Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"I live in the weak and the wounded, Doc."

2001 R / Horror Suspense Directed by: Brad Anderson Starring: David Caruso, Josh Lucas, Peter Mullan

Tagline

Fear Is A Place.

Summary Capsule

A dysfunctional work crew is hired to clean up an abandoned mental institution, but… come on, do you really think there's going to be anything good at the end of this sentence?

Mutant Meter

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Amazon.com: DVD | Amazon.com: Soundtrack

Drew's Rating: In retrospect, not the ideal movie for someone with a wife and a newborn daughter to watch.

Drew's Review: As I've mentioned in past reviews, I have a real love/hate relationship with horror movies. I'm fascinated by the gothic and the unknown, the dark corridor you see a vague shape moving through, the unearthly wail that sends chills down your spine. And yet, I'm no fan of excessively gory movies where the main goal seems to be finding the most creative way to expose someone's vital organs. Instead, my ideal horror movie takes its cues from the Silent Hill video games, where everything about the environment combines to create a perfect tapestry of oppressive fear. Dirty, claustrophobic spaces, far-off cries and strange noises, flickering lights, an oppressive psychological atmosphere -- these are the things that frighten me, not chainsaw maniacs spilling buckets of karo syrup. So when I hear about a horror movie that seems to have flown under most people's radars and promises to deliver these things, I figure it's in my best interest to check it out. Which brings us to Session 9.

"Bucking established convention, Session 9 takes an extremely slow burn approach to getting where it's going."

The film finds Gordon, owner of a failing asbestos removal business, tasked with cleaning up abandoned mental institution Danvers State Hospital. Supporting a wife and new baby and desperate for work, Gordon wins the contract by promising to complete the massive undertaking in just a week, bringing in a work crew composed of the conflicting personalities any good horror movie needs. There's second-in-command Phil, constantly at the throat of the opportunistic Hank for stealing his girlfriend; in addition to Gordon's nephew Jeff, who brings zero experience and the wonderful fringe benefit of a crippling fear of the dark. And then there's Mike, the intellectual whose curiosity may be the downfall of them all when he unearths a box of tapes from the therapy sessions of Mary Hobbes. Mary was a sweet, innocent girl who happened to one day murder her entire family, ostensibly at the prompting of a mysterious voice named "Simon." Before long Mike is stealing off at every opportunity to listen to them, growing ever more obsessed as he nears the final tape, session 9. But with the rest of the crew tearing themselves apart, what will the final outcome be? Here's a hint: maybe not a fat bonus check and a commendation on a job well done.

A lot of horror movies follow an extremely reliable pattern: half an hour setting up the main characters, followed by a death every ten minutes until the final confrontation. Bucking established convention, Session 9 takes an extremely slow burn approach to getting where it's going. This is not a film for the impatient, but rather for those who like the feeling of steadily mounting dread, of darkness coalescing without the characters even being aware of it. It will reward those who stick around until the end, but in the meantime you may wonder if anyone is ever going to die in this horror movie. Yes, they will, but gore-o-phobes have nothing to fear until the last ten minutes of the film. Even then, most of the blood is implied rather than seen; the time-honored method of cutting away a split second before the killing blow lands is employed to good effect.

One of the standard horror conventions is characters behaving stupidly and getting axed because to it. Let's face it, if the characters in any given slasher flick stopped and used their heads, at least half of them would make it out alive. The best scary movies are no exception, they're just more successful at making you overlook this fact. One of the things Session 9 does best is chronicling a breakdown of reality, where rationality falls by the wayside and people suffer accordingly. In that context, it almost makes sense when one crew member goes missing, possibly injured, that the others would split into two groups to go look for him, or that Mike's first reaction would be to dash off to listen to the final tape, like oh, good point dude, there's probably a clue on that 40-year-old tape to his whereabouts. Now doesn't it sound stupid when I say it like that? But in the reality the movie has created, somehow it works.

One of Session 9's most intriguing and most frustrating elements, depending on who you ask, is its ambiguity. This isn't a movie wrapped up in a nice little package where the identity of the killer is obvious from the word "go." Unless you've read spoilers, you probably won't get a feeling for who may be the impending perpetrator until three quarters of the way into the movie. Some will tell you that's a sign of laziness, of the filmmakers not giving a proper explanation for what prompted the killings, and I can see where they're coming from. But on the other hand, is there ever really a proper "motivation" for murder? The movie concerns itself with someone giving in to his inner demons and doing horrible things for reasons that don't necessarily make any sense. It ties in with the greatest mystery of the film, namely whether "Simon" is an actual supernatural entity that possesses those who let him in, or simply a voice whispering in the back of all our psyches, but which only takes root with those who are susceptible? No answers are forthcoming, and maybe that's exactly how it should be.

