Gothika (2003)

Overrated and overhyped

Fresh and Exciting

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

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.

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

Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a psychiatrist who works in a prison mental institution. Her husband Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles S. Dutton) is the chief. Her patient Chloe Sava (Penélope Cruz) is claiming that she is being raped by the devil in her cell. Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) is another doctor in the department. One stormy night, Miranda almost runs into a girl on the bridge who turns into flames. She wakes up as an inmate in the penitentiary. Dr. Grey tells her that she's been there for 3 days, and she killed her husband.It's all mood and no thrills. It's a dark atmospheric movie. It's not really compelling after so much dark moody nothing scenes. It gets very boring. There are long scenes of slow moving uncut sequences. It just grinds on and on and on. I didn't care even when the movie reveals something. Just because the movie shows bad ugly things. It doesn't make it scary.

This is a fairly descent crime horror flick starring Halle berry as criminal psychologist Dr. Miranda Grey, who awakens to find herself a patient in the institution where she works. She has no memory of a murder she is accused of committing and finds herself being manipulated by a demon as she tries to regain her memory and her freedom.The acting is sub-par at best, with Berry pulling off some very campy moments and forced drama. But, what made up for the film is the fast-paced plot, surprising twists, unpredictable story and thrilling sequences. It was nice to see Penelope Cruz star in a horror movie and she gave a riveting performance. A descent horror movie, overall, and I wasn't bored by it.Grade B-