Gothika (2003) #507

 

Ghost movies were a popular and common sight in the late 90's and early 2000s and Dark Castle Entertainment was there to provide. First they remade popular films originally made by William Castle, such as "House on Haunted Hill" and "Thir13en Ghosts" before creating their own original material, such as "Gothika". A start studded film, starring Halle Berry, Charles S. Dutton, and Robert Downey Jr. and John Carrol Lynch, "Gothika" is a haunting ghost story taking place in a naturally scary location, a psychiatric hospital. Some may find the pacing of the movie a bit clunky when compared to today's sensibilities, but it felt quite at home in the horror films of its time. The production has some great value and visuals, except for some fire effects later in the film.

Halle Berry plays Dr. Miranda Grey, who works in a remote rural hospital in Connecticut with her husband Douglas, and good friend Dr. Pete Graham. One night while driving home, Miranda narrowly misses a young woman standing in the middle of the street, crashing her car. When she approaches her, Miranda is engulfed in flame before she falls unconscious. When Miranda awakes, she finds that she's being held in the very hospital that she works in, and that she is the sole suspect in her husband's violent murder. 

Miranda befriends a patient of hers, Chloe, who she begins to better understand the trauma and struggles that she's going through. One night, Miranda witnesses Chloe being raped, and that her claims of abuse were not delusions. She sees a tattoo design on Chloe's attacker, but no one believes her either. Miranda has problems of her own as she is haunted by visions of the girl from the accident. The ghost begins to torment Miranda by carving the words "Not Alone" on her arm, as well as throwing Miranda against the wall, making it seem like she's trying to kill herself. Miranda is able to escape from the hospital after the attack and drives to a farmhouse that Douglas was renovating. Looking for clues that she's had vivid visions of, Miranda finds a mattress and various torture tools, including a video camera. One of the video tapes shows Douglas killing a young girl on the mattress. Police arrive and arrest Miranda, but find another girl that Douglas had kept locked up

Miranda is taken to the police station for questioning. While waiting to see what happens next, Douglas's best friend, the sheriff Bob Ryan, comes to interrogate Miranda. Miranda tells bob that Rachel, her ghostly tormentor, was set up to look like she committed suicide, but the visions she's been given make it seem more like a cover-up. Being accused of his involvement in her murder, which he was, Bob tries to sedate Miranda but ends up getting injected instead. During the struggle, it's revealed that he is Chole's rapist. Rachel's ghost appears, and Douglas shoots at her, igniting a fire in the station. Burning alive, Miranda shoots Bob, setting Rachel's spirit free. 

Then sometime later, both Miranda and Chole are free, moving on with their lives after their trauma. 

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Do you know who makes a great mad scientist? Jeffrey Combs! He was great on the "Re-animator" series and he's now/was freaky as Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacuttin the remake of "House on Haunted Hill". Granted, this is more of ghost story than one about a mad scientist but I think it counts because while he was alive, Dr. Vannacutt performed hideous experiments and torture upon the mental patients in his care. And after their uprising, Dr. Vannacutt became one badass ghost straight from a Tool music video.

Simple synopsis 

Stephen Price is throwing a party for his wife Evelyn. They thoroughly hate each other and would love to find a way to kill the other, so Stephen holds the party at a condemned insane asylum and invites his choice of guests and not hers. But a group of unassociated individuals are arrive, a group that neither Stephen or Evelyn even know. Stephen continues with his party plan and explains that whoever stays the night wins $1,000,000 dollars. Once inside, the party is trapped and the spirit if Dr. Vannacutt begins to play with the guests. Or is it just an elaborate scheme of Stephen's to scare his wife to death?

Favorite part - I love the whole movie! But the opening scene with Stephen is a great way to start a movie!

