What A Tangled Web We Weave (The Skeleton Key (DVD))

Member Name: JayHall1991

Product:	The Skeleton Key (DVD)
Date:	06/03/06 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Engrossing, Nice Visuals, Ace Performances, Addictive Atmosphere, Stomping Twist

Disadvantages: Not Very Scary/Gorey Maybe a bit long?

Caroline Ellis worked as a care assistant in an old peoples home, but when one of her patients dies and the establishment treats his personal effects with disrespect and is told that she 'cares to much' she hands in her notice and looks for a new job. In the paper she finds an advertisement for a personal helper situated in the Deep South. Her patient is a stroke victim rendered dumb and bed ridden with an overbearing wife who proceeds to tell Caroline tales of their home, tales of love and murder, magic an mystery. Caroline is given a skeleton key that opens every door in the house, but up in the attic there is a strange rattling noise…….. What ensues is a quite, scary, full throttle ride of a movie.

I personally think that The Skeleton Key is one of the most intriguing, engrossing and genuinely gripping mystery/thrillers that I have ever seen in my life, it possesses a unique atmosphere that managed to both keep me on the edge of my seat and completely interested. I completely believed every twist and turn that was flung at me, no matter how ridiculous because I felt like I was finding little clues out all of the time, I loved that I was unraveling the mystery of the haunted house with Caroline not just simply sitting back and watching her do it, I loved the rich back-story that was instilled into the plot and most of all I absolutely adored the final, jaw dropping twist that left me leaving the theatre open mouthed. Every time you think you know something about this movie, the rug is pulled from under you and you are left reeling, telling yourself that there is no other avenue that the movie can take, but it constantly and cleverly proves you wrong each and every time. The Southern location is the perfect setting for this twisted story as it adds a sense of fear and isolation from the get go, the cold, hard rain pours over the thick swamp and the homes are steeped in horrific folklore, a place where secrets are hidden and lies are the dialect. As the audience -and indeed Caroline- slowly come to the realization of just how powerful the forces in the house are the movie becomes frantic and desperately exciting with intense fight sequences and many unbearably close daring escapes. Kate Hudson gets thrown through walls, tied up, stabbed, run over and strangled in a full throttle final ten minutes -minus the unsettlingly understated final few frames- that are unrelenting and surprisingly shocking. Many have said that this film was slow and predictable but I couldn't personally find a hint of either of those two properties, when it was slow I felt that the tension was building to an almost unbearable height and -even though I tried, very hard- I couldn't second guess what was going to happen. Even though it was discarded by most, I thought The Skeleton Key was absolutely great and I was happy to ride along on this wave of absorbing gothic horror.

I think what made The Skeleton Key so compelling for me was the main concept, the idea that in a small village the residents act and abide to their own religion, that of magic both light and dark. I liked seeing someone's complete transformation from cynic to believer and the effects that had on their lives, I was left asking myself how something (magic) -that is potentially- so light and helpful and a tool to help people can be manipulated into a tool of greed and darkness. Magic has always fascinated me and here I thought that we were shown a different side to it, the production showed 'witchcraft' as a stabilizing force, a constraint, a celestial idea that in the wrong hands can be used for ultimate evil. Although not particularly scary, I did feel that The Skeleton Key was unnerving simply because I didn't know the history behind the plot; it preys on the fear of the unknown and although we know the score from very early on -the fact that the movie centers around hoodoo- the twists still come as a surprise, because everything feels so realistic. There is a very textured and absorbing back-story to this tale that is threaded through the plot seamlessly and the many flash backs that we get to see, one of which is particularly brutal -not in content, but thought- add a real sense of purpose and body to the piece. If you go into The Skeleton Key expecting a straight up horror then you will be wholly disappointed, there is little to no gore and there is very little that will scare you, because there is no real threat, no killer or ghost there isn't anything immediately terrifying, well nothing we can see. When you compare this to movies like The Amityville Horror (which are both about a haunted house) you can really start to see this movie as a thriller rather than a horror, in the former there are considerable things that happen that leave no doubt that the home is haunted, but in this there is always room for doubt. Threats lie behind every corner and deadly secrets hide in the dark, you are never really shown them, but as an audience you are fully aware that anything could happen at any time, and just that knowledge is enough to put you on edge.

