“Skeleton Key” unlocks gothic rituals

In light of the on-going turmoil following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, you might be tempted to go to your local theater and see the movie, “Skeleton Key,” starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rolands, and the town of New Orleans.

This is an understandable urge, considering that while the cities of New York, Miami and L.A. are featured in way too many movies, equally popular cities such as New Orleans, Atlanta and Memphis hardly get a decent nod from the film industry. And when they do, the movies are often infused with over-exaggerated stereotypes, uniform scenery, and a storyline custom-tailored to fit the common perceptions of those who live outside the city. “Skeleton Key,” while a decently sewn film in its own right, is unfortunately one of those movies.

Whereas movies such as “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and “Mississippi Burning” pay reasonable homage to the towns that they take place in, even given the grim nature of their plotlines, “Skeleton Key” seems to wear blinders in its attitudes toward New Orleans. Never is there a clarification drawn between the weird nature of the Hoodoo religion and the normalcy of common life within the town. Most of the filming is extremely tight, offering only facial shots or medium close ups. This gives a distinct impression of claustrophobia which, while common for horror films, does little for effect in this case, since things never switch from close to wide, but rather remain close for the entire time.

Another problem is the haphazard way that the Hoodoo religion is handled. For instance, early in the film, Hudson’s character makes an off-handed remark about how Hoodoo only works for people who believe in it. Incredibly, this casual line becomes the hinge on which the entire story pivots.

Now she must believe in Hoodoo in order for it to work. Had she not mentioned it, the magic probably would have worked anyway. Then there are the typical spells and rituals that you’ll recognize from similar films. This is a prevalent plot device through which the film’s story line seems forced.

As a typical horror/mystery film, however, “Skeleton Key” does deliver, with solid performances by Hudson, who plays a very na?ve and overly-curious caretaker, and Rolands, who steals the show playing her overly-mysterious employer. After Violet Devereaux’s husband suffers a stroke, she is forced to hire Caroline Ellis to take care of him in the final months of his life.

The motivation for both characters is well executed and follows very strict archetypes. Caroline is dealing with the guilt she feels for refusing to care for her father when he was dying. Violet is struggling to let go of their house’s dark past.

The pace is extremely slow, and the ghosts rarely make an appearance, but the ending resolves all of the film’s questions nicely, with no sloppy overrun of explanation or unbelievable twists. ?

The final result is a film for a genre that is currently batting very average in the box office. It avoids being a powerful film about New Orleans and its Hoodoo subculture in favor of being a by-the-numbers PG-13 horror flick, which is disappointing.

However, it does follow these numbers religiously, unlike “The Forgotten,” “White Noise” or “Boogeyman,” which all strayed too far off the mark to be successful. If you like the genre, you’ll enjoy this film.

But if you’re looking to favor New Orleans in the Katrina aftermath, give your “Skeleton Key” money to the relief fund and go see “Transporter 2″ instead. “Skeleton Key” gets a solid 3 paws out of 5 for my money, but dissenting opinions are understandable.

Rating (out of 5)

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 9 2005. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry