The Skeleton Key [Blu-ray]

I really enjoy a good ghost story, and that's pretty much what we have here with The Skeleton Key (2005), a ghost story with a southern twist, one that I think sort of got lost in the shuffle when released theatrically, as I think it deserves more attention than it initially received. Written by Ehren Kruger (The Ring, The Brothers Grimm) and directed by Iain Softley (Hackers, K-PAX), the film stars Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, Alex & Emma) and Gena Rowlands (Paulie, The Notebook). Also appearing is Peter Sarsgaard (K-19: The Widowmaker, Kinsey), Joy Bryant (Get Rich or Die Tryin'), and John Hurt (The Elephant Man, Hellboy, V for Vendetta).Kate Hudson plays Caroline Ellis, a nursing student and hospice worker who, after witnessing the demise of a patient, becomes disillusioned with uncaring, corporate medical machine, quits her job, and looks for a position within a household if only to provide care on a more personal level (this is more or less an outgrowth of some unresolved baggage between her and her father, the latter having passed away not so long ago). Anyway, she ends up taking a position in a decaying, southern plantation house out in the middle of nowhere, working for an older couple named Ben and Violet Devereaux (Hurt and Rowlands, respectively), as Ben has recently suffered a paralyzing stroke, and can barely move or speak. Upon arriving at the Devereaux estate, Caroline meets the family lawyer Luke Marshall (Sarsgaard), the one who actually hired her, along with Violet, who seems none too receptive of little Miss Thang...anyway, as Caroline moves in and goes about the business of caring for Ben, she begins to notice various peculiarities with regards to the house, the most obvious being there aren't any mirrors and there's a hidden door in the room in the attic, one Violet claims she nor her husband have never opened in their forty plus years in residence in the house (what a crock). Caroline, not buying what Violet's selling, and being the particularly nosey sort she is, manages to open the mystery door, its contents presenting more questions than answers (kind of like when a contestant on the television show "Let's Make A Deal" picked the door with the `zonk' behind it). After a bit of prying, Violet eventually relates a bit of history with regards to the house and its violent past. Soon Caroline suspects the source of Ben's condition to be tied to what she found in the attic, and also that Violet may not be the caring, loving, doting wife she appears to be, eventually leading Caroline into a world of hoodoo rituals and beliefs, one populated by spooky characters and sinister motives, not to mention a whole lot of poultry parts, mystery organs in jars, and brick dust...William Hurt is one lucky crud...his limited role had very few lines, entailing him to lay about with a scared and bewildered look on his mug, and included him sitting in a bathtub and having Kate Hudson rub a warm sponge all over his wrinkly body. Do you know how many guys would pay to have that done? More than a few...anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I thought this was a great, little film, one that exceeded my expectations, which, honestly, weren't all that high. I thought Miss Hudson did well in her role, but there were some aspects about her character I didn't care for, particularly her tendency to walk into peoples homes uninvited (a great way to get yourself shot) and just the fact she was a real snoop, the latter illustrated by her efforts to gain access into that secret room in the attic, which she had no business in whatsoever. Part of this came from her hearing strange noises emanating from said place, but I'll tell you what, that would have only served to keep me even further away from the room as I've seen enough movies to know curiosity kills more than just cats. One interesting aspect about this film is I think director Iain Softley must have had a real thing for Hudson (who could blame him), as he sure like filming her form in long, lingering shots. It's funny, as there's like twenty minutes of deleted scenes included on the DVD, and yet the filmmakers managed to retain, intact, mind you, most all of the long, lingering shots I mentioned earlier. Well, as I said, I thought Miss Hudson did well, but I thought Gena Rowlands' performance was the real treat here...there just aren't that many actresses out there nowadays that can pull off the creepy old bag routine like there were in the past, at least not to the extent someone like Bette Davis, or Joan Crawford could (when I say `creepy old bag', I mean that in the kindest, possible way), but Rowlands managed to deliver. She works it well, getting her creep full on about three quarters of the way in, right about the time she and Hudson's character were sitting down one evening for some freshly made gumbo (it was about this time Caroline's suspicions with regards to Violet were confirmed). She never really went overboard, which I actually appreciated as I think it takes more skill to present restrained psychotic than unfettered crazy. I thought the cinematography was beautiful, the sense of direction strong, and the pacing of the story maintained well throughout the film (the last twenty minutes or so sweeps you up like a strong river current). One aspect I really liked was how we were presented with a notion of what was truly happening, only have that twisted, and then twisted again, all funneling into an eerie finale. If you do get a chance to see this film, make sure to take mental notes throughout as once the end is revealed, a lot of little, seemingly random and meaningless aspects of the story will make sense. I didn't really find this movie all that scary, but it was entertaining. I am curious about one thing, though...does every movie that incorporates hoodoo/voodoo into the storyline have to feature an old blind woman with the milky eyes? It sure seems like it...The picture, presented in widescreen (2.35:1) anamorphic, looks sharp and clear, and the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, available in English, Spanish, and French, comes through richly. In terms of extras, the DVD is engorged with special feature requiring nearly the same amount of time to sift through as it did to watch the film. There's like ten featurettes, each running anywhere from two to ten minutes, some dealing with the making of the film, casting, real life ghost stories, a gumbo recipe, the shooting location, the music in the film, and so on...also included are over twenty minutes of deleted scenes (with optional director's commentary), a director's commentary track for the feature, English, Spanish, and French subtitles, and previews for other releases like American Pie Presents Band Camp (2005), The Ice Harvest (2005), War of the Worlds (2005), and Cinderella Man (2005).Cookieman108I've learned quite a few things from this film...people in the south seem acutely prone to strokes, they like to listen to the song "Iko Iko" sung by The Dixie Cups, and using a VW bug to bust through a wrought iron gate is a really bad idea (at least for the car)...

