Session 9

Film: Session 9 (2001)
Dir: Brad Anderson
Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

It pains me that there are so few horror movies like Session 9. I guess modern movie audiences don't have the patience for slow-boiling tension. This movie is one of the scariest I have ever seen, and yet it draws upon atmosphere and suggestion rather than jump scares or gore.

The film takes place in a run-down asylum with a violent past. An asbestos abatement crew are brought in to clean the place up. Their foreman Gordon (Peter Mullan) is a working-class guy with a new baby and a lot on his mind. His best friend Phil (David Caruso) is along to help, but constantly fighting with Hank (Josh Lucas), who is dating his ex-wife. As the days drag on, tensions rise among the men and mysterious occurances in the asylum become more frequent. Unbeknownst to the others, Mike (Stephen Gevedon) has been sneaking into the hospital at night to listen to old recordings of a schizophrenic patient's therapy sessions. As the tapes approach the ninth and final session, dark truths begin to reveal themselves.

Spooky old buildings - especially those once inhabited by the violently insane - really creep me out. You just know they are full of crazy, pissed-off ghosts! But Session 9 isn't really a ghost movie - it's as much a ghost movie as Kubrick's The Shining. In other words, there are creepy apparitions, but they derive from the damaged psyche. Or do they? Everything in the film has a clinical/psychological basis, and yet it does hint at supernatural influence. I love that the movie approaches the subject from both angles and leaves the viewer to decide what is really going on.

Session 9 achieves tension and terror with hardly any effort. For starters, the title alone builds incredible suspense. As Mike plays sessions 1, 2, 3, you just know something CRAZY is going to occur at 9. Each new tape reveals something increasingly more dark than the last, and I was constantly on edge wondering what was coming. Furthermore, the setting is spooky, as is Brad Anderson's unnervingly calm cinematography. There are no ghostly children here - just dark hallways, isolation, and implications of shocking violence. There is also spooky voice-over thanks to multiple personalities on the session tapes - very, VERY creepy. Try to get "Simon"'s voice out of your head after watching this movie.

Finally, I want to mention the actors, who are all great. Especially Scottish thesp Peter Mullan, whose performace as Gordon is sympathetic and haunting. And Caruso keeps his hamminess to a minimum (minus one hilarious shot you have probably seen as a .gif file online). I think Session 9's only fault would be a few superfluous details and points left unexplained. But overall, this is an amazing, unique horror film that haunts you long after it's over.

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End of the Line

Title: End of the Line (2007)
Dir: Maurice Devereaux
Rating: ***1/2 out of 5 stars



As any seasoned metro commuter could tell you, subways naturally lend themselves to fears like crashing and claustrophobia. Canadian horror film End of the Line takes the terror to another level by adding demons, a crazy religious cult, and the apocalypse. It is not without its flaws, but the movie has solid scares, cool gore FX, and a thought-provoking script. Writer and director Maurice Devereaux goes beyond the standard genre conventions and delivers a unique twist on survivalist horror.

After a record number of crazies pour into the psychiatric ward one night, young nurse Karen boards the last subway train home. Despite a rough work day and being accosted by a creep on the subway platform, her nightmare only just begins when the train stops in the middle of the tunnel. Some of the passengers receive mysterious beeper pages and suddenly start killing the others with crucifix-shaped daggers. Karen and a small group of survivors escape into the tunnel system to evade the attackers who, as it turns out, are members of a religious cult. Believing the end of the world has come, they take it upon themselves to “save” everyone by killing them, before demons can get a hold of their souls.

The acting in the film is not always top-notch but the characters are likable enough. On the down side, there are way too many of them. In Karen’s group, there is a guy she met on the subway, a religious girl and her horny boyfriend, two rail workers, and then another two characters who serve little purpose other than to be abused and/or killed. On the crazy side, there is an insane old lady, a creepy rapist (whose resemblance to Quentin Tarantino makes him that much creepier), and a slew of other cult members. The excess of characters leads to a few boring conversation scenes that drag the film down and should have been cut.

Devereaux’s script is unique and thought-provoking. The true villain in his story is a televangelist, whose cult is cleverly disguised as a children’s charity and recruits its members by handing out psychotropic muffins. The significance and prevalence of these muffins throughout the movie is pretty amusing. The cult members are very scary in a Wicker Man-kinda way, where you absolutely cannot reason with them. They completely believe in the validity of their murderous agenda. So when demons really do show up, you start to question who is truly the insane one? Has Armageddon really come or did you eat a muffin today? Thankfully, Devereaux leaves this question open for the viewer to decide.

Devereaux excels as a director as well, telling his story in a nonlinear fashion, while staying remarkably consistent. The film is not without a sense of humor either, especially when it comes to satirizing religious fanaticism. He handles the horror aspect quite well, too. Personally, I think an old lady stabbing you with a crucifix and singing about God is 100 times scarier than most horror villains these days. The demons are pretty scary too, especially one subway scene involving a mentally ill girl.

The movie is also occasionally brutal, so much so that it might shock you. Be warned: children and babies are not safe here. The gore FX are great, with the exception of a few fake shots early in the movie. Highlights include one character getting the Pez dispenser treatment courtesy of a sword, and a very fucked-up “family portrait” scene. Over-the-top, perhaps, but I promise you won’t soon forget it. Even the demons are costumed actors, rather than CGI. I cannot praise this decision enough!

My biggest complaint about End of the Line is the slow scenes. It strays off on a few unnecessary tangents, but when it gets back on track (no pun intended) the film is smart and scary. It is not perfect, but it has Maurice Devereaux’s talent as a writer/director and it delivers effective scares and gore. The movie does not make subways seem as scary as Cloverfield or 28 Weeks Later did, but it will definitely make you think twice about Jehovah’s witnesses and free muffins.

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