Session 9 (2001)

Directed by Brad Anderson. Starring Peter Mullan, David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Brendan Sexton III, Josh Lucas, Paul Guilfoyle, Charley Broderick, (voices) Lonnie Farmer, Jurian Hughes. [R]

Unnerving and unnaturally effective horror film set primarily at a rundown, long-abandoned mental asylum where the setting (and possibly an insidious paranormal influence) takes it toll on a clean-up crew “shucking carbon”. Motivations aren’t always credibly explained—what causes the brainiest crew member (Gevedon) to become so interested in old recordings of a doctor interrogating a patient with multiple personalities?—but the authentic location, creepy art direction, and harsh light contrast and grainy texture produced by the digital photography create a vivid atmosphere of creepiness, and the sort of rot that could easily be infested by an ancient malevolence. Well-acted and methodically-plotted, slowly cranking up the spine-tingling discomfort as we join emotionally-disturbed crew chief Mullan’s psychological plummet into the void, leading to an eerily ambiguous ending that leaves the viewer wondering about the origin of the poisoning evil. Never quite takes the next step into weightier, thematically-complex territory, but it’s a diamond-in-the-rough within the genre begging for more attention. Gevedon also co-scripted with director Brad Anderson.

74/100