The Skeleton Key
| The Skeleton Key | |
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 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Iain Softley |
| Produced by | Iain Softley Daniel Bobker Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher |
| Written by | Ehren Kruger |
| Starring | Kate Hudson Gena Rowlands Peter Sarsgaard John Hurt Joy Bryant |
| Music by | Edward Shearmur |
| Cinematography | Dan Mindel |
| Editing by | Joe Hutshing |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 29, 2005 United States August 12, 2005 |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $43 million |
| Box office | $91,974,818 (Worldwide)[1] |
The Skeleton Key is a 2005 American supernatural horror film[2] starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joy Bryant. The film focuses on a young hospice nurse who acquires a job at a Terrebonne Parish plantation home, and becomes entangled in a mystery involving the house, its former inhabitants, and the hoodoo rituals and magic that took place there. It was released in cinemas in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2005, and in the U.S. on August 12, 2005.[3]
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[edit] Plot
Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson) is a New Orleans hospital aide who takes a position as a private hospice caregiver at an isolated plantation house deep in the bayous of southern Louisiana. The lady of the house, Violet Deveraux (Gena Rowlands), looks after her husband Benjamin Devereaux (John Hurt), a stroke victim who is expected to die soon. At first Caroline is dubious about taking the job as Violet is very hostile and distrustful towards her, but after some prompting from the family's estate lawyer, Luke Marshall (Peter Sarsgaard), she accepts the position.
Caroline soon finds the mansion has a dark past. Finding her way into a secret room in the attic, Caroline discovers dolls, a book of spells, potion jars, and other instruments of magic. Violet tells Caroline that the room belonged to two house servants who had worked at the house in the 1920s. Mama Cecile (Jeryl Prescott) and her husband, Papa Justify (Ron McCall) were, in their day, renowned practitioners of hoodoo, a form of Afro-Caribbean folk magic. The couple, it is revealed, were lynched when it was discovered that they were performing spells with the children of the house owners.
In order to find answers about the ever-present Hoodoo magic, which seems to be the root cause of Ben’s illness, Caroline goes to a local gas station where she earlier saw Hoodoo artifacts. An old woman at the gas station tells Caroline of one of the most powerful Hoodoo conjurations, the Conjure of Sacrifice. Caroline had discovered a record with this title written on it, and feels as though it has something to do with Ben’s illness. The old woman tells Caroline that this powerful spell is one of immortality, in which the caster sacrifices someone and gains the remaining years of their life. Caroline senses that Ben is in danger.
After a failed attempt to get Ben out of Violet's grasp, Caroline seeks the help of Luke. Luke was with Caroline when she learned of the Conjure of Sacrifice and he is aware of Caroline’s suspicion of Violet. At Luke's house, Caroline discovers clues leading to the revelation that Luke is in league with Violet. Just as Caroline is about to act, Luke captures her, ties her up and gags her to take her back to the manor.
Caroline is held captive, but manages to get free and scatters brick dust throughout the house, which, according to Hoodoo tradition, is meant to keep away those who mean one harm. This brick dust enchantment succeeds in keeping Luke away but Violet gets to Caroline and blows a powder in her eyes (probably Goofer dust) that distorts her vision. After a brief struggle Caroline manages to push Violet down the stair and break her legs. With Luke and Violet now downstairs, Caroline flees to the attic to find that the room has been set up for some kind of ritual. Caroline follows the instructions on a piece of paper she snatched from Violet earlier, and forms a protective circle around herself. The protective spell was a trick intended to capture Caroline instead of protect her. Violet comes into the ritual room, and explains that Hoodoo magic only works on those that believe in it, and "they" have been waiting for her to believe. Caroline realizes that it was in fact she who was in danger and not Ben. Caroline tries to deny the fact that she now believes in Hoodoo, but cannot convince herself.
Violet pushes a mirror at Caroline, which contains the image, initially of the little girl, then of Violet and ultimately of Mama Cecile. The mirror smashes into Caroline, knocking her unconscious. Caroline then wakes up and walks over to Violet, who is barely awake. It is revealed that the soul of Mama Cecile is now inside Caroline's body, and Caroline's soul is now in Violet's body. Luke's body is revealed to be possessed by the soul of Papa Justify. Ben, who was previously the host to Papa Justify's soul, is revealed to be the real Luke.
