Session 9 (2001)

I found out about today's movie Session 9 from another top horror movies list. Not only that, but it was often fairly high up on the lists. Beyond that, I knew nothing about it. Today when I was thinking of what movie to watch, my curiosity about this film just wouldn't relinquish its hold, and so I put it on. One thing I didn't really expect to find was that this is a very low budget, indie sort of a film. It was all filmed on location at Danvers Mental Institution and directed by Brad Anderson, the director of The Machinist, and also 11 episodes of one of my favorite TV shows, Fringe. This should all add up to a spooky film I really like. So did this haunted insane asylum get under my skin, or do I just think the people who made those top horror lists are crazy? Hit the jump to find out.


The story brings us along with Gordon (Peter Mullan) and Phil (David Caruso) as they place a bid on cleaning up an old abandoned mental hospital and removing the asbestos. Little do they realize the dark history the hospital has, and how it could come back and pry at each and every one of their weaknesses as they work inside.

That's it. That's the whole story. Some guys are working in a weird old building, and they get effected by it. Or so you're lead to believe. If you believe it or not, that's really up to how well it's conveyed throughout the movie. Too bad it isn't really conveyed very well at all.

I had to look up some other reviews of Session 9 after I watched it, because I really had no idea what I was supposed to get out of it. I can't figure out why it was on all those top horror movie lists, because frankly, it wasn't very scary at all. Some of the other reviews mentioned that this isn't for people who can't handle slow build-up, but I have to disagree. I LOVE the Paranormal Activity movies, and they have to be the prime example of slow build-up. One review seemed to feel all entitled that "teens" won't get it because of the pacing, and they'll just whine that "Nothing is happeniiiiiing". Well guess what? That's probably because NOTHING HAPPENS.

A chair in a hallway. Oh, this is supposed to be spooky? Is that why you show it over and over?

OK, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. Of course things happen in the film, but none of it is revealed until about the last 10 minutes of the movie. The only thing slightly interesting are probably some old audio patient interview recordings one of the workers finds, and keeps sneaking off to listen to. But this really just doesn't make sense either. See, a part of the story is that to get the job contract, Gordon had to agree that they could get it all done in a week. If they did, they'd also get a $10,000 bonus! So why is this guy slacking off work to listen to some recordings that he could so easily just take home with him? It's an abandoned building, no one is going to want the crap inside it!

The tape player that apparently only works in this one room in the basement.

Another thing that bothered me is that all the "scariness" of the movie is supposed to be coming solely from the atmosphere of the building. But I just never found the place scary. I thought it was dirty, and messy, but nothing screamed "scary" to me. Also, they're working in the broad daylight about 90% of the time. I just never felt anything remotely atmospheric about the film, and so a lot of the weirdness that seemed to happen to the guys, if anything, came across as forced, and unearned.

Also, is it just me, or is it hard to watch a movie that not only has David Caruso, but also Paul Guilfoyle in it, and not think CSI? Sure they're from different CSI shows, but still. It took me a long time to get past how I think David Caruso should act, and how he actually was acting. It wasn't super different, but to see him light up a joint is just a little weird.

The fact that some people think this is a great horror movie, is a little... scary. YEEEEAAAHHH!

The only thing I can really give the movie credit for, is that I didn't see the ending coming. Still, it didn't shock or surprise me, my reaction was more along the lines of "Oh, ok." Everything about the movie screams super budget title, and it all seems too artsy, instead of scary, or even spooky. I wouldn't recommend this movie at all, because there's just nothing here to recommend. It was dull and drab, and the slow paced build-up, never actually builds-up to anything interesting. In fact, if I had cared more about the characters, or anything at all that was happening in the movie, then the ending probably would have been very obvious and not a shock at all. Don't bother with this one, it's not worth the time.