Customer Reviews

Session 9 [VHS]

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1 star:		(28)

 

 

Take "The Shining" and the better parts of "The Blair Witch Project," let them go k-i-s-s-i-n-g up in a tree, and "Session 9" is what you'll get. I can't say enough good things about this movie. It's the best-made, most atmospheric, genuinely creepiest horror movie I've seen in a long, long time. It's the kind of movie that restores your faith in a whole genre, making up for every bad teen horror film and mindless sequel you might've sat through in the last few years. What can I say? "Session 9" is the fleck of gold you hope against hope to catch gleaming amid the broken rocks and sand at the bottom of your pan.

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."

The Danvers Mental Hospital is a REAL, honest-to-goodness asylum in Massachusetts that pioneered and perfected the frontal lobotomy. Built in the 1850's and closed in the mid-1980's due to lack of state funding, this movie is filmed entirely(camcorder style)in the once crowded (with over 2500 patients) & still to this day, horribly sinister asylum. I must say, that the undisputed STAR OF THIS FILM is the ASYLUM, itself. The cast does a better than average job in delivering real characters, however...

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!

Very few films from Hollywood rate as truly creepy or horrifying. I can think of a few off the top of my head, the best being Stanley Kubrick's terrifying adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining." The George C. Scott vehicle "The Changeling" is capable of striking a few chilly chords, as is the intensely unsettling British made for television version of "The Woman in Black" (not Hollywood, I know, but it counts in the general sense of scary movies). Obviously, a few more are floating around out there, with the most recent addition to this select list being Brad Anderson's 2001 film "Session 9." Here's a film that completely snuck in under my radar. I don't know if it had a theatrical release three years ago, but if it did I never heard a word about it. Since I don't go to the movie theater on a regular basis, preferring instead to enjoy all types of cinema on DVD in the comfort of my home, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that I heard nothing about Anderson's picture. But after watching this creepfest, I figured SOMEONE would have told me something about "Session 9." Maybe a friend did; I was quite busy with school back in 2001 and didn't have as much time to watch and talk about films as I do now.

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.

Friday the 13th always made me giggle; computer generated special effects bore me. If you are a fan of the old black and white Twilight Zones, early David Lynch films and like spooky abandoned Victorian buildings, you're in for a scary treat! Next, add a cast that seems made for their roles and you're in (a good scary movie kind of) hell.

Each character is a mix of bravado and vulnerability. David Caruso keeps you guessing. Peter Mullan is brilliant as the desperate man with marital problems. Josh Lucas with his electric eyes, smirks and tattoos (in the film) are perfect for mischief making and going to places you don't want to visit. Stephen Gevedon is calm with an underlying darkness that gently envelopes you into its lair. Brendan Sexton III is strangely charming as the mouthy mullet head kid with little boy fears. Although we've seen the line "F--- you!" delivered in too many movies to count, David Caruso, with those eyes and finger pointing, makes it new and unforgettable.

Sounds are also very important in this film. The occasional music makes use of the Beatles "Number Nine" variety with its backwards notes. A boom box that might add some cheer to a large echoy room is turned off since it might unhinge particles that "go into your lungs and create little time bombs" (I don't recall the exact line). A cell phone ends up disconnecting characters from themselves. The old tape player of Mary Hobbe's sessions helps bring a sense of going back in time to when it was originally recorded. Dripping water from leaky ceilings and bumps in the night are used sparingly. There are no cheap tricks in this film. Every detail is a set up for the grand unraveling.

The imagination can generate horror far better than any special effects. You'll love the way this film coaxes you into a world of madness that you can almost understand. Now that is scary.

The DVD has cut scenes and an alternative ending that you should not miss.

Session 9 is an example of a horror thriller. It has little in common with horror films like Jeepers Creepers where buckets of gore are used in place of imagination. Director Brad Anderson and his outstanding ensemble cast create a tension filled movie that has more in common with Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now and Kubrick's The Shining than most contemporary horror thrillers. Perhaps that's the difference--this is a thriller not really a horror film. Although the film was shot on high definition 24 frame per second digital video, it's almost impossible to spot the difference on this DVD between that and film.

