[soliloquy id=”2137″]
Directed by Iain Softley and starring Kate Hudson, The Skeleton Key has an interesting story, a good twist and Softley makes the most of its creepy New Orleans location.
The voodoo subculture in the city is a perfect backdrop for the movie and if you’ve ever been to New Orleans you could buy the story taking place within it.
The story revolves around Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a hospice nurse living in Louisiana and looking for new work. She answers a newspaper ad requesting a live-in nurse for an old married couple, Violet (Gena Rowlands) and Ben Devereaux (John Hurt). Ben suffered a stroke and Violet, in her old age, struggles to care for him. Despite Gena’s eccentricities and bitter attitude, Caroline agrees to take on the job through much persuasion from Luke Marshall, Violet’s attorney, played by Peter Sarsgaard, and her willing and want to care for elderly Ben.
As Caroline begins to explore the house using a skeleton key that opens all of the doors, she learns that Violet believes there are ghosts in the attic that attacked her husband in their home. As she finds out more of the dark history of the plantation home, Caroline isn’t so sure on the claims she is given.
The acting in the movie isn’t particularly outstanding but Kate Hudson and Gena Rowlands play both of their roles well, but Rowland definitely takes the edge and provides most of the scares for the film.
There’s a lot of voodoo (or Hoodoo, to be more specific) in this and if you’re into supernatural thrillers or if you’re a big fan of Kate Hudson, then you’ll want to check out The Skeleton Key. The main problem with this movie is that it isn’t all that scary. There are many moments of suspense but without the twist The Skeleton Key wouldn’t have been half as entertaining, but I would still recommend giving it a try.
WICKED RATING: 6/10 [usr 6]
Title: The Skeleton Key
Director(s): Iain Softley
Writer(s): Ehren Kruger
Stars: Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Joy Bryant
Year: 2005
Studio/ Production Co: Universal Pictures, ShadowCatcher Entertainment, Double Feature Films
Budget: $43,000,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 104mins
Sub-Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
