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Sunday, October 25, 2020

Session 9 (2001) #469

 




"Session 9" is a dark, haunting psychological thriller about a team of asbestos removers working in an old asylum and how one the the team members comes across tape recordings of one of the more puzzling cases that took place there many years ago. Directed by Brad Anderson and starring David Caruso, Peter Mullan, and Larry Fessenden.




Gordon owns an asbestos abatement company that wins a highly sought after contract to clean out a large abandoned mental hospital with it own infamous history. Part of the contract that Gordon agreed to was that his team would finish the job in only one week, much to the dismay of the team's supervisor Phil. Before the project even begins, the team members have their own personal demons to contend with. Phil is dealing with a breakup with his girlfriend, Hank has a gambling problem and is sleeping with Phil's ex, Mike who is a law school dropout with an anger problem, and Gordon's nephew Jeff who has an extreme fear of the dark. It's not long before the project starts to fall apart, including Hank's disappearance and Mike finding a set of tapes from the sessions of one of the patients. 





The narrative's pace is steady throughout so it never feels too slow or fast and the scenes build well upon each other while the session tapes act as interludes. It feels like a proper ghost or haunted house story, achieving a chilling and frightening atmosphere without gore and violence. This movie makes you think and multiple viewings offer hidden clues that you may have missed previously. It's all about the interpersonal relationships and the rundown hospital.




The movie was filmed in Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. The hospital itself greatly inspired Anderson's script as well as a real life trial concerning a man who violently killed his wife after she burnt his dinner one night. The crew had no need for sets, using what was already left in the hospital. The hospital has since been demolished, but not before leaving a part of it's legacy on film for all horror fans to enjoy

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