Psych:9

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.

"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.

Psych:9 (2010)

3 out of 10 stars Time to Read: 2:05 min

BASIC PLOT: Roslyn (Sara Foster) is starting a new job at a hospital that's closing down. She's going through, and transferring medical records, as part of the closure. There's only two other people on the grounds, Dr. Irvin Clement (Cary Elwes), who's upstairs, doing the same job, in the psych unit, and a creepy security guard (Ryan James), in a shack out front.

At the same time, a serial killer known as "the Night Hawk", has been killing blonde women all over town.

Detective Marling (Michael Biehn), has been assigned the Night Hawk case, and appears to have suspicions about the identity of the killer.

Cole (Gabriel Mann) is Rosyln's husband, who drives a cab.

There's not much of a story, just a bunch of characters, bumbling around in an old hospital.

WHAT WORKS: *AWESOME OPENING SEQUENCE There's a cool opening, using Rorschach ink blots, with faces in them. It's the best part of the whole movie.

*GREAT ATMOSPHERIC The setting was coming through the screen, and the feeling of it was awful! I don't know if it was a set, or an actual building, but it had an ominous aura. The location was disturbing, and it got to you. It really added to the ambience of the movie.

*THE LIGHTERS ARE A GOOD VISUAL METAPHOR They let you know fire is important, a metaphor for history, insanity and cleansing.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *I HATE THESE WOMEN who marry children, nag them, gripe about them, and then are surprised when they cheat, or act a fool. This is a personal preference, but I hate these types of relationships in movies and on TV. You knew he was an idiot when you married him, don't gripe about it.

*THE GREEN FILTER IS DISTRACTING l know they are going for an industrial feel, but it's too much. It takes away from the amazing visuals the filming location provides, and that's about all this movie has going for it.

*MICHAEL BIEHN IS WASTED IN THIS MOVIE Michael Biehn, who plays Detective Marling, is wasted here. His character is pointless, goes nowhere, and it feels like he was cast, just so his name could be on the credits (his name made me watch). This flawed script throws his character away, and it's such a shame. When he's on the screen, he steals the show.

*THERE'S NO STORY There tries to be one, but it makes no sense. There was something about childhood sexual abuse, crazy parents, paranoia, and a baby. That's about all I got from this movie. It's not engaging, or even interesting, and certainly NOT entertaining. There are lots of disturbing shots of a disused hospital, but even that is destroyed by the overuse of the green filter.

Several different renderings could have been chosen to advance the story, but instead, there are just more missed opportunities. We could have seen through the disturbed person's eyes, this technique was attempted (I think), but it's so jumbled, it doesn't work. A depiction of that nature works, only when you have a stable, grounding character, that represents reality. Detective Marling (Michael Biehn) should have been given this role, but instead, he's only given a few minutes of screen time. Without that grounding influence, all you're left with is a haphazard melange of disjointed imagery, and ideas. The viewer cannot tell delusion from reality, so no story forms into anything resembling a cohesive plot

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *The film ventures into strange territory with its attempts at allegories and symbolism, but these efforts lead nowhere, and fail to provide a clear point. It had good actors, who were wasted. It had a cool location, that was wasted. The interesting opening was about all this movie had to offer. I'd skip it, there are better creepy atmospherics out there. Try Session 9 (2001) instead.

CLOSING NOTES: *I HAVE NO CONNECTION TO THE FILM, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews (less trolls and fanboys), and better entertainment. Hope I helped you out.

Okay - to start: Carey Elwes is the man. I absolutely love him and he is the reason I watched this.

This movie? Where to begin? The sets were good and the effects were good as well. The plot? I wasn't sure what was actually supposed to be going on through a lot of it. It was part mystery, part slasher, part psychological horror, part ghost story, part... get my drift? There was a whole lot going on here and it got pretty confusing.

Also - what is up with the absolutely detestable characters in films like this? Was I supposed to like either of the lead couple? She was a shrieking harpy and I was frankly hoping someone would just put her out of her misery. The husband? Well, he was kind of a butt as well. I really didn't care for either of them - therefore I could have cared less if they were brutally slain. Kind of bad when these are the lead characters in a film.

I wanted to like this film, I really did. Promise.

But I didn't.

Right from the start the makers of this movie succeed hands down in creating the perfect climate for a horror movie.

Outstanding camera work, lighting, set design, acting and direction all contribute to the unsettling atmosphere of a disturbed woman working alone at night in a deserted hospital with an unsavoury past.

Unfortunalty it goes on for much too long. After a while(of pretty much nothing happening) the silent halls and creaking lifts start to feel like home. You almost want to nip in and give her a hand with all that filing she is neglecting.

As the film trundles on I found myself willing something nasty to jump out and kill her or the coffee machine to run out of milk or anything of any note worthiness.

This is an excellently produced film, superbly executed and if you have a surplus of patience and don't expect any form of 'pay-off' this film may be for you; otherwise I'd check the rest of your DVD collection before sticking this one on.