up to her to solve the mystery surrounding an old plantation's dark, evil past. The Louisiana atmosphere & the interesting ending makes up for a very bizarre plot.
Caroline takes this job in Bayou country, having to care for Ben (John Hurt). Victim of a severe stroke, he (conveniently) cannot move nor speak. Conditions around the house are ok, but Caroline feels uneasy around Ben's chilly wife, Violet (a great Gena Rowlands). After acquiring a skeleton key, Caroline enters a secret room where she discovers bones, organs, hair, & other 'Hoodoo' paraphernalia. Discovering that the original owners' 2 African-American house workers were lynched to death for practicing black magic, she horrifyingly surmises that whatever items she found must have belonged to them. She opened the door to the room she now hopes to unlock the terrifying secrets that are imbedded in the old house. Perhaps she can rescue poor, old Ben from a seemingly trapped existence.
You see, after Caroline heard the history of the house (Mama Cecile & Papa Justify were killed in front of their kids by their employer for practicing the dark magic), she doesn't know what to think. She doesn't necessarily 'believe' the story. But the longer she stays in the haunted house, the stranger things get, and she immerses herself in swamp religion(s). Is there a reason why the family lawyer, Luke (Peter Saarsgard), hired Caroline to take care of Ben in the 1st place? What is he hiding? Had Violet cast a spell on the ailing Ben? How are Mama Cecile & Papa Justify still viscerally linked to this house, some 80 yrs. after their horrible deaths?
This film is successful (barely) because the ending lives up to expectations. If it hadn't, this would have been a colossal wreck. The film lives up to its prophetic tag line of 'If she believes in what she discovers, it will all become real'. This doesn't give away the ending, but I'm trying to get ya thinkin'. On a surface level, I liked a lot in 'The Skeleton Key'. The ghostly musical score, textured cinematography, the creepy Gena Rowlands, the appealing Kate Hudson, the intriguing plot ... it all mostly works. The movie keeps you guessing. But all the while, you're consciously saying 'this better have a good ending or else I'm gonna be really pissed!' You don't want to be thinking this DURING a movie. The film isn't scary, but it's eerie ... very eerie. Sketchy writing & silly plot aside, I'd say, 'give this a shot'.
Caroline takes this job in Bayou country, having to care for Ben (John Hurt). Victim of a severe stroke, he (conveniently) cannot move nor speak. Conditions around the house are ok, but Caroline feels uneasy around Ben's chilly wife, Violet (a great Gena Rowlands). After acquiring a skeleton key, Caroline enters a secret room where she discovers bones, organs, hair, & other 'Hoodoo' paraphernalia. Discovering that the original owners' 2 African-American house workers were lynched to death for practicing black magic, she horrifyingly surmises that whatever items she found must have belonged to them. She opened the door to the room she now hopes to unlock the terrifying secrets that are imbedded in the old house. Perhaps she can rescue poor, old Ben from a seemingly trapped existence.
You see, after Caroline heard the history of the house (Mama Cecile & Papa Justify were killed in front of their kids by their employer for practicing the dark magic), she doesn't know what to think. She doesn't necessarily 'believe' the story. But the longer she stays in the haunted house, the stranger things get, and she immerses herself in swamp religion(s). Is there a reason why the family lawyer, Luke (Peter Saarsgard), hired Caroline to take care of Ben in the 1st place? What is he hiding? Had Violet cast a spell on the ailing Ben? How are Mama Cecile & Papa Justify still viscerally linked to this house, some 80 yrs. after their horrible deaths?
This film is successful (barely) because the ending lives up to expectations. If it hadn't, this would have been a colossal wreck. The film lives up to its prophetic tag line of 'If she believes in what she discovers, it will all become real'. This doesn't give away the ending, but I'm trying to get ya thinkin'. On a surface level, I liked a lot in 'The Skeleton Key'. The ghostly musical score, textured cinematography, the creepy Gena Rowlands, the appealing Kate Hudson, the intriguing plot ... it all mostly works. The movie keeps you guessing. But all the while, you're consciously saying 'this better have a good ending or else I'm gonna be really pissed!' You don't want to be thinking this DURING a movie. The film isn't scary, but it's eerie ... very eerie. Sketchy writing & silly plot aside, I'd say, 'give this a shot'.