The Danvers Mental Hospital has been vacant since 1985. A 5 man crew from Hazman Elimination Company has made a low bid to clean out the place of asbestos tile and old insulation. In a bid to make their 1 week completion date, the owner of the company has arranged for a $10,000 bonus to be paid to all the crew if they can finish it within 7 days. Since it's really a two week job, these guys have their work cut out for them. It doesn't help that old ghosts loom large in the background and disturb their work. What they don't know can hurt them; evidently a multiple personality patient by the name of Mary was housed there. One of the reasons why the place was closed down was because of accusations from the doctors on staff and legal action they took. Budget cuts and a losing court case closed the sprawling Victorian style building down.

Led by a strong ensemble cast featuring David Caruso (CSI:Miami, NYPD Blue) and Josh Lucas (The Hulk, Sweet Home Alabama), Session 9 is an excellent example of what imagination and skill can accomplish without buckets of gore. The film isn't without flaws. The plotting becomes a bit lazy towards the conclusion but, on the whole, the film is an outstanding effort. Anderson does an excellent job in building considerable tension throughout the picture and the strong cast (actor Stephen Gevedon co-wrote the script with Anderson) only increases the tension and level of conflict between the characters.

The extras include an alternate ending, (which featured a dropped subplot that didn't quite mesh with the film) and deleted scenes. There's also an interesting commentary by the director (the film was actually shot at an old Mental Hospital so Anderson's comments are really interesting) as well as the theatrical trailer and a featurette on the mental hospital entitled The Haunted Palace. Never gruesome but always suspenseful, Session 9 is a great way to spend a chilly, rainy evening on a Friday night. Be warned, though that there is some bad langauge in the film so it isn't suitable for preteens.

Session 9 is without a doubt one of the most intelligently made, atmospheric and truly compelling films I have seen in a long while. It's not an easy film to watch in many ways, and it's not a disposable film that will leave you sleeping like a baby. You will have to engage your brain, but the narrative is so excellently structured and driven by such superb performances that you won't feel cheated or lost. This is the type of horror that really has the repeated power to scare because of the fine line it straddles between reality and the supernatural, and boasts some of the creepiest visuals, and downright chilling moments I have seen for a long time. All in all, an absolute gem of a film.

Written by Brad Anderson & Stephen Gevedon; Directed by Brad Anderson (ASIN: B00005UQ9F)
Reviewed by Shikhar Dixit

The best rule for a horror story is "Don't show the monster." Alfred Hitchcock knew it. Robert Wise (The Haunting, 1963) knew it. Director Brad Anderson has mastered it. Much like the original version of The Haunting, Session 9 also takes advantage of another great rule in horror: "Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere." The camera drifts around corners and into the harsh shadows of Danvers State Mental Hospital, a real hospital and portrayed in its genuinely rundown condition.

Gordon Fleming, played eerily spot-on by Scottish actor Peter Mullan, leads the team of Hazmat Elimination Co. into the vacant corpse of a once prominent mental institution famous for its invention of the pre-frontal lobotomy. Their job is filthy, dangerous and stressful--to strip all the carcinogenic asbestos insulation from the building before its imminent refurbishing one week later. David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Josh Lucas, and Brendan Sexton III round out the cast as the rest of the elimination team, each hinting at the shortcomings that have landed them in this hellish job. The promise of a $10,000 bonus hanging just beyond reach, they set out to clean the facility.

But Danvers State also holds it own attractions. For Mike (Stephen Gevedon,) it is the taped sessions with a psychotic patient named Mary Hobbes. For Hank (Josh Lucas,) it is the stash of old coins and trinkets he discovers hidden in the walls. For Phil (David Caruso,) it is perhaps the ultimate ownership of Hazmat Elimination Co. And for Gordon, it is something far more unsettling and not altogether natural.

Perhaps the most imposing character in the film is Danvers State Mental Hospital itself. Shaped like a bat, with a once administrative area branching off into "wings," the farthest reaches of this enormous creature were reserved for the most severely psychotic cases...cases like Mary Hobbes.

An effective use of foreshadowing, steady rise in tension, masterful cinematography and a group of solid character-actors makes Session 9 the best film to grace an otherwise flagging genre since, well, The Haunting.

The DVD (from USA Home Entertainment) contains the 100-minute feature film in letterbox, Deleted Scenes (including a wisely rethought alternate ending,) Story-to-Screen storyboard comparisons, Director's Commentary (with blessed on/off feature,) a chilling theatrical trailer, and the fascinating featurette, "The Haunted Palace," a look at the very real location and some of the art inspired by it.

