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 First they remade popular films originally made by William Castle, such as "House on Haunted Hill" and "Thir13en Ghosts" before creating their own original material, such as "Gothika".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.