Caroline/Mama Cecile gives Violet/Caroline a liquid which causes a pseudo stroke. This prevents her from talking, so she can't reveal the presences of Mama Cecile and Papa Justify. When Caroline's friend Jill (Joy Bryant) arrives at the Plantation, Luke/Papa Justify informs her that "Ben" and "Violet" left the house to "Caroline", thus leaving Mama Cecile and Papa Justify to continue occupying the house. The film ends with Caroline and Luke looking at each other helplessly, trapped in Violet and Ben's bodies. When "Mama Cecile" and "Papa Justify" were lynched after performing the same spell with the children, it was actually the children who were lynched while occupying Mama Cecile and Papa Justify's original bodies, with Mama Cecile and Papa Justify actually living on in the children's bodies.
[edit] Cast
- Kate Hudson as Caroline Ellis
- Gena Rowlands as Violet Devereaux
- John Hurt as Benjamin Devereaux
- Peter Sarsgaard as Luke Marshall
- Joy Bryant as Jill Dupay
- Maxine Barnett as Mama Cynthia
- Fahnlohnee R. Harris as Hallie
- Marion Zinser as Elderly Bayou Woman
- Deneen Tyler as Desk Nurse
- Ann Dalrymple as C.N.A
- Trula Marcus as Nurse Trula
- Tonya Staten as Nurse Audrey
- Thomas Uskali as Robertson Thorpe
- Jen Apgar as Madeleine Thorpe
- Forrest Landis as Martin Thorpe
- Jamie Lee Redmon as Grace Thorpe
- Ronald McCall as Papa Justify
- Jeryl Prescott as Mama Cecile
- Isaach De Bankolé as Creole Gas Station Owner
- Cristha Thorne as Creole Mother
- Lakrishi Kindred as Frail Customer
[edit] Setting
The Skeleton Key was filmed at the historic Felicity Plantation, actually located on the Mississippi River in Saint James Parish, Louisiana, not the coastal, swampy Terrebonne Parish. At the end of the movie, the aerial shot of the house and its grounds was actually done with CGI technology. In that shot, the house and the grove of trees surrounding it are real, but the swamp that seems to be on the verge of engulfing the house was created by the director for the movie. Behind the house actually lie hundreds of acres of fields. In reality, the house is not really run down; it was decorated with ivy, among other things, to set the tone.[citation needed]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Reviews
The film received generally mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes reported that 39% of critics gave positive reviews, based on 142 reviews.[4] Metacritic reported 47% with a score of 6.2, based on 32 reviews.[5] Scott Brown of Entertainment Weekly called the film "For anyone zombified by creaky thriller clichés, Skeleton is a fine little shot in the head".[4] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said "One of the most enjoyably inane movies of the season, this faux Southern Gothic offers an embarrassment of geek pleasures".[4] Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle gave a negative review of the movie and said "A well-intentioned horror film that is weighted down by stellar cast members who for the most part act as if they do not want to be there".[4]
[edit] Box office
The film was a financial success, with a worldwide gross of $US91,974,818. In the US it raised $US16,057,945 in its first weekend, reaching number 2 at the box office, taking a total domestic gross of $US47,907,715.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ "The Skeleton Key - Box Office". http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=skeletonkey.htm.
- ^ "Interview with Ehren Kruger and Holly Minnich". Dread Central. http://www.dreadcentral.com/interviews/kruger-ehren-the-ring-2. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ "The Skeleton Key (2005) - Release dates". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397101/releaseinfo. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
- ^ a b c d "The Skeleton Key – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1149472-skeleton_key/. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ "Skeleton Key, The (2005): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/skeletonkey. Retrieved 2009-11-02.
- ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for August 12–14, 2005". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=skeletonkey.htm. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Rotten Tomatoes aggregation of "The Skeleton Key" reviews
- Interview with John Hurt
- The Skeleton Key at the Internet Movie Database
- The Skeleton Key at AllRovi
- Trailer at Apple.com
- Review and info at Netflix.com
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