Review of Session 9 (2001) by Filipeneto — 29 Dec 2019

Good atmosphere, very good tension, a very good job, but a script so complicated that can confuse many people.

In this film, workers at a small asbestos removal firm need to remove asbestos from the old Danvers Psychiatric Hospital, a foreclosure for decades. They have a week to do it, and Gordon, the firm's owner, and Phill, his aide, call more employees to work, and Hank, Mike, and Jeff come to work hard. But each has its own problems and personality: Gordon has problems with his family; Phill is arrogant and has poorly resolved issues with Hank; Mike is a failure and Jeff a fearful. It is Mike who delves deeper into the asylum's past, rummaging through the boxes and archives of his former patients and coming across the file of one patient, Mary Hobbes, who disturbs him greatly, while Hank finds a number of valuables. As the movie unfolds, it becomes clear that this place stirs deeply with each of them, to the point of leaving them on the verge of madness.

I like psychological horror, and if there's one thing the movie was very competent about, it was the task of confronting each character with herself. The movie can be a bit confusing as each character lives his own story and his own psychological struggle within the overall story that unites them all: Jeff is forced to face his fear of the dark, Mike is forced to confront failure school and Hank his own greed. But it is Gordon who will endure the greatest torment. I won't reveal much more, but anyone who says the movie is similar to "The Shinning" is for some reason: Both films bet on a kind of "cabin fever" and there are elements that were truly inspired by that movie. And don't expect to fully understand the movie ... there are things that remain unexplained in the end.

The film bets heavily on the environment and the creation of a scenario where tension and suspense reign. We are always waiting for something to happen, and that expectation works very well and doesn't let the movie get cold. Peter Mullan was quite good at his role and managed to balance himself in a demanding character. Josh Lucas and Stephen Gevedon were satisfactory and Brendan Sexton III managed to make his character sympathetic to the public eye. David Caruso had a difficult life because not only does he have the most unpleasant character in the movie but I couldn't see him without thinking about "CSI Miami" where he played the role that gave him fame and prestige.

Finally, a word of appreciation for the use of real scenarios and props. I know the film was low budget, and that using a real location was a way to cut costs, but it gave the film a very good credibility and visual beauty. Unfortunately, and please consider this as a comment from a historian (my profession), I must regret the fact that it was not possible to preserve the Danvers Asylum, almost completely demolished shortly after this film was made, to make way to a real estate development.