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Directed by Brad Anderson ("Next Stop Wonderland"), "Session 9" tells the story of a team of six asbestos abatement workers hired to clean out in one week's time the deserted Danvers Mental Hospital in Massachusettes. The film was shot onsite in the historic red-bricked monster of a building once known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum. There's no shortage of creepy atmosphere at hand, and the film-makers use it to their purpose, slowly bringing to boil a tale of escalating interpersonal frictions and dizzying madness.
"Session 9" works on many levels. On the surface, it's a taught thriller, offering more than a few jump-out-of-your seat scares; it's also an interesting character study of six men thrown together under high-pressure conditions. The acting is all top-notch, but Peter Mullen and David Caruso are particularly good as the boss and foreman of the asbestos team. At its heart, "Session 9" is a compelling psychology tapestry, woven together from haunted voices, spooky sounds, and rich visual metaphor.
From the opening scenes where the team tours the massive building, it's pretty obvious that Brad Anderson didn't miss the day in film school when they studied Stanley Kubrick. The prominence of slow, wide tracking shots, ironic daylight, and place-as-character motifs are all strongly reminiscent of The Shining." So is much of the storyline. But "Session 9" is more than just a "Shining" knock-off. It slowly builds its own character and atmosphere, managing to create something original, modern, and truly scary. If you're a fan of great horror films and have begun to worry that they don't even try to make them anymore, please see "Session 9."
A group of Hazmat workers are hired to accomplish the task of asbestos removal in the gargantuan hospital. Gordon, the crew boss, promises that the job will be finished in 7 days. Each crew member will receive 10 LARGE as a bonus once they meet the deadline, which, no matter how many eerie, odd & unexplained things start to happen in the asylum and to the workers, the promise of the money keeps them all to their appointed task.
This movie is filmed very effectively a la Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" style. That is to say, each day of the week is stated, a shot of the asylum is shown & then the day is filmed. This is a frequently used tactic that screenwriters/directors use to build a sense of foreboding, and BOY, DOES IT EVER WORK in this film. Great cinematography & a really frighteningly strange musical score help to build the sense of inducing madness that this film makes you feel. It also has borrowings of "The Sixth Sense" inasmuch, clues are given throughout the film so that you may figure out for yourself, (if you are paying close attention) what oddities and malevolent forces are at work in the asylum & in the plot. You will experience what REALLY "Lives in the Weak and Wounded..." I guarantee it!
If you liked the plot twists in Sixth Sense, the madness of The Shining, or the otherworldly spirits that inhabited Stir Of Echos, you will enjoy Session 9!
The plot outline here is rather simple-at least initially. A hazardous waste company run by Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) accepts a contract to remove asbestos in the decrepit Danvers building. It's a big job, one of the biggest this little company has ever had, but Fleming's financial and personal life is in a bit of a pickle and he really needs the work. Against the better judgment of his co-worker Phil (David Caruso), Gordon promises to finish the job in one week instead of two or three. His promise is incredible considering he only has himself, Phil, Mike (Stephen Gevedon), Hank (Josh Lucas), and Jeff (Brendan Sexton III) to help with the assignment. These guys are good, but are they good enough to finish this massive undertaking? Perhaps, but as the work week progresses issues arise that cast grave doubts on completing the task. For one thing Fleming starts acting weird, and not in an amusing way. He's distant and spends a lot of time fussing around with his cell phone. The behavior of the boss exacerbates divisions between Phil and Hank, divisions started some time before when Hank wooed away Phil's wife. Too, Mike has his issues. He's a smart guy who dropped out of law school and has since drifted aimlessly through life. As for Jeff, he's just trying to learn the job and make a little money at his uncle's business.
The whole situation rapidly deteriorates once Mike discovers a series of tape recordings in a room in the basement. These recordings consist of interviews conducted by the hospital staff with Mary Hobbes, a patient who suffered from a multiple personality disorder. Mike becomes fascinated with the weird, eerie voices on the old reels, and sneaks away from work whenever he can to listen to them. In the meantime, strange noises in the hospital start distracting the other workers. Then Hank disappears after discovering a cache of coins and other trinkets in the basement. Perhaps something not of this world inhabits the dark recesses of this depressing building. Perhaps somebody or something means to do great harm to Gordon, Phil, Mike, Hank, and Jeff. Or maybe it's all in their heads. One thing is for sure: danger lurks around every corner, nothing is as it seems, and the end is sure to deliver bloody shocks in a way not apparent until well into the film.
Brad Anderson did a couple of several very smart things with "Session 9." First, he chose an amazingly creepy location for the film, the abandoned and run down Danvers State Insane Asylum in Massachusetts. This building reeks of doom and gloom, and Anderson's camera captures the wide-open spaces of the wards as effectively as it peeks into the dank, dark recesses of the basement tunnels and rooms. Occasionally, the camera zooms over the edifice from high above so we get an idea of the sheer immensity of this structure. Second, and most importantly, Anderson hired a cast of great actors to fill critical roles. The standout here is probably Caruso, an actor I've never had an affinity for in his other roles. In "Session 9" the actor's seriousness and increasing concern as the weirdness becomes too much to bear carries a ring of truth. You could see a real person doing the things Caruso's character does. Mullan's good too, and he's downright ominous when the final revelation emerges in the end. What doesn't work as well is a conclusion that's too pat and, frankly, somewhat confusing. What exactly happened at Danvers? What do the nine session tapes have to do with the final disaster? Is there any connection between the institution and the actions of the characters? "Session 9" raises more questions than answers.
The DVD contains many extras. A commentary track, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and a featurette help provide a few clues to this enigmatic film. Although I scratched my head at the ending, "Session 9" is a film every horror fan will want to watch. The filmmakers throw buckets of atmosphere at you, the soundtrack recalls the fractured, noisy music of "The Shining," and there's even a bit of gore for the sauce lovers to savor. I would definitely watch Anderson's film again, and probably ought to since this type of film usually reveals more answers on subsequent viewings. Give it a shot.
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