The Ward (2011)

An institutionalized young woman becomes terrorized by a ghost. The Ward is far from being one of John Carpenter's best films but it's also far from being one of his worst ones either. There's a very good and clever twist in the end plus the acting was really good by pretty much everyone especially Amber Heard. Now the scares did needed a bit more work for sure but there's some good horror moments like the one in the shower for example? But it did needed a bit more work for sure but 'The Ward' is still a clever and entertaining thriller. (8/10)

Of course coming back from a ten-year hiatus would leave anyone a little rusty, and this movie is far from perfect, but John Carpenter truly did a masterful job of depicting Kristen's (Alice's) internal fight against Dissociative Identity Disorder. Each of the girls: Sarah, Iris, Emily, Zoey, and ultimately Kristen represent a figment of Alice's Dissociative Identity Disorder that resulted from a childhood trauma. While there are some plot holes and things that wouldn't make sense by the end, the movie chronicles Alice's mental fight to gain control of her own mind and cope with the trauma she experienced as a child. As Kristen (the newest personality)'s fight to gain control over Alice results in the killing-off of Sarah, Iris, Emily, and Zoey, the movie ends with Alice "killing" Kristen and regaining control over her mind and the ability to move back home with her parents. To me, this movie makes a creative, and albeit entertaining (it has to be, it is a movie after all), glimpse into the mind of a character whose psyche fractured in response to a childhood trauma.

Just watch something else, trust me it's rubbish. ......................................

Let's state the obvious here: the main reason for me watching THE WARD was the presence of John Carpenter as director. I love Carpenter; man, he made some of the all-time classics in the '70s and '80s, so I have a lot of time for him. Sadly, this is another predictable and undistinguished movie which, like GHOSTS OF MARS, could have been directed by anybody. And I mean anybody - there's no trace of the old Carpenter magic here.Instead what we get is an oh-so-predictable mental institute movie that copies bits of GOTHIKA and even IDENTITY for effect. Amber Heard is pretty but vacuous as the lead, who gets sent to an asylum for arson and must learn the truth about her own murky past as well as the pasts of the strange girls she now lives with. Other than Jared Harris's efficient turn as the asylum doctor, there's little on offer for discerning viewers here.In terms of horror, the writers can't resist throwing in some CGI ghost antics, plus some more visceral scares in the form of electroshock therapy. The problem is that this is all very predictable, right down to the fight ending and the multiple twists which are well telegraphed in advance. There's nothing here the viewer's not seen before, and nothing to remember either.