Review of The Ward (2010) by Thequietgamer — 10 Oct 2016

John Carpenter proves why he's a legend in the horror genre once again. While perhaps not the most original of concepts, The Ward manages to be very entertaining nonetheless. The atmosphere, style, dialog, and score are all reminiscent of those cult classic horror flicks of the 70's and 80's. Particularly the ones based on Stephen King's works.

It's also got some of the best jump scares I've ever seen. Even when you can see them coming from a mile away, (which honestly most of the time you can) the way they are handled still makes for a good shock. Admittedly none of the horror is actually scary, so don't expect any of this to stick with you into the night after watching.

The plot itself is very entertaining and filled with mystery. The big reveal, while perhaps a bit confusing to wrap your head around, is very satisfying. It's nice to get the answers when they finally arrive and I honestly did not see that coming.

Mix in fantastic performances all around and you've got a really entertaining horror film. Carpenter excellently brings back the horror movies of yesteryear after a lengthy departure. It's already been a few years since this one has come out, and based on what I've seen here, I really hope he doesn't wait as long to return to filmmaking like he did after Ghosts of Mars. I personally want to see more new stuff from the guy.