This review is for the Region 1 encoded DVD with English Closed Captioning and Dolby Digital Stereo.

My husband and I had been excited about seeing SESSION 9 ever since we'd heard positive things about it from friends. Well, this chiller lived up to their praise and then some! By the time SESSION 9 ended, I felt like someone had been holding a knife to my throat for 100 minutes. I've never seen director/co-writer Brad Anderson's romantic comedy NEXT STOP WONDERLAND, but after sitting riveted and cowering in my seat throughout SESSION 9, I had a hard time imagining Anderson tackling anything even remotely lighthearted! Even when the blue-collar heroes of SESSION 9 exchange wisecracks, there's nothing jokey about the film; this isn't your ironic, self-mocking, postmodern kind of horror flick a la SCREAM. Speaking of lightheartedness, I knew Vinnie was as profoundly affected by SESSION 9 as I was because he never once leaned over and made any quips to me about anything happening onscreen, a rarity for my boy! :-) Basically, there are two kinds of horror films: 1) the rollercoaster thrill ride kind, usually with cool F/X and inventive violence, which manage to be both scary and exhilarating at the same time (such as JAWS or SCREAM) and 2) the moody psychological thriller, usually character-driven rather than F/X driven (think HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER or THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT). (Interestingly, the original 1963 version of THE HAUNTING fit in the #2 category and the 1999 version fit more in the #1 category-BID...) In the more emotional, realistic horror films, you might say the terror comes from, to borrow a phrase from FORBIDDEN PLANET, "monsters from the id." FP rendered its monsters from the id in animation form, but SESSION 9 doesn't need to. There's a sense of dread from the very first frame, with an askew camera angle on what seems to be an electric chair in an otherwise empty, long-neglected room. The sharp, sudden sound effects (passing cars sound like jets in this movie!) and eerie, backwards-sounding music by Climax Golden Twins (not at all what I'd have expected from Executive Music Producer Carson Daly of MTV fame) creeped me out, too. Having said all that, SESSION 9 isn't really a film about imagery, special effects, or gore. (In fact, there isn't much gore at all until the end, and even then it's plausible, real-world kind of gore, not some kind of Grand Guignol over-the-top bloodletting.) It's a truly intense, compelling nightmare about decent people and how, under pressure, their flaws and vulnerabilities and moments of bad judgment may lead to horror and tragedy for themselves and everyone in their orbit. I want to talk on and on about this film, and yet I don't want to, because I'm afraid of spoiling the shocks and suspense for you. I will tell you, however, that the protagonists are members of a hazardous materials removal team embarking on a job at the massive, imposing, long-abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital (a real place in Massachusetts, BTW. So no, the Danvers name is not a tip of the hat to REBECCA! :-). This bat-shaped behemoth of a building is so remarkable that it feels like a character in its own right. But even before the men set foot in Danvers, the stage is set for tension and trouble. Desperate to get the Danvers job, boss man Gordon (Peter Mullan), a recent Scottish émigré to the U.S. and new father of a sickly, fussy baby, bids low and promises that he and his team can finish the job in one week. Crew chief Phil (David Caruso) is unhappy because he thinks 2 or 3 weeks would be more realistic, plus he doesn't think much of crew member Hank (Josh Lucas), the weaselly troublemaker who stole Phil's girl. Then there's Gordon's wet-behind-the-ears, dark-fearing teenage nephew Jeff (Brendan Sexton III); in one scene, he's trapped in a hallway where each light goes out in rapid succession, making it look like the darkness is chasing the poor kid. Finally, there's on-again, off-again law student Mike (co-writer Stephen Gevedon, who for some reason kept reminding me of a younger, handsomer, more rugged Jeremy Piven), whose lawyer dad was involved in a case that contributed to Danvers being shut down. Once inside the grim old complex, surrounded by peeling paint, water stains, graffiti, creepy old equipment, and the various patients' memorabilia from the old days, Hank finds a veritable treasure trove in the morgue's incinerator, Mike finds compelling audio tapes of a multiple-personality patient's sessions, and the place's overall eeriness begins to work everybody's nerves. But is it that the building is in some way haunted, or are the guys really being haunted by their own demons? See, that's the fiendish beauty of SESSION 9. Just when you think you've got it pegged as a haunted-asylum thriller or a revenge thriller or a cross between THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE or whatever, it confounds your expectations. Soon you're too wrapped up in the mounting madness and suspense to sit there second-guessing. Every member of the superb cast gets you rooting for them and sympathizing with their characters (even Lucas as Hank is engaging in his own sneaky, self-absorbed way), so their unraveling has real emotional heft (unlike, say, the snarky, cocky trio in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. I must admit I took a sadistic glee in watching those self-important little jerks degenerating into terrified, jibbering wrecks, whereas my heart went out to the heroes of SESSION 9). I must admit that, as budget-conscious parents of a young child, Vinnie and I could especially identify with Gordon; the writing and Mullan's poignant portrayal of a strong man slowly being overwhelmed by circumstances perfectly brought out the pressures of new parenthood and providing for a family. After the film was over, Vinnie likened it to HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, not only in its true-to-life feel and its raw intensity, but in that it shakes you up so profoundly that you can't bear to watch it more than once. But believe me, if you're into psychological horror, you owe it to yourself to see SESSION 9 at least once. It's one of the most powerful, disturbing films I've ever seen, and definitely one of the best movies of the year.