An amazing end to a good picture although it could have gone the other way and been just as interesting I personally thought this was a good and proper way to end. Not as scary as it could have been but enough to keep one interested.

This movie was amazing. It was a horror story and a drama and full of twists. I completely did not see the end coming. I loved this movie.SPOILER ALERT....I think that Caroline was a very stupid woman. She was warned about Hoodoo many times, but she kept ignoring the warnings. She was told that Hoodoo cannot hurt you if you don't believe, and she actually went out of her way to start believing. She went into the shop at the back of the laundromat. She purchased brick powder and put it down in doorways and bought other items to use on Ben. A person who does not believe would never do that.Caroline's friend, Jill, said that she doesn't believe, but she wanted to keep it that way by not messing in it - - in other words, her advice to Caroline was don't go into that shop and don't ask any questions about Hoodoo - - just do your job as a nurse and stay out of the Hoodoo - - or, even better, get out of that house.After Caroline put the brick powder in the doorway and Violet could not pass it, that proved three things - (1) that Violet was her enemy and meant to harm her, and (2) that Caroline now believed, and (3) this was Caroline's last chance to get out of that house and save herself.Caroline said that she wanted to meet the worker before her who quit. She met the woman, who warned her to get out of that house. And she ignored that warning. Then why bother going to the trouble of seeing her if she isn't going to listen to her?I understand that Caroline cared about Ben. That is wonderful. But she could have left Ben and contacted someone who could have gone over there to help him when she realized that she was in danger. Caroline took the Hoodoo seriously but did not take the danger seriously.There were subtle clues that Caroline ignored. As soon as Caroline met Violet, Violet asked her if she was "marked" (if she had tattoos). Then, toward the end, Violet said to Luke, "Don't scratch her up any more than she already is." This was because Violet intended to take over Caroline's body from the very beginning. Violet was the little girl in the mansion who grew up into old lady Violet, and before that, she was Mama Cecile.Another clue was when Caroline discovered photos of herself in Ben's house. This showed that Luke was also targeting Caroline from the beginning. There were books on Luke's desk about the preliminaries of how to do his job as an attorney. An attorney would not have these simple how-to attorney books. This proved that Luke was living inside of the stolen body of an attorney - - old man Ben's body once belonged to him because he was the little boy in the mansion who grew up into old man Ben, and before that, he was Papa Justify.Papa Justify and Mama Cecile saw an opportunity during the big party - - all of the adults were occupied. So, they took that opportunity to bring the children into the attic and switch bodies with them. So, when the bodies of Papa Justify and Mama Cecile were killed, they were actually the children. In the children's bodies, Mama Cecile and Papa Justify grew up into old age and called themselves Violet and Ben (a married couple). When Ben got old, he switched bodies with a young attorney named Luke. So, Ben was lying sick in bed, but he was really a young attorney who had his body stolen. And Violet needed a new body, so she targeted many of the hospice workers, but all of them kept quitting. Caroline was the only one who stayed long enough to have her body stolen.So, at the end, when we see Violet and Ben in the ambulance, it is actually Caroline and the young attorney, Luke, trapped in those bodies. Mama Cecile lives on inside of Caroline's body. And Papa Justify continues to live on inside of Luke's body.

