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Skeleton Key --thoughts after seeing it

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Old 08-12-05, 11:19 PM
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Skeleton Key --thoughts after seeing it
Hey all,

The movie was OK until
Spoiler:
................................... the ending. ...........................................................


I also felt that the
Spoiler:
ending was a twist, but it didn't do anything for me (like the sixth sense, the others, what lies beneath, etc. did). It was like, 'oh, ok'. I normally don't dislike endings, but this one was bland.....


Also, I felt that the hip hop music was really out of place given the over all 'older' feel of the movie....

Any other thoughts from anyone? Sorry, i don't want to get too crazy with spoilers, but i don't want to be too generic either -- so i'll stop here...




Later,

Matt
Last edited by KillerQ; 08-12-05 at 11:22 PM.
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Old 08-13-05, 12:05 AM
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Normally you should only use the spoiler tags over actual spoilers and not just half of your sentences.
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Old 08-13-05, 11:37 AM
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Can you tell us how the movie ends in spoiler tags? I don't think this movie is worth paying money to see at the moment.
Last edited by NeonGlow; 08-13-05 at 12:04 PM.
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Old 08-13-05, 11:52 AM
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This isn't a a re-make of a Japanese horror flick veiled as something else is it?

I am tired of supernatural thrillers with the premise of:

-A place appears haunted
-A creepy kid shows up making strange faces
-Turns out the creepy kid and other ghosts were wronged in the past, and must haunt to obtain vengeance
-The heroine rights the wrong and the curse is lifted, until the last minute of film where the ghosts comeback!!!

or
-Everyone was a ghost the whole time and they have been stuck in limbo for the whole movie.
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Old 08-13-05, 12:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
-Everyone was a ghost the whole time and they have been stuck in limbo for the whole movie.
I haven't seen it. But that's what I see coming.

Reminds me of Angel Heart. I like the deep-south voodoo (is that the right term?) aspect.

Looks fun. And I really really liked the trailer.

Ian Softley hasn't really had a good movie yet. They're all sort of 'blah'.

Will probably catch in theaters.
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Old 08-13-05, 01:20 PM
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I really, really, really liked this movie. It's not perfect, it's not a classic, but it held my interest for the entire flick and I was entertained by it, not really being able to figure out anything that was going on (unlike the recent piles of crap that have been released, like The Ring 2, The Grudge, and on and on).

This will be a love/hate film, and I just happened to really enjoy it.

Spoiler:
I wouldn't really even consider this a traditional horror film. There aren't too many real "scares" in this one, no gore or anything like that, and not really any kills or anything in the entire film. It's more along the lines of some sort of psychological drama/suspense in my eyes. I was very pleased to see a film of this type just be what it is. It didn't need any blood and guts, kills, and all of that. It was still chilling and everything without it. Many people will hate the ending, and I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I was happy to see something a bit more original than what we've seen a million times before. I have to say, I didn't expect the ending at all.

It has a few funny lines in it that I don't think were meant to be funny. I about died when, near the end of the film, the old woman came thorugh the door crawling and then said in her sweet southern voice "Well I think you done broke my legs child." I think that is how it weant.


The first part of the film is somewhat slow moving, but that's what really pulled me in. It was slow moving, but not boring. As each minute passed, I was actually looking forward to see what would happen next.

I hated the rap music in the film, but loved the older music. I suppose they did that though to show the differences between the characters. It doesn't make me like the musical choice, but I think I get why they did it.

I also thought all of the actors and actresses were just perfect in their respective roles. I don't have any complaints there at all.

I'd give it about a 7.5-8.0 for the quality of the film itself, and a solid 8.5 when talking just about how much I was entertained by it.

It's a far better film, both in quality and entertainment value, than any of the recent horror films like The Ring and The Grudge. That much is for damn sure.
Last edited by BrentLumkin; 08-13-05 at 01:24 PM.
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Old 08-13-05, 01:57 PM
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Sounds like just another crappy scary movie from critic and user reviewers. This genre is not doing so well at all is it? Its like 14th one in row stuck around the C- category.
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Old 08-13-05, 02:06 PM
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This movie just rips off the plot from
Spoiler:
THE MEPHISTO WALTZ
and mixes it with
Spoiler:
ANGEL HEART.
The screenwriter, Freddie Krueger, is a hack.
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Old 08-13-05, 02:29 PM
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can someone use tags and actually give the ending away? thanks much.
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Old 08-13-05, 03:32 PM
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Originally Posted by scott1598
can someone use tags and actually give the ending away? thanks much.
Spoiler:
At the beginning of the movie you are led to believe that Caroline (Hudson) is a hospice worker chosen to take care of Ben, who has just had a stroke. The wife of Ben begins to look suspicious because when Ben and Caroline are alone he tries to say "help me." Caroline becomes fast friends with the couple's attorney, the one who helped to hire her and is in charge of the couple's estate.