"Session 9" is one of the most terrifying, disturbing, and haunting haunted house movies ever made. If you're looking for a horror film that truly gets down under your skin and really disturbs, this is the movie that's going to deliver the goods. Watch the first 10 minutes of the movie, and you're already glancing around at noises in the darkness, wondering if maybe, just maybe, you might want to turn a light on.

Just to see your popcorn, of course. Yes, I'm telling you---'Session 9' is that good.

Of course, the movie will always be close to my heart, for two reasons:

1) I was invited to attend a screening of the rough cut of the film; not knowing that the movie had been filmed at the Danvers State Hospital, I demurred. In one sense, I'm glad I did: seeing the finished product, shot beautifully in digital video, with no spoilers and no idea what I should expect, was far better.

2) The movie, as I mentioned, is filmed in and around the now de-commissioned Danvers State Hospital, about 20 miles north of Boston. Danvers, as locals referred to it, was the infamous state insane asylum, and is a wonderfully creepy, amazingly powerful location to shoot a horror film.

Back in 2001 I planned a day trip from New York up to Danvers, originally intending to spend the night in Danvers town and spend a few days exploring the asylum. I was fascinated by its dark history, and more importantly by the crenellated battlements and dragonlike exterior of what had been a model "McBride" institution, built originally as the state-of-the-art in 19th century psychotheraphy. Its vast, Victorian rooms were proportioned with plenty of space and designed to let in light, and the central refectory, where inmates dined communally, had a loft where a chamber orchestra played music. Music, of course, to soothe the savage soul.

Overcrowding in the early 20th century perverted Danver's original mission, and by the 1960's the place was a snakepit, with non-violent inmates thrown together with the worst of the criminally insane; it was closed for good in 1991 and stands empty on its high, lonely hill today.

It is now, to my mind, as it is to director Brad Anderson and screenwriter Stephen Gevedon, a place of darkness; if you accept that there are haunted places on Earth, then Danvers is assuredly the king of them. When I first arrived in front of the asylum---and I am a hardheaded realist, with no patience for superstition---I felt watched, leered at by countless eyes who wished me gone, wished my destruction. Anderson and Gevedon have captured that oppression perfectly in "Session 9", a little too perfectly.

With that in mind, "Session 9" is about a haunted, tortured place that begins to infect the minds and bodies of a hazardous materials team sent to clean out the building's massive asbestos contamination. The team, headed up by the anxious but domineering Gordon Fleming (played taciturnly and perfectly by Peter Mullan), narrowly won the bid to clean the facility, a bid critical to the company, and Fleming's, future.

But there's a slight complication: to get the bid, Gordon promised to do the job in two weeks, a feat that may prove impossible, with dire consequences for Gordon's company. Adding to problem is the team itself, who have their own secrets and problems. Under the pressure of the looming deadline, and in the shadow of Danver's turrets and the darkness of its halls, the men begin to fall under the spooky, unnerving influence of the old asylum, particularly when one of them discovers a set of psychiatric interview tapes of a long-dead female patient, carefully stored away and labelled "Sessions 1-9".

