“It’s going to get ugly.”
If I were to describe Session 9 to you, it would sound like the most insipid montage of cliches: a horror movie set in a derelict mental institution, which had a history of treating violent patients with sadistic methods; during the course of the film, men are murdered, possessed, lobotomized. It would be easy to dismiss Session 9 as the kind of banal torture porn that flooded American theaters in the beginning years of this century. While the film isn’t perfect, it’s head and shoulders above movies like Hostel or Captivity, most likely because this film is directed by an actual artist, Brad Anderson (The Machinist). Anderson weaves in homages to The Shining and The Thing, while also setting this unfolding nightmare in broad daylight.
Gordon (Peter Mullan) and Phil (David Caruso) are asbestos removal experts, traveling to the enormous, decrepit Danvers State Hospital to bid for the asbestos contract. (The specificity of their profession doesn’t factor into the narrative a whole lot, but it helps the film stand out; name another movie with characters in this line of work.) Anderson (who co-wrote the film with Stephen Gevedon) drops a number of red herrings, as a security guard tells Gordon and Phil that some former patients have been trying to break back in, having nowhere else to go. (Later, we see a hallway with gloves hanging off of one wall, and the tension increases every moment, as we expect one of those gloves to reach out and grab someone.) Gordon submits a bid with an impossible timeline: one week to clear the whole place out. Desperation seldom leads to good ideas.
A crew is assembled: Mike (Gevedon); Hank (Josh Lucas), who has a contentious relationship with Phil; and Gordon’s nephew, Jeff (Brendan Sexton III). Session 9 doesn’t give a lot of reasons for Jeff’s inclusion; it seems that a job of this magnitude, with this timeframe, would necessitate an expert instead of a novice. That’s no criticism of Sexton III’s performance, which starts out as grating as you’d expect a mulleted 17-year-old to be, but which culminates in one of the best, most terrifying scenes in the movie.
Session 9 is a slow burn – don’t go into this film expecting jump scares and musical stings. It might test your patience, especially if, like me, you’ve heard it breathlessly described as “the scariest film on Netflix.” Anderson upends the very idea of the film’s setting; all but one scene in the hospital takes place during the daytime. Danvers is a location ripe with shadow and dark corners, and seasoned horror viewers will find themselves inspecting the outer reaches of the frame, trying in vain to put eyes on some sort of ghoul or specter. None are to be found; the horror here is decidedly human. More or less.
Mike becomes obsessed with listening to tapes of a session with a patient named Mary Hobbes, who killed her family on Christmas. Mary is host to a few different personalities: the princess, Billy, and the mysterious Simon. By the time we hear Simon speak – on the tape for the ninth session – we recognize his voice because it’s been speaking to Gordon for some time now.
Comparisons will arise, to The Shining, The Thing, and any number of claustrophobic movies of that ilk. Those are intentional. Like The Thing, Session 9 (mostly) takes place in one location, and even though the hospital is huge, the sun is out, and everyone has a car, it still feels as though the men are trapped, the walls closing in on them. Very few scenes take place outdoors, and when they do, the characters are still in the shadow of the hospital. Danvers might not be as iconic as the Overlook Hotel or Hill House, but it’s an imposing edifice nevertheless, and we are constantly reminded that these men have no chance of escaping.
The performances are mostly solid, if a little dated. Mullan does the best job here, although Caruso is no slouch. This is pre-CSI: Miami Caruso, before he devolved into a parody of himself. Lucas is a bit over the top, but so is the character, so it’s hard to fault him. Although Anderson’s directing is well-done, there are times when the film gives in to some of the regrettable flourishes that were common among films of this era: slow motion, ramping, strange close-ups. What is most believable is the descent into madness and chaos, as Gordon becomes fully possessed by the being known as Simon and begins systematically killing his crew. This twist is telegraphed, but still effective due to Mullan’s performance, as well as the disconcerting sight of a lobotomized Hank, wandering around like a somnambulist, repeating “What are you doing here?” like a mantra.
Session 9 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but that’s not a knock against it. Not every horror film needs to be a revolution against the genre. It’s enough to be a solid entry, and this film absolutely qualifies. It’s tense, atmospheric, with a sense of creeping dread the permeates nearly every scene. That’s the thing about daylit horror: it just makes the shadows longer. And deeper.
Thursday, 10/1: Phantasm
Friday, 10/2: Frozen
Saturday, 10/3: Suspiria
Sunday, 10/4: Suspiria (2018)
Monday, 10/5: Emelie
Tuesday, 10/6: Castle Freak
Wednesday, 10/7: Session 9
Thursday, 10/8: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Friday, 10/9: We Are Still Here
Saturday, 10/10: The Changeling
Sunday, 10/11: The Bad Seed
Monday, 10/12: Verotika
Tuesday, 10/13: The Legend of Hell House
Wednesday, 10/14: Lake Mungo
Thursday, 10/15: Puppetmaster
Friday, 10/16: Marrowbone
Saturday, 10/17: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
Sunday, 10/18: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Monday, 10/19: Sweetheart
Tuesday, 10/20: Girl On the Third Floor
Wednesday, 10/21: Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Thursday, 10/22: Triangle
Friday, 10/23: Dog Soldiers
Saturday, 10/24: Noroi: The Curse
Sunday, 10/25: Train to Busan
Monday, 10/26: Tales From the Hood
Tuesday, 10/27: Mandy
Wednesday, 10/28: Sometimes They Come Back
Thursday, 10/29: Veronica
Friday, 10/30: The Wicker Man
Saturday, 10/31: Child’s Play
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