The Skeleton Key

Here is One that is Not Let Down by its PG-13 Rating Because this is All Superstition and Such, All in the Mind of the Believer. It is a Swampy, Cajun Atmosphere of Dried Herbs and Bones with Rhythmic Chants and Rituals.

Kate Hudson is Fine as a Hospice Worker that Overcompensates for Not Helping Her Father Cross to the Other Side and Enters a World Where Medicine is Replaced by Potions and Doctors are Replace by Ju Ju, or Hoodo to be More Precise.

Peter Sarsgaard and Gena Rowlands Add a bit of Gravitas to what's Going On and You Have to Pay Attention to Know what that is. The Movie is Creepy Enough and Old Worldly and Other Worldly Enough to Keep You a bit Mesmerized.

Overall, Worth a Watch for its Twist Ending, that You Might Not See Coming, and for a Low-Key Atmosphere that Never Goes Over the Top, Just Up to the Attic a Few Times. You Might Want to Sprinkle Some Brick Dust About Before Viewing.

An abnormally smart and classy ghost thriller from that time period. Great performances by Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands, spooky New Orleans atmosphere, and some great twists, too. If it has any flaws, it's that it's never really scary. Amusing and suspenseful, yes, but never really leap out of your seat or clutch your arm rest terrifying, but maybe it doesn't have to be since it at least presents us an interesting story and tells it well.

Caroline (Kate Hudson) is a 25-year-old hospice nurse who cares for the ailing and the elderly, a job she chose to atone for ignoring her own dying father when she was a rock'n'roll manager. After her latest charge dies, Caroline takes a job in Louisiana , the Devereaux house is situated in Terrebonne Parish, which is coastal and swampy. As she is caring for stroke victim Ben (Sir John Hurt), who is bedfast and can't speak. Caroline becomes suspicious of the house, and Ben's cold wife Violet (Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes's wife) dripfeeds hints about spirits that must be contained and away an attic room stuffed with mirrors and Hoodoo paraphernalia. Later on, a lawyer named Luke (Peter Saarsgard) fields the phone call from Caroline, and he sets up an interview with the family. It can open any door !. You will believe !. Fearing is believing !. What have we here -mind games, mumbo jumbo or creepy fact ?.

Set in in a Louisiana plantation house adding tension to the creepy atmosphere, this low key horror thriller draws on the local traditions of Hoodoo, a variation of the most known Voodoo. Nice performances from a great cast, such as: Kate Hudson gives a splendid acting as a hospice worker, she is an ordinary comedian actress and here revealing her serious side; John Hurt is the paralysed owner of the crumbling mansion; recently deceased Gena Rowlands as the prickly, suspect wife; Peter Sarsgaard as the rational state lawyer and Joy Bryant as Hudson's best friend. Strong interpretations fuse with atmospheric John Beard 's production design, also monochromatic and dark images from cameraman Dan Mindel, as well as Edward Shearmur's Southern-flavoured musical score. Nothing is forced least of all a sly conclusion that bubbles up from beneath the movie's shimmering surface.

The movie was professionally directed by Ian Softley. The motion picture failed to hit the box office, but was later reevaluated as a well-made horror film. Softley is a good craftsman, he was a member of the college's dramatic society, the Bats, and directed a number of highly-praised theatrical productions. He worked for Granada TV and the BBC before becoming a director of music videos and, eventually, movies. Ian often uses erratic black and white footage at key moments or flashbacks in his movies (Skeleton Key and Inkheart). His other films include Backbeat (1994), Hackers (1995), The Wings of the Dove (1997) in which he directed one Oscar nominated performance: Helena Bonham Carter , K-PAX (2001), and The Skeleton Key (2005). Rating: 6.5/10. Decent horror film that will appeal to Kate Hudson fans.

In case you haven't seen "The Skeleton Key" yet, be very careful when reading any reviews... The less you hear, read or even know about this film the better, because I assure that you don't want to pick up any spoilers about this surprisingly original and ingenious horror-story. "The Skeleton Key" is an old-fashioned, powerful and – above all – well written haunted house thriller with great acting, macabre scenery and a shocking twist-ending that stands as one of the best I've ever seen in modern cinema. Beautifully set in the swampy region of New Orleans (morbidly enough, I saw this film shortly after the hurricane Katrina disaster), the story introduces a young nurse who moves into the ominous Deveraux mansion to look after its dying owner Ben. He had a nearly-fatal stroke in the dark attic of the house and, even though it looks like it was because of his old age, Caroline soon starts to suspect that something (or someone) nearly frightened him to death. Ben's wife Violet behaves very strangely and the old house's vicious history forces Caroline to investigate what could have happened. She discovers that the earliest occupants of the house practiced Hoodoo, which is a more spiritual variant of Voodoo... That's really all you can say about the story without giving away essential clues but, trust me, the rest of the film is definitely worth checking out yourself. Fans of atmospheric ghost stories (such as "The Others" or "Angel Heart") will particularly enjoy this film as it contains almost no graphic violence or gory monsters. Instead of blood, there's a wide collection of truly eerie set-pieces and subtle frights. Kate Hudson delivers a great performance, especially because she's not really familiar with the horror genre. She receives good feedback from Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard and – of course – John Hurt. The latter is always genius, even when he hardly has any lines. Highly recommended!

A young woman takes a job caring for a stroke victim in his creepy, dilapidated home in New Orleans. She begins to get suspicious that something more is at play. Stars Kate Hudson.

I love the plot and also the location and it's quite creepy. It's not brilliantly put together somehow but overall it's a decent supernatural thriller (more than a horror) and worth a watch.