cinephile-27690
That's something Roger Ebert wrote in his 3/4 star review. And I agree. Few horror movies induce fear in me. Many horror films are predictable to me and earn a 10 "liked" or fewer stars. Gothika is not in this category. There are many instances of decent horror and suspense. As Ebert said in his TV review(which can be found with reviews of movies like Looney Tunes Back In Action and 8 Mile), this is a movie that will polarize people, since there are plot holes. I personally would not have noticed them without the review. But that was not my concern with this, I wanted to be scared, and what scared me more was that the movie would fail me. Like I said, it did not. Horror fans who have not seen this are missing out. This is a movie that they want.
nagyovamonika
This is one of the best horror/thriller movies ive ever seen . One of the few movies that actually has a good story in it
Spikeopath
Whilst hardly being a very good horror film, it's not exactly the stinker some would have you believe.The problems with it are that it becomes overblown, after initially pulsing away as a very moody and atmospherically tight spooker, set to a superbly eerie asylum backdrop, it gets away from itself in the final third. The makers never quite grasp the concept of keeping the mystery aspects of the plot still cloaked in scary tints. Tech credits are dandy, though an impressive cast list are not asked to stretch themselves. It's not ever overtly frightening and lacks suspense in some key areas, but there's still enough of a creepy vibe here to not waste the time of first time viewers. Repeat viewing prospects, though? Unlikely. 6/10
vchimpanzee
This isn't the type of movie I would want to watch. But I have to say it's worth seeing just for Halle Berry's performance. Plus she looks good no matter what, and in those scenes where she is locked up for the first time, she's wearing this gown with slits up the side. And there's the scene where she is swimming.Here are three specifics of Berry's performance: She's really good when Miranda is frightened. She's positively chilling, with no conscience, as she kills Doug (note that she didn't necessarily do it; Miranda is hallucinating). And when she almost hits a truck, her unexpected reaction is neat.Charles S. Dutton also does a good job. It's kind of unnerving to see a tough man like him be so vulnerable; once again I'm referring to the scene where Miranda supposedly kills him.I'm not familiar with Penelope Cruz, but nothing about Chloe made me think of her. She certainly wasn't that pretty. But the performance is very good if she can really become someone else.I'm not a fan of creepy, but this movie does creepy very well. Particularly since the prison has serious electrical problems. And of course there are the truly frightening scenes. And one in particular that is so violent I wish I hadn't seen it. Did the victim have it coming? You decide.The mystery is interesting, especially once the search for answers shifts to this run-down house in the country.I am curious about one thing; when she's locked up, where is Miranda's toilet? If you like a scary mystery, this is probably a good one. It's just scarier than I like.
AD
