Gothika (2003)

Halle Berry is in the lead as Miranda Grey, a psychiatrist at the psychiatric ward of Woodward Penitentiary in Connecticut. She was recently married to her boss, a fat man twenty years her senior, Douglas (Charles S. Dutton), who is of a leering sort. While swerving her car to avoid ghostly girl Rachel Parsons (Kathleen Mackey) on a dark and stormy night, she crashes into an embankment. When Miranda awakens, she discovers that she is now a prisoner in her own institution as she is accused of the brutal murder of her husband. Not only can Miranda not remember anything, but also she is considered insane. Meanwhile, a lunatic with a strange tattoo is raping Chloe, one of the women inmates (Penelope Cruz). So we are going to spend the bulk of the rest of the movie watching Miranda suffering, pleading, screaming, and getting unwanted drug pills and injections. Miranda's therapist is Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.), a former colleague who had a crush on her and who now seems to want to help her, but is doubting of her sanity. Once she says in exasperation, "I'm not deluded, Pete, I'm possessed!" The prison atmosphere is certainly stark as French director Mathieu Kassovitz has used blue fluorescent lighting as his footage medium. Then there are the dark and murky corridors and flickering lights, along with the obligatory suspenseful music. (At least at the denouement they will flicker at the right time.) Meanwhile, while Miranda tries to cope with prison hospital conditions, ghost Rachel carves the words "not alone" into Miranda's left arm. Over time Miranda does begin to regain some of her lost memory, and her flashbacks make her realize that she chopped up her husband Douglas with an ax. But she also seems to recognize that ghost Rachel had used her physical self as her instrument of revenge. With help, Miranda escapes from the hospital. Seeking clues to the mystery of why she killed her husband, she drives to a farmhouse in Willow Creek, where she opens the trap door of the barn and discovers previous gruesome happenings. No other spoilers will be given here but a hint: there is more than one bad guy. In short, Miranda's tale is a prison drama that morphs into both a supernatural story and a serial-killer thriller. The movie leaves some questions unanswered and plot holes. For instance, how could Miranda have possibly killed her husband after the auto accident? Maybe the ghost put her in a trance and then led her to kill her husband? Strange! In real life would Miranda be sent to the same prison that formerly employed her? Why does Rachel the ghost periodically burst into flames? Why does the ghost painfully burn "not alone" on Miranda's left arm? Why does the ghost threaten to kill Miranda when the car she's driving automatically moves uncontrollably at high speeds above 100 mph towards an approaching tractor-trailer? Although he favors style – shock value – over substance, director Kassovitz has a flair for maintaining suspense and mystery. After all his nonsense, he manages to keep the viewer guessing until the end, when most of the setup is explained. On the other hand, the confrontation at the conclusion is quite ridiculous. Here logic is indeed overrated!

Whilst hardly being a very good horror film, it's not exactly the stinker some would have you believe.The problems with it are that it becomes overblown, after initially pulsing away as a very moody and atmospherically tight spooker, set to a superbly eerie asylum backdrop, it gets away from itself in the final third. The makers never quite grasp the concept of keeping the mystery aspects of the plot still cloaked in scary tints. Tech credits are dandy, though an impressive cast list are not asked to stretch themselves. It's not ever overtly frightening and lacks suspense in some key areas, but there's still enough of a creepy vibe here to not waste the time of first time viewers. Repeat viewing prospects, though? Unlikely. 6/10

Supernatural occurrences, a feeling of déjà vu, dreams, co- incidences, intuition, there are lot of things in the world that happen and there is no straight explanation for them. Gothika delves into this aspect in a way that keeps you intrigued. With a trail of troubled past it is miraculous that Downey landed in roles for Gothika & The Singing Detective as it was incredibly difficult to insure him on the set. Probably the fact that he art personified is something that has been his biggest asset. This movie belongs to Halle Berry but she gets ample support from Penelope Cruz & Downey Jr. Halle Berry plays Dr Miranda Grey a psychiatrist who works in a female asylum with her husband. She believes in a coherent expressions due to which she sometimes cannot connect with her patients. One night, while she drives back home during a heavy rain, she gets involved in an accident. This one incident turns her life upside down. The next thing she knows is that she wakes up in the same asylum that she works in, as a patient as the prime accused in the murder of her husband. The story is about how she works her way out of this mess with the help of a vision of a girl & her friend, Downey. This movie may not score a perfect 10 but it keeps you entertained never the less. Worth a watch.

This isn't the type of movie I would want to watch. But I have to say it's worth seeing just for Halle Berry's performance. Plus she looks good no matter what, and in those scenes where she is locked up for the first time, she's wearing this gown with slits up the side. And there's the scene where she is swimming.Here are three specifics of Berry's performance: She's really good when Miranda is frightened. She's positively chilling, with no conscience, as she kills Doug (note that she didn't necessarily do it; Miranda is hallucinating). And when she almost hits a truck, her unexpected reaction is neat.Charles S. Dutton also does a good job. It's kind of unnerving to see a tough man like him be so vulnerable; once again I'm referring to the scene where Miranda supposedly kills him.I'm not familiar with Penelope Cruz, but nothing about Chloe made me think of her. She certainly wasn't that pretty. But the performance is very good if she can really become someone else.I'm not a fan of creepy, but this movie does creepy very well. Particularly since the prison has serious electrical problems. And of course there are the truly frightening scenes. And one in particular that is so violent I wish I hadn't seen it. Did the victim have it coming? You decide.The mystery is interesting, especially once the search for answers shifts to this run-down house in the country.I am curious about one thing; when she's locked up, where is Miranda's toilet? If you like a scary mystery, this is probably a good one. It's just scarier than I like.