Review of Skeleton Key, The

Introduction

The majority of us were first introduced to Kate Hudson when she played Penny Lane, the groupie to a band of `Led Zep-a-likes` in `Almost Famous`, and not merely because she happened to be the daughter of Goldie Hawn, wife of Chris Robinson (Black Crowes frontman), and considers Kurt Russell to be her De Facto father. In fact, despite the modern celeb-gossip munching proletariat`s determination to place the families of the stars in the limelight from the moment that they`re cut from the womb, Hudson has managed to find her feet in the acting world without a great deal of pressure on her.

Of course, that was until she had proven herself. As with any actress finding themselves half a decade into their career, Hudson`s fans have started to expect things -and `The Skeleton Key` sees her enter into the Horror/Thriller world in which on screen heroines are forged.

Set in a pre-Katrina New Orleans, the movie focuses on the local history of the area (before it was cruelly destroyed by nature), and highlights the struggle of the Black slave workers who gave so much to its development. Their recent- overlooked plight has since been front page news across the globe, but just before the hurricane put the deep-south in the international spotlight, Director Ian Softley created a mixture of voodoo/hoodoo magic and Japanese -style suspense thrills down by the Mississippi.

Hudson is Caroline Ellis, a care worker who takes up a residential post in a spooky New Orleans house in order to look after Ben Devereaux (John Hurt). When Mrs Devereaux (Gena Rowlands) gives Caroline a skeleton key in order to open all the doors of the property except the attic, the inquisitive health provider can`t resist having a sneaky look up there. What she discovers eventually explains the old man`s illness and, more chillingly, leads to Hudson`s character becoming mixed up in all manner of Hoodoo-related danger!

Video

Technically, `The Skeleton Key`s widescreen presentation is perfect, but it was only made a year ago and so to expect any less would be foolish. Looking extremely similar to the army of Hollywood funded Japanese horror remodels, the visual aspects are understated and gloomy throughout, with most of the second half being immersed in prophetic torrential rain.

As the extra features reveal, the entire featured Mansion was built for the film, so it`s pretty hard to argue that time and effort hasn`t gone into the look of the picture - although you do wonder why they settled on particular sequences in the final edit. For example, why did the black and white `journey into the past` history lesson require so much headache-inducing flashing and flickering? You! Go and find out!

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio makes less use of the `Creaking doors` that seem so well splashed throughout this genre, and tends to rely more on music and dialogue which, although something of a departure, should really be expected from the director that gave us Hamburg era Beatles flick `Backbeat`.

The soundtrack itself sees Delta blues sitting along side gospel-folk, hip hop and eerie fumblings. What more could you want?

Features

Just looking at the vast array of extras quickly brings about the realisation that this DVD certainly isn`t all skin and bones (sorry), and is full-to-the-brim with goodies galore.

I`m not about to re-list the features that this disc boasts, but it`s safe to say that there`s a good deal on offer. Whilst many of the extra bits aren`t any longer than 5 minutes in length, they briefly explore several of the areas touched upon in the movie (Voodoo/Hoodoo, music of New Orleans, ghost stories), allowing the viewer to go off and find out more if they so wish. In essence, they are teasers which will hopefully ignite some intrigue amongst audiences.

Conclusion

It`s customary to get the bad news out of the way first, so that`s where we shall begin. `The Skeleton Key` is, for an extremely large portion of its duration, a mismatch of various other movies fitting the rather unimaginative `house hides a secret` description. Nicole Kidman`s incredible `Jersey-under-occupation` thriller `The Others` provides a great deal of influence in terms of both style and content, with other material being lifted almost wholesale from Rob Reiner`s Oscar-winning `Misery`.

In terms of performances, Hudson herself is, on the whole, entirely convincing in her role as a youngster wrapped up in the non-emancipated`s struggle for eternal life from beyond the grave and, not unsurprisingly, the ever-reliable John Hurt manages to affect noticeable reactions from audiences without even saying a full sentence throughout the film.

What does come as a shock however, is the manner in which a largely uninspired film is completely saved by the twist in its tale. At the 90 minute mark, the actors deliver their lines, blissfully unaware of the fact that the movie is due to finish in ten more minutes without a sniff of resolution. Then, as if by Hoodoo magic itself, the bomb that will obliterate one and a half hours of `god, this goes on a bit` style-thoughts is dropped in your head, and you thank the Lord above that you haven`t wasted your precious time. That`s right, the finale singularly justifies the existence of `The Skeleton Key`, and the featured actors` involvement…

Spooky.