During its initial theatrical release, "The Skeleton Key" was pushed as yet-another cookie-cutter gothic horror film we've seen a million times since "The Sixth Sense." To a certain extent, the concept of the movie is similar to "The Ring" or "The Grudge" or "White Noise" or any other generic PG-13 pseudo-horror opus. Maybe that's why it didn't do too well at the box office; how many more goddamn gothic ghosts* do we really need? But it isn't a ghost story, and what makes this one stand above those other titles are the performances, the unique setting and an honest-to-God attempt to confound the audience with a twist ending that's as logical as it is unexpected.

The film mostly takes place on an old plantation in Louisiana. Kate Hudson plays Caroline, a Hospice nurse hired by Southern lawyer Like (Peter Sarsgaard) to care for Ben Devereaux (John Hurt), an invalid who has recently suffered from a stroke. Ben's wife, Violet (Gena Rowlands), a devout Southern traditionalist, initially doesn't appreciate a northerner, and sort of resents her presence in their home (an old mansion located in the middle of bayou country, in which all the mirrors have been mysteriously removed); thus, she isn't entirely open & honest about the house's past. Suspicious, the inquisitive Caroline discovers a hidden room filled with relics of the house's dark history, and learns that a young black couple (who practiced the voodoo arts) were lynched by the house's former white owners during a celebration. Meanwhile, Ben, in his near-catatonic state, seems to be reaching out to Caroline for help; his actions hint that Violet isn't being exactly forthright with everything that's happened in the mansion, included the ultimate fate of Ben. Caroline is initially skeptical about local superstitions & voodoo beliefs, but the more she digs into the house's past, the more convinced she is that Ben isn't suffering from the effects of a stroke, but is the victim of a voodoo curse. For the first hour, "The Skeleton Key" does a good job setting its tone with well-directed scenes establishing long-held local beliefs in contrast to a modern, 'enlightened' society. Making the most of its locations, we get a real good feel for the voodoo underworld which lies just below the surface of this setting. This groundwork is necessary for the final third of the film, in which Caroline is forced to abandon her skepticism in order to save Ben. The film also does a remarkable job establishing its characters; we're given real good reasons why Caroline would bother to stick around to save Ben at the risk of her own life, and with hindsight, Violet is NOT the cantankerous old biddy he seems to be. The story is slow to reveal its secrets (sometimes too slow, and containing more than its share of false scares), but when it does, they are mostly worth waiting for, culminating in a resolution that most viewers will not see coming. Is the movie scary? Not in a jump-out-at-you sort of way, but an aura slow-building dread is maintained throughout. For the most part, the performances go a long way in pulling the story off. Kate Hudson is decent enough in a role which could have just as effectively been performed by any other twentysomething starlet, but Gena Rowlands does a terrific job walking the fine line between low-key & campiness to pull off her role - the movie really crackles when she's on screen. As for Hurt...considering he has almost no dialogue, it's amazing what he does to gain our sympathies (aided in no small part by a make-up crew that manages to make him look really, really sick). The best performance in the film might belong to Sarsgaard, who is deceptively clownish in his early scenes, but whose character really ties everything together at the end.

The movie is presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and sports a really good image, with sharp lines, accurate black tones and effective use of earthy colors. The audio track, rendered in 5.1 Dolby Digital, is also pretty impressive, with good balance & no distortion.

Aside from a commentary by director Iain Softley, most of the extras consists of short featurettes ranging from 2-9 minutes in length. Some are related to the movie itself, like a casting segment, a making-of promo & a feature about the location & set; others consist of material related to voodoo, plantation life and/or the bayou, like interviews with voodoo practitioners, one cast member's gumbo recipe (!) and a feature on blues music. Kate Hudson tells an allegedly true ghost story she experienced, Gena Rowlands recites a voodoo love spell, and John Hurt reads a passage from a slave's memoirs. Also included are deleted scenes with optional director commentary.

"The Skeleton Key" is an atmospheric, deliberately-paced chiller with a smart script, good performances and fine use of its bayou locations. While no classic, it's one of the better films of its kind to come along lately, doing a decent job maintaining audience interest. Some of the many extras are interesting, but I did find myself wishing there was more about the movie and less about making soup. Similar Movies: "What Lies Beneath"; "The Sixth Sense"; "The Believers" *I sure do love alliteration, especially when it looks like I did it on purpose.