Skeleton Key, The (UK)

7 / 10
2 votes cast
Rate this item

It can open any door
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 100 mins
Retail Price: £17.99
Release Date:
Content Type: Movie

Synopsis:
From the writer of The Ring (Ehren Kruger) and the director of K-PAX (Iain Softley) comes the supernatural thriller, The Skeleton Key.

Set largely in the dark atmospheric backwoods just outside of New Orleans, The Skeleton Key stars Kate Hudson as Caroline, a live-in nurse hired to care for an elderly woman`s (Rowlands) ailing husband (Hurt) in their home... a foreboding and decrepit mansion in the Louisiana delta. Intrigued by the enigmatic couple, their mysterious, secretive ways and their rambling old house, Caroline begins to explore the mansion. Armed with a skeleton key that unlocks every door in the house, she discovers a hidden attic room that holds a deadly and terrifying secret...

You can view the trailer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theskeletonkeymovie.com/media/skeleton_key_many_roads_post_700k.mov">in high quality here</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theskeletonkeymovie.com/media/skeleton_key_many_roads_post_128k.mov">in low quality here</a>.

Special Features:
Audio commentary from director Iain Softley
Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary from Iain Softley
`Behind The Locked Door`: the `Making Of` the film
`Exploring Voodoo / Hoodoo` featurette
`Recipe & Ritual`: making the perfect Gumbo!
Blues in the bayou
Kate Hudson`s ghost story
Plantation life
Casting the film
John Hurt`s story
A house called Felicity
Gena`s love spell
Trailers

Video Tracks:
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1

Audio Tracks:
Dolby Digital 5.1 English

Directed By:
Iain Softley

Written By:
Ehren Kruger

Starring:
Joy Bryant
Peter Sarsgaard
John Hurt
Gena Rowlands
Kate Hudson

Your Opinions and Comments

7 / 10

This supernatural thriller could`ve easily ascended to "The Others"`S level, but along the way it simply got stuck. I don`t really know why. Everything was there - a nice cast, a decent storyline, a creepy atmosphere, but still - something is just missing.
The video transfer is very good. There are no compression signs and the colors are deliberately desaturated, thus increasing the creepy as it is atmosphere.
The DD 5.1 soundtrack is good. The surrounds are used occasionally and help create a nice scary atmosphere.
The menus are animated with sound.
The extras include a commentary by the director, apx. a dozen deleted scenes and a detailed behind the scenes featurette (which includes some explanations about voodoo and hoodoo).
Bottom line - a decent movie that somehow manages to fall short of actually being a very good supernatural thriller.

posted by Zvi Josef on 30/5/2006 20:33