Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
The title of Gothika prepares you for a spooky, atmospheric thriller with an emphasis on 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. Making a flashy Hollywood debut after his superior 2000 thriller The Crimson Rivers, French actor-director Mathieu Kassovitz pours on the dark and stormy atmosphere, trapping a competent psychologist (Halle Berry) in the prison ward where she treated inmates (including Penelope Cruz) until she was committed for killing her husband (Charles S. Dutton), who was also her boss. Did a car crash cause her to suffer ghostly delusions, or is a young girl--dead for four years--sending clues from beyond the grave? Berry has to prove her innocence while Kassovitz keeps everything--including the viewer and costar Robert Downey Jr. (as Berry's colleague)--in the dark about just where the nonsensical plot is leading. There's a better movie in here somewhere, among the catwalks and crannies of the impressive prison-castle setting, and Berry gives 100% in a performance that's consistent with the movie's overwrought tone. Attentive viewers will identify the killer early on, and the ending is anticlimactic, but Gothika serves up a few good shocks for ghost-story connoisseurs. --Jeff Shannon
DVD Description
A criminal psychologist awakens to find herself a patient in her own institution with no memory of the murder she’s apparently committed. As she struggles to reclaim her sanity, she finds herself the pawn of a vengeful spirit.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Psychodrama embedded in horror movie,
By
This review is from: Gothika [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
As implied by its' name this is a dark, dark movie, but the impact comes from it being a psychodrama played out in grim claustrophobic sets in a mental institution bathed in a subtle foreboding blue grey light.
The real fascination of the plot is that Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) an outstanding psychiatrist working in a penal institute for the criminally insane is suddenly and for reasons she cannot understand finds herself incarcerated in the same institute, with inmates she has previously been responsible for. Everything is seen from Miranda Grey's point of view and Halle Berry's fine acting draws you right into her character, her horror as she discovers first hand the problems her patients inmates from the their perspective. Outstanding production values, fine direction and acting make this an intriguing view.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strong supernatural non-shock horror,
By Some Bloke (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gothika [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
There's a feeling among some people that for a horror to be effective there's got to be lots of shocks and plenty of blood and guts. The converse of this is the psychological thriller which can be just as unsettling and thought-provoking.
This is one of those. There's a supernatural edge to the psychological turmoil, and also at the centre is some real deceptions and personal tragedy due to relationships. In this, it is effective in being disturbing and chilling. I think appreciation of this is whether you like this vein of cinema, because it is a well-paced plot with a good level of viewer deception and plot levels. Acting is great, and it's creatively told and shot. It also stands up to a further viewing.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By
This review is from: Gothika [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
Gothika is a dark, terrifying film that is set mainly in the confines of a mental institute, where the lead character, a top psychiatrist, battles to save her sanity and find out the truth about a mysterious girl that seems to be haunting her. Throughout the film, we are made to wonder if she is simply losing her mind or if the mysterious girl is actually trying to send her messages from beyond her grave. Being set in a secure mental institute, some of the scenes brought about a sense of claustrophobia, which I think really upped the scare factor, especially when Miranda was being tormented by brief, flashing images of the girl. It also makes you wonder if there's really any way out for her, whether she will succomb to madness or the clutches of the girl. The music, the suspense, the camera angles, the actors and the disjointed time-frames made this film one of the scariest films I've ever seen. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good psychological thriller.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