I can see why Session 9 did not become an instantly beloved classic, and why some people seem not to know what to make of it. The filmmakers let the environment do much of the heavy lifting, introducing us to a steadily decaying psychic landscape that has existed for decades, and which the film's characters simply had the misfortune to get caught up in. I personally think that was an incredibly smart move, but on the other hand you might conclude that it results in a movie where nothing happens for an hour and a half. In short, this is not a horror movie that will appeal to everyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre. But if, like me, you appreciate a good scare but would prefer it be the result of an ominous atmosphere rather than mondo blood 'n guts, it might well be worth your time to investigate Session 9. Just don't look to it for tips on dealing with coworkers.

So basically, it's a college campus. For crazy people. Ironically, he's the intellectual one. Dry ice. A lone chair. The epitome of psychological horror.

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• For guys facing a supposedly impossible deadline, they sure seem to take a lot of breaks, huh?
• Speaking of which: they were going to clean this place in a WEEK? Um, okay.
• You can't tell me there's anyone stupid enough to follow a trail of valuable coins and think there's going to be something good waiting at the end.
• In the same vein, I don't care how much money is in it; I am not going into an abandoned insane asylum at night. You can decide whether that makes me cowardly or just smart.
• A recurring motif is the imagery of a lone chair. At one point Gordon runs past a wheelchair that's been tipped over, one wheel spinning from some unseen source. An homage to this scene was featured in the video game Silent Hill 3.

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

No.

Unnecessary Background

Danvers State Hospital is a real structure that did indeed serve as a mental institution for over a century. Built in 1878, it grew drastically in size and at its peak housed more than 2,000 patients. It operated continuously until finally being closed down in 1992. In 2005 the land was sold to a development company and many of the buildings demolished, despite public outcry, to make way for apartment complexes. However, a fire struck in 2007 and burned down several of the complexes mid-construction; the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Due to its gothic architecture, maze of underground tunnels, and close proximity to the site of the Salem witch trials, Danvers has inspired numerous fictional asylums, including H.P. Lovecraft's Arkham Sanitarium, which in turn gave rise to Batman's Arkham Asylum. Besides Session 9, the hospital was also the setting of the 1958 movie Home Before Dark.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Director Brad Anderson has said he was inspired to create Session 9 after driving past Danvers State Hospital every day. Because of the unsafe nature of much of the complex, filming was confined to a relatively small percentage of the building.

A subplot excised from the final film involved a homeless woman living in the hospital who witnesses the events and eventually takes action against the killer. Apparently test audiences became confused, thinking she was Mary Hobbes, so the subplot was dropped. It can be viewed in its entirety in the DVD's deleted scenes.

Groovy Quotes

Jeff: Yeah, so… why did they close this place down?
Security guard: Ah, all these places got closed down in the '80s, you know, budget cuts. Feds called it "the Institutionalization."
Jeff: So, they just… dumped the people on the street?
Guard: Some. Some went to like homecare-type programs.
Hank: So the loonies are outside in the real world, and here we are with the keys to the loony bin, boys.

Phil: Good first day, guys.
Hank: Yeah, it keeps up like this, we'll all be dead by Monday.

Hank: John Hinckley - temporary insanity. He's not in jail, he's in the nuthouse, right Mike?
Mike: That defense never works. Most people are cognizant of their actions when they murder. Homicide implies a motive.

Doctor: Billy, where does the Princess live?
Mary: In the tongue.
Doctor: Why the tongue?
Mary: Because she's always talking, sir.
Doctor: And where do you live, Billy?
Mary: I live in the eyes, you know that.
Doctor: Remind me, though - why the eyes?
Mary: Because… I see everything, sir.
Doctor: And where does Simon live, Billy? Where does Simon live?
Mary: …..

Mike: Right, I mean, I'll motivate him, little mullethead. He may be party in the back but I'll make sure he's business in the front.

Doctor: Why do you do it, Simon?
Mary: Because Mary let me, Doc. They always do. They always do.

Doctor: And where do you live, Simon?
Mary: I live in the weak and the wounded, Doc.

DVD Review

You get director's commentary and several deleted scenes, most of them devoted to the aforementioned cut subplot, and a slightly different ending. There's also the theatrical trailer, and a neat little feature called "story to screen" that allows you to view several key scenes in a split screen format, one half showing what happened in the movie and the other half showing storyboards and the film crew prepping for the scene. Finally, there's a montage of unused poster concepts, some of them featuring taglines and alternate dialogue that it's probably good they decided against. (For instance, "Five Men Are About To Find Out What Drives A Man To Murder," or Simon's line "I live in her gut, sir.")

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Silent Hill
• The Shining
• The Haunting (1963)