Session 9, however, isn't one one of those movies. It tries to be like The Shining, but it tries too hard. I give Brad Anderson points for the build-up, but he loses those points (among other things) in the long run.
Of course Session 9 has the usual list of horror movie cliches: abandoned mental hospital, checkered past of said hospital, those sort of things. If Anderson wanted to present a new type of horror movie, ditch the cliches and do something unconventional. Seriously, it's not that hard.
If I wasn't clear enough, Session 9 tries too much to be something new and instead becomes the typical forgotten horror movie. It's all right in some parts, but it falls flat on its face by the end. I wasn't impressed.
My Rating: ***1/2
MovieNut14, I enjoyeod your SESSION 9 blog post, though I think it's safe to say it had a bigger emotional impact on me than it did you. That's not meant as a knock, just an observation. I first saw SESSION 9 during its original theatrical release, and to this day, it still packs a wallop for me. Frankly, by the time the film was over, I felt like someone had been holding a knife to my throat for 100 minutes! Heck, my husband is a horror & SF buff who rarely sits through any film without a few wisecracks, but I knew he was as profoundly affected by SESSION 9 as I was, because he never once leaned over and quipped about the onscreen events, a rarity for him. It's definitely not a mindless gorefest or mindless thrill ride, but more of a character-driven psychological thriller, with a sense of dread in nearly every frame. It's a truly intense, compelling nightmare about decent people and how when they're under pressure, their flaws and vulnerabilities and moments of bad judgment may lead to horror and tragedy for themselves and everyone in their orbit. In any case, although we must agree to disagree about some aspects of the film, your review was well worth reading!
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