Movies - Session 9

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	Movies - Session 9

Session 9 is a 2001 psychological horror film directed by Brad Anderson. The film is set around Danvers State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital and a national historic landmark that achieved infamy for repeatedly performing the prefrontal lobotomy.

Plot summary

Danvers State Hospital has been closed for 15 years. Five asbestos strippers led by Gordon (Peter Mullan) and Phil (David Caruso) arrive at the asylum to make the building safe. Throughout the film we begin to see that each man has his own vice and personal demon he is coming to terms with. The men become tormented by their demons and the trusting and friendly relationships begin to break down.

The film is softly paced and slowly reveals the psychology of the men whilst testing their relationships.

Gordon is the owner of the asbestos stripping business and a new father. With the stress of work and the fatigue of fatherhood, he has argued with his wife and assaulted her. We learn that Gordon has had to leave home and is missing his family.

Mike, played by Stephen Gevedon (who is also the film's screen writer) trained as a lawyer but dropped out of law school before achieving his potential. He discovers a collection of taped interviews with a former patient listed "Session 1" through to "Session 9" and listens to them throughout the film.

Phil (David Caruso) has lost his love for the job after his long term girlfriend left him for Hank, another team member. Hank antagonises him about this continually.

Hank (Josh Lucas) dreams of hitting the big time and wants to leave his job for casino school. While working he finds a hidden stash of coins and personal artifacts that have been hidden away since the asylum closed. Returning late at night to steal these artifacts, Hank is attacked by a mysterious figure and disappears.

When Hank disappears, Gordon believes Phil may have murdered him for taking away his girlfriend. With Gordon's distrust, Phil begins to confide in Mike about Gordon's domestic abuse and gradually the friendships erode. Ultimately the pressure of the work becomes too much for Gordon and he begins to hallucinate about finding his colleagues murdered. At the end of the film, we discover that Gordon has gone insane himself, that he had murdered his wife and newborn baby daughter and was living a charade that he had come to believe . When he awakes from this charade he discovers that he was the one who attacked Hank and has also murdered his colleagues.

Trivia

At the opening of the film it is revealed that the asylum has a problem with ex-patients returning and living within the building. A character of a homeless woman living in the building who watches the events unfold had to be removed as test audiences became confused into thinking this woman was the voice they were hearing on the "Session" tapes. In the intended ending, the homeless woman becomes so frightened of Gordon that she murders him.

Brad Anderson's next film was The Machinist
, starring Christian Bale

Many of the themes, concepts and styles appear in the video game series Silent Hill

The movie's tagline is "Fear is a place"

US Weekly in a review said the film was "Deliciously disturbing. The most terrifying psychological chiller since the Blair Witch Project"

Session 9 is the name of a heavy metal band based in Huddersfield, England.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Session 9 ]

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Movies - Session 9

Plot summary

Trivia

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