To say more would be unfair to the viewer: "Session 9" is a perfect little gem of a horror movie with its own deep black secrets. The acting is all excellent, particularly Mullan's portrayal of a man on the edge, and David Caruso is outstanding as the team foreman, his nervous face twitching with carefully constrained emotion.

But by far the best actor in "Session 9" is the gloomy old Danvers insane asylum, which acts as a character in its own right. It would be hard to think of a set, however cleverly crafted, that would have worked as well as the ruined asylum, whose degenerate Victorian beauty figures prominently in every scene; particularly good is the way the still stoic, sturdy red-brick Moorish exterior contrasts with the rotting, molting, peeling guts of the asylum, and cinematographer Uta Brieswitz pushes the digital video envelope in capturing the stinking center of this heart of darkness.

"Session 9" is not an obvious movie; it is like getting a kiss on the nape of the neck in a graveyard. It is a movie of subtle but overwhelming terror, a terror that mounts throughout the film, but one that hides; this is not a film about slashers or zombies or vampires or monsters, but the horror that lurks in forgotten, forsaken places. It is about a hungry house, a forgotten temple of sacrificed souls that still wants to eat.

The most audacious element of "Session 9" is that it takes place during the day time and while there are some moments involving shadows there is only a brief bit of one sequences that actually ends up in the dark. You do no think of bright light as being an omnipresent element in what is essentially a haunted house film, but director Brad Anderson clearly wants to scare his audience when the lights are on. Anderson used to drive past the enormous Danvers Mental Hospital in Massachusetts (built in the 1887s, condemned in 1984, and closed in 1992), which inspired the script by Anderson and his co-writer Stephen Gevedon (who plays Mike). In that regard "Session 9" reminds me of Herke Harvey's classic low-budget horror film, "Carnival of Souls." But the location that inspired Anderson's film is central to the entire film, and not simply the setting for the climax.

Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) shows up with his Hazmat Elimination Company crew to remove asbestos from the abandoned mental hospital. This is dangerous enough work, where the type of music you play on your boom box could literally be dangerous to your health, but of course asbestos will be the least of their worries. There is a big bonus involved if the job is done in a week, and while Phil (David Caruso) has his doubts, they have to try. The rest of the crew consists of Hank (Josh Lucas), whom Phil does not trust for a lot of reasons, Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), a nephew who is new to the work, and Mike (Gevedon), who is well-read enough to provide the necessary exposition regarding the place they are working on at lunch time.

In real world history the hospital is supposed built on the site of the house of Jonathan Hathorne, one of the most fanatical judges of the witchcraft trials of Massachusetts. Originally the Danvers State Hospital was an attempt to treat patients with delusions by bringing them to beautiful surroundings and fresh air. But by the start of the 20th century too many patients and not enough money led to a radical shift in treatment and procedures at Danvers so that shock treatments, hydrotherapy, and lobotomies were used to control the patients (although it is not true that Danvers was where lobotomies were invented). Once abandoned, the giant structure quickly gained a reputation for being haunted, no doubt by the ghosts of the abused patients.

Mike tells of a more specific horror story, and we know from other horror films to always pay attention to the back-story. It seems that once upon a time there was a young girl who was being treated who told an incredible story about very wicked things, except that what she said happened could not have happened. The story is told by Mike to explain why the place closed down, but we know better. That story contains clues as to what is going on, especially when Mike stumbles across the reel-to-reel tapes of the actual sessions (guess how many there were). While everybody is racing to meet the deadline, Mike is spending his time listening to the sessions of the Doctor and the young girl. As the others explore the building, there are other disturbing remnants of what used to happen in this place, and the fact that such things are discovered in the light of day does not lessen their impact.

"Session 9" is certainly a stylish horror film, which is not to suggest it is devoid of substance. But like so many of its kindred spirits I find the payoff to be less than satisfying (which is a complaint I have about "Apocalypse Now" as well, so take that for what it is worth). Still, when the greatest sin in a horror film is that you see the end coming, I do not think most viewers will be able to figure out how everything fits together, although they should figure out the "who." The atmosphere of "Session 9" is on target, mainly because unlike a lot of contemporary horror films, there is no attempt to force it by letting the music do all the heavy lifting and there are no special effects to induce stomach churning and worse. "Session 9" is interested in true terror and not the inelegant gross out. That alone makes it worth watching, even if turning out all the lights does little to enhance the experience.