Psych:9

"Psych 9" was somewhat of a surprise of a movie. It turned out to be nicer than I had anticipated, and at the same time it also turned out to be more 'weird' than I have thought it to be.

The storyline was interesting and captivating. You are immersed into the story almost right away and taken along for a thrill ride. However, there were times where the story was a bit in disarray, but the overall picture of the storyline was quite alright. Although, I didn't really enjoy the way the movie ended.

Set in an old hospital, the settings of "Psych 9" are really nice. Because you have a sense of abandonment to the movie, and also the sense of impending dread as the hospital is kind of scary in itself. And there was a lot of cool details. So thumbs up to this part of the movie.

As for the cast. Well, it was nice to see Cary Elwes (playing Dr. Clement) in this role. He has been doing some pretty interesting roles these last years. But also Sara Foster (playing Roslyn), she really did a good job with her role. She really came off as a troubled individual and she was phenomenal in this role. Michael Biehn (playing Det. Marling) only had a small role, but he was still a nice addition to "Psych 9". Gabriel Mann (playing Cole) was adequate, but not memorable.

Though being a horror movie, "Psych 9" is not really that scary. It is more of a psychological thriller with a couple of spooky moments thrown into the mix. But the movie works well enough with this mixture, just don't expect to be scared out of your seat.

A young girl gets a night job at an abandoned hospital doing clerical work. She's not alone though, there is another man on level 5 doing similar work. The woman starts to get visions of creepy things in the hospital, which slowly makes her lose her mind. It doesn't help that there is also a serial killer deemed The Night Hawk roaming the streets outside.

Psych 9 goes in too many directions and none of them come to a cohesive ending. Too much is left up being ambiguous and the film asks way too much from the audience. Big plot questions are never answered and we are left to assume things. Psych 9 doesn't know what type of film it wants to be, it's a slasher film at one point, then a supernatural spook story the next. The story should have concentrated on one aspect and stuck with it.

Sara Foster plays Roslyn, the young woman who gets the new job. She hears and sees things that a creepy, this takes a toll on her. She begins to go a tad crazy and we get to know a bit more about her past. Foster does a good job here, she has quite a bit of depth to her character, more than you would expect from a film like this. Her character is a lot like Nina from the recent Black Swan. The man up on the 5th floor is Dr. Irvin Clement played by Cary Elwes. His two most famous roles are Dr. Lawrence Gordon from Saw and more memorably Westley from The Princess Bride. he mostly sits and chats up Foster in this role, nothing too challenging or memorable to comment on.

There is a detective after Night Hawk, played by the always reliable and awesome 24/7 Michael Biehn. Again, underused a bit, his scenes consist of him showing up, asking questions and then leaving. The memorable role here belongs to Foster and the creepy factor belongs to the hospital. Session 9 has some similar elements to this film and they pulled it off better. Here, it feels disjointed which leaves the viewer confused. I sure was at points and even still am.

A lot of the film has that "seen it before" vibe. Its cues are straight from other films. The confusing parts are the faults of the filmmakers, for either not knowing a definitive answer, or never having one. Parts of it feel incomplete and like two different movies. I would have liked them to have left the Night Hawk killer subplot at the door and concentrated the the hospital and how crazy Foster became. I sure as hell wouldn't work at that place at night.

A woman working the night shift in a hospital that has been closed begins to witness things that may be connected to a serial killer. After talking with a psychiatrist (Elwes) that still works in the hospital Roslyn (Foster) begins to see things differently. This movie is hard to explain and review. One because it jumps around between daydreams, flashbacks and the normal movie scenes that its hard to keep track where you are, and two because it's kinda boring I wasn't focused on it the entire time. This movie was a little like the "Last Exorcism" in the way that it seemed like every few minutes the plot and idea switched back and forth. There were so many ideas that could have gone somewhere cool if they let it. Even though this is another "Ghosthouse" movie it was more psychological then scary. I really don't feel one way or the other about it, not much of an impact. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - No, barely made it through once.

The cast was very good, the cinematography fine, its the movie itself which is just poorly edited and convoluted. I know this sort of thing is en-vogue these days but give me a stylish Argento over this sort of thing any day. The flashback sequences do little to make the films point or establish any coherency to the story and the surprise ending should really be no surprise no matter how improbable. Film is a form of communication and the end product fails miserably in communicating anything at all. Again, kudos to a fine cast in spite of the material. Sets, lighting, atmosphere, cinematography a movie that would have had everything going for it in more capable hands.

"Psych 9" is a horror film about an unstable woman,Working alone at night in a recently closed hospital, who witnesses events that may be connected to a string of murders sloughing the streets at night. To uncover the truth she will have to revisit the past behind the walls of Psych:9.

Cast wise, Good. Sara Foster is convincing in the role of Roslyn Hanniger, a mentally unstable woman experiencing a series of unsettling events. Cary Elwes is chilling in the role of Dr. Irvin Clement, a soft spoken doctor who seems very friendly but holds great secrets within him. Rest are good.

"Psych 9" promises a lot and delivers a few. The final plot might seems confusing and is open to individual retrospection.It still has enough twists and turns to keep viewers engaged. The movie settings is very good with less preference of gore.

Overall, "Psych 9" is an average movie which could have been a good movie. But that doesn't take away anything from the fact that it deserves at least one view.

My Verdict : 5/10