Review: Session 9

Session 9 (2001)

A group of asbestos cleaners get a contract for an old, abandoned mental hospital but the place seems to have another toxic residue besides mold and asbestos. The production value is really high for a movie that didn't get very much publicity. The real star of the movie is the set of the Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. This place alone is ripe for your imagination to wander through the decaying walls. There is plenty of great shots of the rotting building that build the palpable tension, the idea that the air itself is toxic ads to the tension. Everything comes together to make for a very effective psychological thriller. The movie doesnt have very many "scares" but does build tones of tension through-out its length as questions keep appearing and scattered answers fall like peeling paint. It leaves you asking the right kind of questions even after its over and lets some of the most disturbing pieces play out in your mind. There are strong themes about insanity, the capacity for violence in everyone, and things being left behind in the past not being gone. I have a feeling I will be thinking about this one for a while.