Now that the entire region is one giant ghost story* I suppose it would be weird to just now get around to seeing The Skeleton Key. I’ve stayed away from this Kate Hudson-starring voodoo thriller because it’s a recipient of not one but two backlashes amongst the horror cognoscenti, if my trips around the horror blogosphere are any indication: 1) the backlash against horror movies that cast “name” actresses as the lead in order to give the film the veneer of respectability that, presumably, the filmmakers feel horror movies don’t otherwise merit; 2) the backlash against twist endings, a movement that, ever since it was set in motion by The Sixth Sense and Fight Club, has been slowly snowballing (a The Others here, a new Shyamalan flick there) until it’s become endemic across the board–major studio pictures, Euro-horror, indie horror, you name it.
But the movie’s got a few things going for it that intrigue me. First and foremost is the way the trailers use an old phonograph recording of a voodoo ritual. I’m a sucker for the use of recorded media as a locus of horror; its ability not just to record and preserve, but to rewind, relive, rewind, and relive again, speaks of that undeniability that great, transgressive horror moments are made of. I especially like The Skeleton Key‘s combination of scratchy vinyl and old, not-meant-for-modern-ears ritual–hell, something like a castrato can be extremely discomfiting to listen to, and those unfortunates were not summoning dark spirits out of the bayou night.
The movie has also garnered some strong word-of-mouth among certain friends of mine whose endorsement is at least enough to make me curious. It was written by Ehren Kruger, and since I’m the guy who liked The Ring 2–yes, that one guy–his name is not the kiss of death for me that I know it’s become for some people. It’s got Peter Sarsgaard, who was so good in Shattered Glass it made my teeth hurt. And finally, there’s no vomiting in it, which means my emetephobic wife could actually go see it with me; that ups its chances of me actually seeing it significantly. Tomorrow I’m hitting Four Brothers with my brother and his girlfriend, but after that I think The Skeleton Key is next on my “semi-acclaimed genre exercises that make me say ‘what the hey, I’ll give it a shot'” list.
*Please click here for some donation links. PS: My friend Josiah is okay; he and Rose left the veterinary hospital for Maine around midday today, according to her boss there.