SESSION 9

[cowboykurtis]

have any of you seen session 9 -- directed by brad anderson? i saw it a few months ago and was not impressed. I thought brad anderson had trouble making up its mind about what kind of film it was. i thought it didn't work as a mood peice... it seemed like they were trying to use the location as a character ( reminscent of the shining) which backfired. then there were elements of psychological drama which seemed to only lead to a lot of exposition. the horror elements were far from effective.the screenplay was an unfocused mess. i also think this was the first theatrical feature to be shot in HD -- i thought it looked horrible. all around the tone of the film just didn't work.

[Cecil]

i saw the film and strongly disagree. i really fell in love with this film. although, when i saw it a second time, i thought it dragged a bit.

[cowboykurtis]

after about 20 minutes I thought it started dragging. i think it needs to be re-cut to fix the pacing. the acting really ruined it for me. the performances needed to be subtle, -- i thought they wre teh exact oppsite -- maybe it was the expository writing. I couldnt stand the character of white trash teenager( i dont know the actors name). the premise had the potential to be scary, but  it just didn't work for me at all.
however that one shot when the white trash kid is running down the hallway in the basement and all the lights are shutting off, is a pretty nice visual.

[Cecil]

im a big fan of psychological illnesses, experimental therapy, and the like. maybe thats why i saw nothing really wrong with the script

[RegularKarate]

Why are we starting threads to talk about a movie we didn't like?

There are plenty of movies we like... how about we stick to them... have opinions, those are good, but why do you need to START a thread about something you don't like?

Now... I've been guilty of this before (see Chicago), but I think the negativity on this board is too highly focused on lately.

I'm not upset or anything, just disapointed that everyone has been so negative lately... I just don't want this to turn into the film snob's Aint it Cool News.

[cowboykurtis]

Why are we starting threads to talk about a movie we didn't like?

There are plenty of movies we like... how about we stick to them... have opinions, those are good, but why do you need to START a thread about something you don't like?

Now... I've been guilty of this before (see Chicago), but I think the negativity on this board is too highly focused on lately.

I'm not upset or anything, just disapointed that everyone has been so negative lately... I just don't want this to turn into the film snob's Aint it Cool News.

criticism isn't negative. im not being negative for the sake of being negative. this is a film that has gotten a lot of talk around it and im curious about other peoples opinions. i gave my opinion and tried  to expalin why the film didnt work for me.  if your calling me a snob for not liking a film i dont appreciate it. im far from a film snob.

[RegularKarate]

criticism isn't negative. im not being negative for the sake of being negative. this is a film that has gotten a lot of talk around it and im curious about other peoples opinions. i gave my opinion and tried  to expalin why the film didnt work for me.  if your calling me a snob for not liking a film i dont appreciate it. im far from a film snob.

This wasn't actually directed towards you specifically and I'm not calling you a film snob, I've just noticed too much negativity on this board lately... whether it's music or film or just towards groups of people in general.

I wasn't targeting you, this is just where I decided to mention it.

[bonanzataz]

I tried to watch Session 9 two times and both times I fell asleep after about 20 minutes. Not because it was a bad movie. Just because I was really tired. I felt really bad about it too because I met the director and felt it was my business to see it.

[SHAFTR]

So, last night a friend and I rented this.  I didn't know too much about it except that it was by the same guy who did The Machinist (which I enjoyed).  Anyways, we put it in his DVD player and watched the whole thing.  I was surprised to see it was shot in black and white and how I thought it was effective.

Turns out, my friend's dvd player was broken and the movie isn't even in B&W.  So, I watched all of Session 9, just in Black & White.  For the most part, I enjoyed it.  There are a lot of great moments but it has the same problem as The Machinist.  Both films were extremely maniupluative and you can kind of feel the manipulation as you watch the movie.  It works alright for the first viewing, but I'm sure repeat viewings will really show the faults.

[Find Your Magali]

It's creepy and definitely worth watching. ... But the comment about it not holding up as well on repeated viewings is correct. It feels like a solid double, not a home run, and slightly missed opportunity more than an overlooked modern horror classic. ... The DVD is interesting because the commentary and deleted scenes hint at some things that might have actually strengthened the film and made it even creepier. It could have used a stronger editor; sometimes writer/directors (Anderson) aren't the best judge of how to present their material.

As far as the acting, I thought Mullan, Gevedon and especially Caruso all turned in solid performances. ....

Like I said, it's worth seeing. ... There are a few moments that are as unsettling as anything you'll see (or hear) in horror films of the past 10 years. ... Much of that is due to the real setting at Danvers

[JG]

i live near the real setting.  just saying. 

[Find Your Magali]

i live near the real setting.  just saying. 

So, is it creepy? Is it haunted? It is well-protected from curious members of the public?

Are they going to demolish it, or does it have to stick around because of its historic value?

[JG]

they have a police car drive around their to make sure kids aren't fucking around but its avoidable.  a couple of friends of mine when up there the other weekend.  almsot got caught but didnt.  they said it was freaky as hell.  i've never been, but kids go up there all the time. 

supposedly they were gonna shoot one of those MTV shows there...fear or whateer it was called. 

[pete]

yeah, a few kids from Emerson almost shot a short film there when I was in school.  I hung out with the cinematographer for session 9 one night after she came to talk to my class.  she said it pretty much looked just like that.  I think most abandoned mental wards are pretty creepy to say the least though, not that I've been to so many.

[diggler]

liked scenes in it here and there, especially when the kid (forgot his name) is trying to outrun the lights going off. solid first effort.

also liked the machinist. yay brad