Movie Review: Session 9

     Whether it's an unrelenting killer terrorizing a small town or a group of hungry zombies out for blood, there are almost always the gory, bloody and the "makes you jump" moments that can be somewhat predictable yet, you still want to see, that make most horror flicks, well, a horror flick. But because Session 9 takes place in a real abandoned insane asylum and the environment itself is eerily calm, there doesn't have to be a murder around every corner because the mysteries behind the building itself plays a key part in freaking you out. So instead of those "gross you out" kind of moments, you get more of a creepy, hairs standing on end psychological feel through the entire movie that plays with your mind!

     Session 9 begins with an asbestos cleaning company given the job of ridding the Danvers State Mental Institution of  all the asbestos in the building. The tension between the members of the crew, Gordon, Phil, Hank, Mike, and Jeff, is high from the start. Gordon, the owner of the company, is having problems with his wife, Wendy, because of the stress of financial problems and of being a new parent. Phil, angry at Hank for stealing his girlfriend, has turned to marijuana. Jeff , youngest in the group and the nephew of Gordon, is the jokester of the group, when he is asked to check the breaker box in the basement he says he can't because he suffers from nyctophobia, a fear of the dark. Mike, a law-school dropout, finds an evidence box in the basement with taped sessions of Mary Hobbes, a patient with multiple personality disorder. She has 3 personalities, Billy, Princess, and Simon. During most of the film the doctor in the recording is trying to understand who Simon is and how he influences Mary. The doctor asks where each personality lives and is told that the Princess lives in the tongue because she talks a lot, Billy lives in the eyes because he sees everything, but since we haven't heard from Simon and the doctor can't get the other two personalities to talk about him, we don't know where he lives. Could it be that he isn't a personality at all but a demon of sorts?

    

      I really like the atmosphere of the movie. The eerily desolate surroundings on the inside of the asylum and the creepy music together really sets the mood to this mind bending film. As the men in the film venture deeper into the mystery that is the asylum we find ourselves wondering how much of it actually happened and how much was just in their head. If you really pay attention to this film you can see how truly scary it is but it definitely takes a lot of thought.. Not because it takes place in an asylum but because this is something that could really happen to anybody. As for the acting and the main story, however, it really lacked. The only reason I enjoyed this film at all was because of the setting and the haunting therapy session tapes.

 

Pros: Thrilling Atmosphere/ Realistic Story/ Enticing Back Story
Cons: Acting/ No Main Plot

Final Verdict: 4.5/10

 ~Tiffany