Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
Reviews:627
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I seem to be going through one of those phases where if a DVD is given to me I feel the urge to watch it. It doesn’t matter what the film is or whether I’ve heard people say its good or bad before. I just seem to be in a frame of mind where I will pretty much watch anything. Or at least that’s the only reason I can think of as to why I sat down and withstood the torture that is Gothika. I will admit now I had been warned it was bad before I watched it and now wish I’d listened.
The plot is fairly standard; Dr Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a psychiatrist at a mental institution for criminally insane women. She works with her husband Dr Douglas Grey (Charles Dutton) who is the senior psychologist at the hospital. Having finished a gruelling day at work Miranda is heading home to be with her husband. The main road is closed and she’s diverted a different way. After crossing the bridge a girl seems to be standing in the middle of the road and Miranda swerves to avoid her.
Three days later
Miranda awakens to find herself as a patient in the very hospital where she worked. Her close friend Dr Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr) informs her that she is charged with murdering her husband. Miranda however can’t remember anything but the harder she tries it seems the memories are coming back. Slowly the pieces fall into place and Miranda starts to see what she has done but needs to work out why.
The film is pigeon holed in the horror genre however I feel this is slightly misleading. Although there are a few “scary” moments, well they are intended to make you jump but just make the film seem slightly comical. If I were to put it into a genre I’d say it was trying to be a psychological thriller and would appeal more to fans of that genre. Saying that I would consider myself a fan of psychological thrillers and I found this very weak.
The film comes from director Mathieu Kassovitz, however don’t worry if his name isn’t familiar. He seems to have mainly done French films, none of which I’ve had the pleasure (or misfortune) to see. When the film starts off you get the feeling he has some good ideas with the setting of the film. The Mental Institution is a great choice of location and gives you the impression he knows what he’s doing. However it soon becomes clear that the choice of location may have been more down to luck than good judgement.
The film stumbles along with little or no inspiration from the director. He tries to scare you on occasions but fails miserably. What started out as a good idea quickly becomes the sort of film we have all seen before. The lighting on occasions adds an eerie effect but that’s mainly down to the location again rather than inspired direction. The story was incredibly patchy and left you with far too many questions, if you actually cared enough to ask them. There were the basis of some good ideas but the director just didn’t seem to expand on the avenues available to him.
If he had the end result would have been a much better film with some new original aspects. Instead we end up with a formulae that has been used a hundred times before, lacking anything even remotely new. The soundtrack did very little to inspire me either. A couple of misplaced songs were all that really stood out. The rest of the time I was either not registering the music or it did its job and nothing else.
I felt the cast let the film down in a big way with no real stand out performances. Halle Berry starts well enough as Miranda but quickly fades away after she is locked up. I didn’t feel she was right for the role and this added to my overall feel of disappointment at the end result. Usually her performances are at the east watch-able however I found this a real struggle to get through. Robert Downey Jr doesn’t really seem to get into the film and might have improved things had he been used a little more.
The rest of the cast are average to poor with no one really standing up and grabbing your attention. The only piece of casting I think they got right was John Carroll Lynch as Sheriff Ryan. I started off thinking he was totally the wrong person for the role. The longer the film went on for the more convinced I was that they had actually made the right decision.
Well I think suffice to say that I wouldn’t recommend it. I was warned before I watched it of just how bad it was. I decided however that I wanted to make up my own mind and ended up agreeing with the person who warned me about it. If you like poorly directed films then this would certainly be for you. If you’d rather watch something good then I’d say avoid Gothika, perhaps it’ll go away.
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Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: Bharat Nalluri, Rob Bailey, Andy Wilson - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter, Lisa Faulkner
Production Year: 2002 - Thriller - Director: K.C. Bascombe - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Jesse James, Rachel Skarsten, Charles Powell, Linda Purl, Kevin Zegars
Thriller - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Timothy West, Neil Morrissey, Tara Fitzgerald, Annette Crosbie, Pauline Quirke, Rob Brydon, Denise Van Outen, John Thomson, Kevin Whately, David Suchet
Couldn't agree more. This is becoming one of the most redone plots in recent years. What Lies Beneath, Stir of Echoes, The Gift, Ring, The Sixth Sense. Some good, some bad.
PlaceboFan 05.09.2004 18:22
Shame you didnt like this one - I really enjoyed it, thought it was intense and in parts waaay scary lol PlaceboFan x
supersexycoolchick 11.08.2004 14:28
couldn't help feeling that its been done before - and better - xara
The title ofGothikaprepares you for a spooky, atmospheric thriller with an emphasis on ... more
supernatural mystery. The best way to appreciate the movie itself is to understand that it's a waking nightmare that needn't make sense in the realm of sanity. Makin...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The title ofGothikaprepares you for a spooky, atmospheric thriller with an emphasis on ... more
supernatural mystery. The best way to appreciate the movie itself is to understand that it's a waking nightmare that needn't make sense in the realm of sanity. Makin...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
A brilliant and respected criminal psychologist, Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is an ... more
expert at knowing what is rational. What is logical. What is sane.But Miranda's comfortable and stable life are thrust into terrifying jeopardy after a cryptic encoun...
Advantages: easy to watch with very little thinking involved, talented cast Disadvantages: complete rubbish, not scary, themes pieced together from other films
littlem 09.04.2004 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Gothika (DVD)
![Gothika [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78509296.jpg "Gothika [DVD] [2004]")
May 11th, 2004
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very helpful by (99%):