I love this movie. It is suspenseful and captivating as well as having a really great twist at the end. Make sure you pay attention while watching so you don't miss it!

Great movie

Excellente surprise que ce "skeleton key" avec Kate Hudson (qui oubliait là pou notre plus grand plaisir ses comédies romantiques habituelles) et Gena Rowlands (flippante). Sorcellerie, intrigue, personnages inquiétants, maison lugubre, jump scares, tout pour plaire au petit démon qui sommeille en moi... la fin est à la hauteur du film et je ne peux pas en dire beaucoup plus sous peine de spoiler l'ensemble. Souvenez vous juste que si vous n'y croyez pas...ça ne marche pas ;-) 4.5 /5

Vielen Dank für die Lieferung meiner DVD. Ich habe mir den Film gestern angeschaut und endlich bin ich sehr wohl. Es ist sehr interessiert. Kate Hudson ist eine stärkere Frau und später wird sie böse, als Cecile Charktar die Macht übernimmt. als wäre es schlimmer. Eine alte Frau denkt immer an bäume, weil sie sich daran erinnert, dass zwei schwarze Diener gearbeitet haben. beide schwarzen Diener wurden getötet. Diese Geschichte ist etwas grausam . Hier ist die Stadt New Orleans, früher New Orleans gibt es viele Menschen, die von Hurrikanen und Überschwemmungen betroffen sind. es sieht schlimmer aus. Ich mag gerne die Geschichte und erzähle sie anderen alten Menschen. Ich wusste es nicht, es gibt auch Hoodoo, man kann meistens Hoodoo verwenden.

Loved it

Reçu en bon état

The Skeleton Key is a supernatural thriller, rather than a horror film, and it is based deep in Louisiana. Care nurse Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), disaffected with her employer’s indifferent attitude towards its patients, seeks alternative care work and finds herself newly employed at the backwater plantation home of Violet (Gena Rowlands) and her invalid husband Ben (John Hurt), who's been rendered mute and seemingly helpless by a recent stroke. As the plot slowly develops, Caroline discovers that sinister powers are at play involving hoodoo, an Afro-Caribbean magic or witchcraft. The story that follows is essentially her attempt to rescue Ben; it has several twists and turns and is quite complex but, as other reviewers say, the ending is unexpected.What makes this film so enjoyable is that the supernatural elements are not overplayed; in fact they are introduced with considerable subtlety, so that the viewer, initially sceptical, is unconsciously drawn in along with Caroline to start believing in the effects of hoodoo. The gramophone record with the ‘conjure of sacrifice’ track is particularly effective in adding to the atmosphere and suspense. Definitely a film for those who appreciate a more cerebral thriller experience.