Spoiler:
Eventually, the wife confides in Caroline that there were two slaves (Justify and Cecile) belonging to Mr. Hurst who practiced Hoodoo rituals and magic. They were caught "teaching Hoodoo" to Hurst's children and were hanged. Years later, the children inherit the house and sell it to the current couple. Skipping over the middle stuff, we learn in the end that Justify and Cecile performed rituals that enabled them to switch bodies with a) the children, b) Ben and his wife (Papa Justify had moved from Ben's body to the attorney's body), and c) Caroline and the attorney. The spell is successful in the end; Caroline and the attorney have become Justify and Cecile.


sorry, I don't know how clear all that is...
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Old 08-13-05, 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Penny Lane
Spoiler:
At the beginning of the movie you are led to believe that Caroline (Hudson) is a hospice worker chosen to take care of Ben, who has just had a stroke. The wife of Ben begins to look suspicious because when Ben and Caroline are alone he tries to say "help me." Caroline becomes fast friends with the couple's attorney, the one who helped to hire her and is in charge of the couple's estate.


Spoiler:
Eventually, the wife confides in Caroline that there were two slaves (Justify and Cecile) belonging to Mr. Hurst who practiced Hoodoo rituals and magic. They were caught "teaching Hoodoo" to Hurst's children and were hanged. Years later, the children inherit the house and sell it to the current couple. Skipping over the middle stuff, we learn in the end that Justify and Cecile performed rituals that enabled them to switch bodies with a) the children, b) Ben and his wife (Papa Justify had moved from Ben's body to the attorney's body), and c) Caroline and the attorney. The spell is successful in the end; Caroline and the attorney have become Justify and Cecile.


sorry, I don't know how clear all that is...
its pretty clear thanks. but when you say
Spoiler:
become the slaves, then what? what was the purpose and where do Caroline and the attorney's soul go?
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Old 08-13-05, 07:07 PM
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Originally Posted by scott1598
its pretty clear thanks. but when you say
Spoiler:
become the slaves, then what? what was the purpose and where do Caroline and the attorney's soul go?
Spoiler:
Ostensibly, the purpose is for Papa Justify and Cecile to keep themselves alive by overtaking younger people's bodies. Ben's and his wife's bodies had grown old, which you have seen from the previews.


Spoiler:
into the bodies of the old couple. During the seance, or whatever that was supposed to be, Papa Justify and Cecile switch into the "newer" bodies, and the aging bodies they left become speechless. The effect is likened to a stroke, which is what was supposedly wrong with Ben in the beginning of the movie. Of course, by the end we learn that Ben's soul had already been switched out with the young attorney's. The whole stroke thing was a ruse to get Caroline out to the plantation. After Caroline's body has been overtaken by the old lady, Caroline and the attorney's souls are shipped off to the hospital in the old bodies.
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Old 08-13-05, 08:21 PM
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So, Ms. Hudson herself must come here to explain the ending. Movie must not be that good....
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Old 08-13-05, 10:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
So, Ms. Hudson herself must come here to explain the ending. Movie must not be that good....
haha

Chris told me to get online to see what the DVDTalk folks thought of the movie. He was irritated by it because he knew the "twist" very early.
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Old 08-13-05, 11:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Dr. DVD
So, Ms. Hudson herself must come here to explain the ending. Movie must not be that good....
It's funny how a name makes people think different things. I saw the poster's pseudonym and only thought of the Beatles song "Penny Lane" until I read your post and thought "Oh yeah, that Cameron Crowe movie - her character's name was Penny Lane in it, wasn't it? She must've stolen that from the Beatles. So that wasn't her real name in that movie, was it? Damn lying groupie!"
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Old 08-14-05, 09:23 AM
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Originally Posted by dhmac
It's funny how a name makes people think different things. I saw the poster's pseudonym and only thought of the Beatles song "Penny Lane" until I read your post and thought "Oh yeah, that Cameron Crowe movie - her character's name was Penny Lane in it, wasn't it? She must've stolen that from the Beatles. So that wasn't her real name in that movie, was it? Damn lying groupie!"

A little off topic, but there is an area of Tallahassee,FL near the university that has streets named after Beatles songs, one of which is call Penny Lane.

