Session 9

I work at a video store and when customers ask me what's a good horror movie that will actually get to them, I don't suggest any of the Freddy or Jason movies. Those are for fans, and I don't consider them to be genuinely frightening. Session 9 is, most definitely, genuinely frightening. It takes place at a mental hospital that is legend where I live. So most people know what I'm talking about when I say Danvers State Mental Hospital. It is one of the few psychologically affective movies that I've ever seen. It takes the audience on a ride through a building that seems alive to it's visitors, and forces the audience to resolve for themselves why things are happening to each character. If you want a movie that is challenging and thought-provoking, this is the one. I always tell my customers to watch this movie in the dark, but not to watch it alone. Just be aware that if there is any distraction during the movie you'll have many questions about it. I hope you enjoy it as much I as do every time I watch it!

Peter Mullan is truly fantastic here, as indeed are the whole cast, the acting if first rate in this well made, unusual horror.

I'm not sure if classify this so much as a horror, I see it more as a psychological thriller, and a truly good one at that. If I'm totally honest, I didn't fully understand all that was happening, but on a second viewing it made more sense.

I see a degree of originality here, it's far from a run of the mill film.

There is enough to keep you interested, and there are definitely a few twists that you won't see coming.

This is a film if gladly sit down to watch again, 8/10.

I had been hearing about Session 9 for a while now, and I finally decided to give it a go.

First off, I have to say the film has incredibly nail-biting atmosphere. There were actually not that many 'scary' scenes, but it was what I feared would come. But don't let that fool you- this is a film that I will be afraid to think about when I go to sleep. The sound effects are incredibly tense and very creepy, to the point that they are disturbing. Certain images in the film are sure to stay with me for a long time. As far as plot goes, like I expected, I knew there would be a twist at the end, but the film does so many different things with itself that I never knew how it was going to come. When all is said and done, the actual twist isn't even all the surprising, BUT the final 20 minutes getting there are very, very tense and I could not look away.

I also want to give a shout out to Peter Mullan, who gives a fascinating performance here. He is the driving force of the film. Also, the cinematography, editing, score, and sound make this perhaps one of the creepiest and unsettling films of its decade. I look forward to rewatching this.

With a brilliant premise, "Session 9" is a slow build of genuine atmospheric creepiness. More akin to Nicolas Roeg's classic "Don't Look Now" than more recent horror fare with high body counts, director Brad Anderson effectively builds tension in layers of voiceovers and (mostly subtle) foreshadowing to build to a climax of madness, with sparing use of the cheaper horror devices. Unfortunately the characters are not as fleshed out as one would have hoped, so we are left with some unanswered questions (we would have liked to have met Gordon's family and Hank's girlfriend. Why did Mike drop out of law school?). Though the subtle horrors of this film may fail to grasp the short attention spans of younger moviegoers who consider "I Know What You Did Last Scream" to be the de facto standard of the genre, this is a very cleverly executed, if imperfect, thriller.

Set in an abandoned asylum, this film is a psychological thriller that, rather than being horror-oriented, focuses more on offering a slow and stealthy journey to a disturbed mind hidden among the protagonists. It is an independent film that did not require a large budget and its greatest strength is the story it offers. During the first days that the protagonists spend in the abandoned asylum, nothing interesting happens until the old recordings found begin to give hints of something disturbing that happened in the past. These indications only serve as a guide to imagine what could happen, but the film leaves open the question of whether there is something supernatural at the site or if it is just the mental imbalance of one of the characters. The film has a setting similar to The Shinning and Silent Hill because the old building becomes darker, generating the feeling that something dangerous is going to happen. Session 9 is a fairly ambiguous film that plays a lot with psychology and leaves many questions or different sensations for those who see it. It can be boring or deep or meaningless or fascinating depending on the viewer's perspective. My rating for this movie is a 7/10.