Review of A Cure for Wellness (2017) by Brandon P — 07 Feb 2017

A Cure for Wellness Review.

Tl;dr.

Around 80% of this movie is a decent suspense film. Unfortunately, the remaining 20% is plagued by overwriting, a "keep the studio happy" climax, and scenes only used to shock the audience with.

-Characters.

While not generally the selling point of suspense/horror movies, ACFW is not gaining any points for their characters. The main character Lockhart is a generic works too hard every man who has a tragic past and a tragic near present. The problem there is those traits are never utilized. They're mentioned; they're recalled; there are even flashbacks. None of it changes the narrative and doesn't add anything to a protagonist that could very well have been a piece of white bread with a weird off-putting smirk.

Everyone around Lockhart follows the tropes of suspense; they're all weird. Sure, people are strange in reality, but not to such a solid one note beat. Even outside of the sanitarium, everyone Lockhart talks to has some oddity in speech, behavior, or appearance. The character list could be a horror checklist. Old lady really into puzzles? Check. Young maiden that is aloof and is naïve? Check. Corporate people who care for absolutely nothing and don't blink often? Check. Antagonist that is smarter than the protagonist and has access to hidden knowledge? Check. Mute kid? Check. It feels so very cookie-cutter, something that could be alleviated by character growth, which the movie resolutely denies the audience of.

-Visuals.

The Alps are pretty mountains in reality and in the movie. Honestly, there isn't much to say here. Things look as they should which is a subtle positive. ACFW does not rely on the extremely strange or otherworldly to create a sense of dread.

-Score.

There's a song with a girl humming. It doesn't denote anything in the plot though the writer would have you think otherwise for at least one scene. The rest is inoffensive enough that I never noticed it; though, that's a bad thing for a thriller.

-Shocking Scenes.

I've seen Saw. I've seen VHS. I know what disturbing for the sake of disturbing can look like. That is not the type of thriller ACFW sets out to be and, in general, avoids being. There are two painful scenes that surely made me squirm, but I didn't think there was anything wrong with them. On the other hand, there was one scene at the end that was shocking and provided nothing to the plot. SPOILER WARNING There's a rape scene. Not vaginal penetration with a penis, but forcible vaginal penetration. Why? The hell if I know. There was already a big to do as the pair is in a bedroom and her arms are tied and she's crying out. Do we really need to hang in there and watch it all? I'm no prude, but it doesn't advance the plot, doesn't reveal aspects of the characters we didn't know, nothing. Seriously, why? END SPOILER WARNING.

-Plot.

Let's leave alone the plethora of red herrings throughout the movie because that's fine. Misdirection can do wonderful things and make re-watching a movie more entertaining because you can see how the writers did what they did. I don't think that's the case with ACFW, but I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. What really irks me about the plot is that it had so much promise. Out of just shy of two and a half hours of run time, I was onboard with the plot for the first two hours or so.

Enough hints had been dropped that I had a firm grasp of what was going on behind the scenes (aside from red herrings mentioned previously). I didn't need any more facts or hints to clue me into what the protagonist was learning a few steps slower than the viewer. There was even a beautiful soliloquy by Jason Isaacs with what I was certain was a perfect anti-ending. I was honestly pumped. I thought the writers and director were brave, testing new waters with such a harsh - Oh God, the movie went on.

It didn't just go on though. Seemingly, it invalidated everything that would have made that anti-ending beautiful. ACFW stopped being a suspenseful thriller and turned into a studio exec's dream. The spoiler scene from above? Some action? Taking hints from another genre that would be a spoiler by mentioning it? All the while, the movie takes the time to slowly and carefully explain the plot points hinted at before just in case anyone in the audience is on Valium and can't think coherently. It is an insulting ending that wreaks of studio involvement.

-Pros.

The movie does make full use of a cast that isn't Hollywood beautiful. There's a lot of elderly or plain nudity. Not necessarily what I wake up hoping for, but it is refreshing to see those versions of the human body on the screen in a way that's neither derogatory or a gag.

This is also a good movie for those who don't normally follow suspense/thrillers. It's trope-ridden, but if you don't know those tropes then I can see it much more enjoyable.

By my recollection, there's only one jump scare during the "studio mandated ending." That's pretty good to keep the audience attention these days.