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 fter having to sit through the "so stupid it might
actually be good" Bones,
it's something of a revelation to voluntarily sit through Brad Anderson's Session
9, an independent horror film that was overlooked by the box office because
it was not heavily promoted. The box office and America never noticed Session
9's coming and going and it's completely their loss, because Session 9
is a hell of a movie.
The main attraction of Session 9 is an old, gothic
state mental hospital from the 19th century that is in need of HAZMAT cleaning.
Gordon's company gets the contract off the basis that Gordon promises the
undeliverable: to clean up this giant hospital, which has more than a dozen
separate wings and floors and winding underground tunnels, in one week. The
hospital was home to 2,000+ mental patients in its heyday, but was shut down
about 15 years ago for various reasons. Now it's in need of asbestos cleaning
because, as a state landmark, the place can't be torn down.
Gordon's 5-men team
arrives to take care of the dirty work and find an eerie hospital, covered in
rust, dust, and unpleasant reminders of despicable deeds from the past when
mental illness was treated with barbaric mentality. It isn't long before each
member of the team starts to realize something isn't quite right, but is the
problem with the hospital or is it with Gordon's team?
Session 9 is all about atmosphere. The movie was
shot on digital film and this is most apparent during kinetic scenes where the
digital format's limitations come to light. On the plus side, I can see how
shooting in digital would save a lot of money. The movie has a low-budget feel
but you wouldn’t know it by the smooth flow of the film. There are only two
locations -- at the hospital and at Gordon's house, and even Gordon's house is
shown from the outside.
Director Brad Anderson and co-writer Stephen Gevedon has
gone for an old-fashioned sort of horror film, the kind that doesn't rely on
people jumping out of shadows behind characters to scare them. In fact, I can't
recall one "cheap scare" in the whole movie. In lieu of gimmicks that
are so prevalent in the teen horror genre of today, Session 9 relies on
the imagination of its viewers as well as its characters. Are there actually
spirits of the damned still residing in the hospital? Are those shadows in the
background moving? Session 9 is not concerned with giving the audience
straight answers and it's so much better for it.
Acting throughout Session 9 is strong, and in a
low-budget film that takes place over a small number of locations, strong action
is paramount to provide credibility, since the filmmakers can't afford other
areas to showcase. David Caruso (TV's "NYPD Blue" and recently Proof
of Life) is so right for the role it's hard to imagine anyone else
playing it. Caruso is Phil, Gordon's buddy, who may or may not have a personal
motive to undermine Gordon's authority in the company. There is a hidden look in
Phil's eyes that makes you wonder if he's plotting against you or thinking of
ways to help you.
Peter Mullan, as Gordon, is also terrific as the boss. Gordon
and his wife, Wendy, have just had a baby girl, but as Phil mentions to another
character, it was not Gordon's choice to have the kid. The result is that Gordon
is completely miserable and going home is now a chore. If all of that wasn't bad
enough, Gordon is showing signs of a mental breakdown from all the stress at
home and at work. The supporting characters all do very well in their roles.
Brendan Sexton is Jeff, Gordon's nephew, a novice to the asbestos cleaning
service and who is completely impressionable and very much afraid of the dark.
Josh Lucas is Hank, the shoot-off-the-cuff slacker who stole Phil's girl,
resulting in Phil and Hank being in perpetual conflict. Session 9's
co-writer, Stephen Gevedon, is Mike, the last member of Gordon's crew, an
intellectual who flunked out of law school, and who seems to have a better head
on his shoulders than the others. Or does he?
The real trouble for Gordon's crew begins when Mike
accidentally locates old recordings between a doctor and a patient named Mary
Hobbes. There are 9 sessions total, and as Mike goes through them one by one, we
begin to see the same things that are occurring within the recordings happening
to Gordon's crew. Gordon and his men are, quite literally, re-living what is
taking place in the session recordings. By the time events start to spiral out
of control and the men are at each other's throats, we are desperately waiting
for Mike to play the ninth session to see how it's all going to end. For much of
its running time, Session 9 is deliberate in its pacing and (rightfully)
lacking in any physical action. That is, until the inevitable resolution in the
last Act, when everyone comes to light and confrontations turn bloody and
violent.
Session 9 is a creepy session. Make sure you don't
watch it alone or with the lights off. At the very least, keep a curtain opened
or within easy reach. This film is guaranteed to creep you out, and you will
never look at a lone chair sitting at the end of a hallway the same way again.
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