Moustroll
Good movie but grossly overrated
CommentsXp
Best movie ever!
Janae Milner
Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
dunsk
Being a kid and looking up and seeing this gothic structure and knowing it's overall purpose was chilling. My family would pass it on drives to/from Boston and it was just so damn creepy (especially on overcast or stormy nights) that my spine would tingle. I think that people who actually saw it as children have more appreciation for the way that this film uses the uniqueness of this location as a character that builds and heightens atmospheric tension and chilling terror. People that I grew up with seem to really appreciate Brad Anderson's chilling tale of the horror that emanates from this gothic structure and the ghastly remnants of the horror of lost minds and documented patient abuses occurring within its walls. I do not understand how people choose to live in the residential apartments that this former State mental hospital has become. I would not live there if someone paid my entire rent plus $200k or even more per year. Just would not go near it.
uncled-05453
Watched this movie last night and was very disappointed. I kept waiting for something good to happen. My thoughts are if nothing happens during the first 5 minutes then the movie is a dud, and was I ever right. I have read that some on here loved the movie and thought it was great. Everyone is different so I'm placing my thoughts here also.
romanorum1
Construction contractor Gordon (Peter Mullan) and business associate Phil (David Caruso) have bid on removing the asbestos from Kirkbride Mental Health Hospital, a large and abandoned insane asylum originally built in the 19th century and closed in 1985 (The building was actually Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, MA.). The entire structure is being reclaimed for local use. Gordon is so eager for the job that he claims his tiny crew can handle the asbestos abatement in one week (!). Any contractor worth his salt knows that the job for the entire structure will require six months. Even if only a partial abatement is specified in the contract, one week is insufficient for job completion. More than desperate, Gordon must be a tad unhinged. The crew will include folks who have personal problems, and some who do not like others. Gordon's newborn baby is unnerving him more than should be expected. Phil, the job foreman, feels the work will be difficult to complete on time. He does not think much of crew member Hank (Josh Lucas), a wise-cracking self-absorbed troublemaker who stole Phil's girl. Then there is Gordon's young teenage nephew Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), who is afraid of the dark. Rounding out the crew is former law student lawyer Mike (Stephen Gevedon), whose district attorney father was involved in a patient lawsuit that contributed to Kirkbride's closing. The official reason for closure is budget cuts but unofficially because of reports of patient abuse and unorthodox practices. The complex is eerie and seems to affect everyone's nerves in one way or another. Nearly vacant, it is grim, engulfed by peeling paint, graffiti, and patients' mementos stuck on walls. During the tour of the building, Gordon alone hears a voice call out to him in a creepy hallway with what looks like an old-time electric chair. Later, when he reflects on his wife and baby, we hear haunting screams. Hank pretty well disappears after covetously finding a cache of old coins hidden behind a brick wall. Mike discovers both a tape player left behind and also some compelling tapes from former patient (#444) Mary Hobbes, who had three personalities, "Princess," "Billy," and the disturbing "Simon." Simon's spine-chilling voice does not appear until Session 9; he lives "with the weak and the wounded." There is a spooky scene where Jeff is trapped in a corridor when the outside generator fails. He runs in sheer panic as each temporary lamp above goes out in rapid succession, the darkness chasing and overtaking the hapless lad. So is the building itself haunted, or are the guys only being bedeviled by their own demons? Filming on location is always a plus (note that the Danvers structure was mostly demolished a few years after the movie was made). The acting is plausible. But for such a rush job, we often do not see the few employees actually working as they are often on breaks or doing anything but asbestos abatement. Also vexing is seeing folks work while only sporadically wearing various types of safety equipment, like face masks and protective clothing (asbestos is harmful material). On the other hand, suspense builds as Mike advances deeper into the tapes, and Gordon becomes deranged. So, despite its drawbacks, the film is sufficiently chilling and worth watching.
Fritz Fantom
I went through some "What's the creepiest film you've ever seen?" thread on IMDb, and a lot of people mentioned Session 9, so I was very curious about it. The plot seemed interesting enough and the movie poster looked creepy, so I had rather high expectations on this one. And I have to say: I don't agree with all the positive reviews at all, except for one thing: Most horror flicks nowadays only have a lot of blood and jump scares (which I also like, to be honest) and there are only few movies that scare you on a subtle, psychological level. And, according to the reviews, Session 9 should be one of those films. But it is not, in my opinion. Not at all.There is hardly any build up of tension during the first hour of the film, only a few moments. And don't get me wrong, I AM a fan of movies with a slow build up, but this one was just boring. The characters were not very believable, although the makers tried to make them deep, but failed in my opinion. There are quite a few things going on, so you have to keep attention and get curious how everything will solve in the end. So it is kinda interesting for about half an hour. But then, the story becomes extremely predictable. It is a very cookie-cutter type of horror/thriller story and has no interesting or fresh aspects. I also didn't like the fact that the whole "action" went on in the last 10 minutes. It seemed very hesitated. Too much dialogue that could have been left out since it didn't make the characters any more credible, and too many different things going on that could also haven been left out since they didn't really tie together in the end (or at least didn't ad much to the story).Last but not least, the film lacked of atmosphere. If I watch a horror film without the typical jump scare stuff, I expect it to have dense atmosphere that chills you to the bone, and Session 9 failed to deliver such atmosphere. The only thing I thought was creepy was the old wheel chair from the movie poster.