Back to the movie, this isn't something where the twist comes so far out of left field it doesn't make any real sense with the rest of the movie is it? Let me be frank, this isn't an ending that's been done in every horror movie made in the past five years since sixth sense or the ring, right? If it's original and non-formulaic I may check it out. The movie's screenwriter (Ehren Kruger) doesn't give me much confidence to be honest, everytime I see one of his movies I get the feeling he put the twist on with an "I'm so clever!" smirk on his face.
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Old 08-14-05, 11:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Dr. DVD

Back to the movie, this isn't something where the twist comes so far out of left field it doesn't make any real sense with the rest of the movie is it? Let me be frank, this isn't an ending that's been done in every horror movie made in the past five years since sixth sense or the ring, right?
It's not THAT ending.

It isn't original, but it's a great ending. Very dark, considering these days when studios are terrified of dark.
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Old 08-14-05, 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by scott shelton
It's not THAT ending.

It isn't original, but it's a great ending. Very dark, considering these days when studios are terrified of dark.
I had to have read that wrong, as we have to be in darkest, most violent period ever for movies, games and entertainment. Little scary movies like Something Wicked This Way Comes, Silver Bullet or Lost Boys seems long gone in this genre. Lately they all seem to be disgusting likely gross and morbid like Hide and Seek. My 2cents at least.
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Old 08-14-05, 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by madara
I had to have read that wrong, as we have to be in darkest, most violent period ever for movies, games and entertainment. Little scary movies like Something Wicked This Way Comes, Silver Bullet or Lost Boys seems long gone in this genre. Lately they all seem to be disgusting likely gross and morbid like Hide and Seek. My 2cents at least.
True.

I mean in the PG-13 sense. And KEY ends on a dark, disturbing note.

Spoiler:
the bad guys win!


R-rated stuff is better than ever.
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Old 08-14-05, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by dhmac
It's funny how a name makes people think different things. I saw the poster's pseudonym and only thought of the Beatles song "Penny Lane" until I read your post and thought "Oh yeah, that Cameron Crowe movie - her character's name was Penny Lane in it, wasn't it? She must've stolen that from the Beatles. So that wasn't her real name in that movie, was it? Damn lying groupie!"
actually, you're both kind of right. I picked "Penny Lane" because I really liked Almost Famous and the Beatles are my all-time favorite band.
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Old 08-14-05, 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Penny Lane
actually, you're both kind of right. I picked "Penny Lane" because I really liked Almost Famous and the Beatles are my all-time favorite band.

..and at one point she looked like the character in the movie, and she happens to be with an attorney now...and I just saw the movie...don't want to tick this girl off!


Saw it. Didn't really know what to think at first, but in retrospect, this was a very dark movie with a dark ending and all.
Spoiler:
Seeing as Justify and Cecile not only got away with what they did, but when you think about it, let a couple of innocent children get hanged and burned half alive. I don't know if this really occurred to the ratings board when they were determining the PG-13 or R status. Seeing as how Ehren Kruger wrote this, Arlington Road, and Impostor, he must like having the bad guys win. Glad the studio had the balls to let that happen and not save the ending we saw for a director's cut DVD or something.


I may not be judging this movie fairly, as I love Southern Gothic, voodoo lore, Louisiana, and Kate Hudson, so this movie had it all for me. Let me say this much:

Kate Hudson= hot

Spoiler:
Evil Kate Hudson with Southern accent =SMOKIN! I hope she takes a little initiative with this and plays a flat out villain for a whole film somewhere down the line, as the small amount she had was great in this one.
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Old 08-14-05, 10:29 PM
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I also really enjoyed this movie. Anyone movie that makes you think, works
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Old 08-14-05, 11:39 PM
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I saw this tonight. There was a thunderstorm, so it was the perfect mood for this film. Even though it wasn't scary at all, it was pretty creepy and I loved the atmosphere. I figured out the twist early on, but I still liked that the ending was dark.

Spoiler:
Though the twist has sort of been done before, it was still a hell of a lot more original than the "it's all a dream", "the main character is dead" or "the main character is crazy" twists we've been getting lately.
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Old 08-15-05, 01:38 AM
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Interesting ending. Not enough to get me see this random horror flick of the month but interesting.
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Old 08-17-05, 08:32 PM
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Seen it tonight, and I liked it. Lots of girls in the audience that seemed to be scared during parts. Even though i thought it wasnt scary it had a good atmosphere and good acting and I liked the ending. All that Vodoo and Hodoo (not sure if its spelled right) is interesting stuff.

Kate Hudson looked the hottest i have ever seen her in this movie
Last edited by maingon; 08-17-05 at 08:34 PM.
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