Kate Hudson is very convincing throughout, she takes every sentence, every scene very seriously which adds an essence of -can you guess?- seriousness to the proceedings. I liked her character which I find is a rare occurrence in the horror movie genre, so was desperate for her to survive, willing her to jump through that window, to unlock that door, to believe in the very thing that may kill her. Hudson is a very likeable actress and livens up the whole movie, with an impressive energy and strength; she knows how to play both sides of her character, the desperate heroine fighting for survival and the street savvy night club star. I found her completely believable and thought that she made the perfect horror queen. Kate exudes a unique confidence and accesses a deep professionalism to make this a strong foundation for the movie to flourish on. Gena Rowlands is absolutely excellent as the shady, strong and intern terrifying Violet Devereaux, her performance is so deadly accurate and believable that she came out and shone as one of the movies strongest points. With her strong glances and hard nosed bad mouthing I completely believed that she could be the owner of such a property and she successfully portrays all the sides of her complex and interesting character. Although on the surface she seems strong and hard, there is a touching vulnerability that Rowlands puts in which adds another, human, dimension to her role. There is an air of mystery about Violet and this performance is everything, suspicion and light, scary and sweet, compelling and subtle which makes the audience completely unnerved. John Hurt -although dumb throughout every scene- portrays such a poignant intensity that the audiences will wholly heartedly sympathies with him. His eyes are wild and show huge amounts of emotion, his movements are jerky and intimidating. Hurt shows once again his humongous talent and makes -without doubt- the most difficult character of the piece work extremely successfully. Peter Sarsgaard pops up as a sweet lawyer who proves be a good love interest for Hudson's Caroline and Joy Bryant plays one of Caroline's city friends.

Visually The Skeleton Key is pretty stunning; the set pieces are gothic ally grand with brilliant twists of Southern sensibility. The house were nearly all of the action takes place is dark, creaky and fits into the picture that we all associate with a home with a sinister past. Also the grounds are extremely dark and oppressive, just outside the property is a thick, stagnant lake with thick bare trees rising from them and there are many small sheds that house god knows how many pieces of rusty farming equipment that you just know, will be used in one of the many elaborate chase sequences. The use of constant foreboding rain is a good trigger that sets the unsettling tone and adds a lot of pure excitement to the piece, much of this movie is dark but the camera work is so good that it portrayals the darkness but also lets the audience see everything that is going on. Tonally The Skelton Key is rich and textured, there are many good strong colours that come to form a sturdy palette which helps the movie become eye catching and engrossing. Dark blues and mangy greens are used to add atmosphere, cool colours are allowed to shine through adding depth and rich African colours are used to symbolize much of the hoodoo. There aren't very many special effects used here but the flash back sequences are extravagant and the costumes used in them are very fifties glamour. All the magical ingredients and solutions look realistic and scary and the camera work is perfect, showing off all the action sequences in their full glory.

The Skeleton Key has a screenplay that has a nice mix of thriller and mystery. The aspects of a thriller are purely there to keep the pace going, but they are successful because of tight writing and characters that are unique and interesting. I found the mystery part of the plot the most exhilarating though; there are enough sinister layers of secrecy to keep you guessing and a nice back-story. Ehren Kruger is one of my least favorite writers I really didn't like The Ring and thought its sequel was horrendous but I thought this had underlining layers of subtlety that scared me more than the more obvious 'scary' events. Kruger showed a good understanding of character and introduced a new and deeply interesting look at 'magic' as a concept. I also found that there was a strange intimacy quality to this script, even though the original idea is fairly formulaic, Kruger has a strange voice and personality that shines through. All the scenes are inventive and shocking and never feel tired, it transcends its genre and proves to be a really interesting horror/thriller. The southern setting is fully realized and there is an understated, quite yet deadly shocking final twist. Iain Softley handles this movie with strength and obviously has a strong visual flair; his direction is well paced and even.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed The Skeleton Key I thought the set design was wonderfully inventive, the acting amazing, script stellar and initial concept deeply interesting. I liked that it became a monster onscreen, with a steady, tension building first act and an exciting super fun finale it feels really like a journey. I loved it.

price:£9.97 ASIN: B000BH2TDI Amazon.co.uk

Thank you everyone for reading and rating, very much appreciated Jay

Summary: An Intriguing, Well Executed Thriller