Review of A Cure for Wellness (2017) by Rilee K — 16 Feb 2017

For the first two hours of A Cure for Wellness, I was genuinely bewildered at how much I was enjoying and appreciating this movie. Every single shot, planned out so tediously by Gore Verbinski, is dripping with beauty and it makes the film feel a lot like an old school gothic flick, harkening back to the times of The Phantom of the Opera and even bits of Frankenstein.

The characters are well meticulously set up, however I didn't really know whether to care for or slightly despise the lead character of Lockhart, played by Dane Dehaan. You really have to appreciate the amount of effort that goes into a film like this, all the way from the brilliant, yet bizarre original story to the inconceivable visuals and the very well-fitting score.

Moving into some minor complaints, the last half hour (yes, it's a two and a half hour long horror movie) attempted to wrap up the story too quickly. Although, you have to give the screenwriters credit for at least giving a favorable try at ending a film as strange as this one.

The ending is very disconnected, and some seriously disturbing and repulsive things develop that I didn't really want to see. I suppose that adds to the general feeling of misery and overall creepiness that runs throughout this feature, but it also took a bit away from the classical gothic experience that makes this such a great experience.

The very end was additionally all over the place, but A Cure for Wellness is still one of the best horror films of its kind I've seen in quite a while. Absolutely NO KIDS though. 8/10.