Gothika

“Gothika” is a 2003 horror movie starring Halle Berry, Charles S Dutton, and Robert Downey Jr. (during the time period when he wasn’t very high on the top of a directors list). This was another in a long list of movies that was produced by Joel Silver during this time period and as such it shares many of the same traits as the other ghost movies he helped create such as great visuals but few scares and sub-par storylines. “Gothika” isn’t a fun movie like “Ghost Ship” or “Thir13en Ghosts” were; this film tries to take the serious content of the story but never quite delivers the emotional impact that it was going for. The movie is most notable for an accident that occurred during filming when Robert Downey Jr. broke Halle Berry’s arm, forcing her to wear a cast throughout most of the film. Yes, the most exciting part of the movie happened off screen…

Dr. Miranda Grey is a psychiatrist who works with her husband at a women’s mental hospital. One night while driving home, Miranda has a car accident and becomes possessed by a ghost and loses her memory. When she wakes up, she finds that she is being held in the hospital and that she is the primary suspect in her husband’s brutal murder. While she tries to regain her memory, she bonds with her former patient and finds out that her claims about being raped at night are true. Miranda eventually escapes from the hospital (she worked there, she knows how) and goes to the farmhouse that she shared with her husband, hoping to find clues as to why she killed him. Like most Hollywood ghost stories, the ghost leads the way to the truth and Miranda does what she can to set everything right.

Favorite moment - it's not a moment at all, but I have to say that I like the title. 

Ghost Ship (2002)

Another fun and stupid ghost movie is “Ghost Ship”.  And when I say stupid, I’m referring to a movie where you shouldn’t try to take it seriously and just enjoy the ride because the plot or production mistakes or a million other little details might make you go nuts. It stars Gabriel Byrne, who was going on his own horror movie tour around this time (“Stigmata” and “End of Days”), and is supported by a decent cast including Isaiah Washington and  Karl Urban. Of course the main star is the cruise ship itself; by no means nearly as fantastic as James Cameron’s version of the Titanic but still pretty cool. This ship, the Antonia Graza, is very similar to the Event Horizon is nature and overall character; they have both been somewhere that we would rather not go and are determined to take us there against our will…and will find the perfect minion to make sure it happens.

The film opens as a salvage crew is desperately trying to save their current find. Just when they are about to lose the wreckage, they manage to save it at the last moment and cash in. That’s just the kind of crew that they are so it’s no wonder that they are approached by a shifty pilot who wants to hire them to salvage a large mystery vessel floating in international waters. The crew agrees and set off to the Bering Sea. They find the Antonia Graza, a ship that disappeared on its maiden voyage (Event Horizon?). The crew explores the ship and start repairing the areas that need immediate work. Then ghosts show up, the salvage crew becomes stranded on the Antonia Graza when their own ship is sabotaged and destroyed (Event Horizon?), piles of gold bars are found, and people die. The plot is sketchy and has a “meh” ending but is worth watching for the hell of it.

Favorite moment – The opening scene of a party taking place on the Antonia Graza in 1962 is pretty amazing.

Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

“Thir13en Ghosts” might have made it onto Roger Ebert’s list of “Most Hated” films but I like it! It’s a fun, stupid ghost story that is full of cool eye candy and action. It doesn’t have many scares in it and it has an absurd plot but I like how there is enough quick glimpses at the various ghosts to give a basic back story to some and leave you curious about the others. Matthew Lillard is great in it and Tony Shalhoub is too shabby either. Why and how Shannon Elizabeth was cast is beyond me; this is just another stop on her horror movie circuit tour that she seemed to have made when she was still…um…relevant? What a scary place it would be if she ever was! Luckily for the viewer, she has less screen time than the babysitter who is watching her little brother. This version is a remake of the 1960 film by William Castle, who also made the original "House on Haunted Hill".

Cyrus Kriticos is on a mission to complete his collection of various ghosts, employing a crew of ghost hunters and a reluctant psychic named Dennis. While capturing the extremely dangerous ghost known as the Juggernaut, Cyrus is killed and his estate is handed over to his nephew Arthur, a struggling widower trying to raise his two children. Arthur, his children, and their babysitter accompany Cyrus’s lawyer to his home, a large mansion that is full of glass walls covered in elegant script and clockwork features. (I feel that this concept was directly inspired by “Hellraiser” and is a great tribute if I’m correct). Dennis meets the family at the entrance and talks his way in, claiming to be an electrician that needs to finish some work. Inside, everyone finds weird 3-D looking glasses that allow the wearing to see the ghosts. The lawyer sets off a trap left by Cyrus, the family and Dennis are locked in, and the ghosts are released one by one. It is a trap that Cyrus made in order to capture the last ghost needed for his collection, the 13^th ghost.

Favorite moment – The opening scene is quite effective as well as the scene where Dennis faces off against the Juggernaut. For a ghost, the Juggernaut sure has some sway in the physical realm!