SESSION 9 ---------
'Well, you know Doc, when something happens it can leave a trace of itself behind. Say, like if someone burns toast...'
Scatman Crothers as Dick Halloran in "The Shining"
New dad Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan, "My Name Is Joe") desperately needs to win a contract to keep his Hazmat Elimination Co., an asbestos removal firm, afloat. He startles his crew chief Phil (David Caruso, "Proof of Life") by promising town engineer Bill Griggs (Paul Guilfoyle, "In Dreams") they can complete a massive job at the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital in one week. The pressure is on when they and three additional workers enter the foreboding place in cowriter/director Brad Anderson's "Session 9."
Brad Anderson, whose last film, "Next Stop Wonderland" was also shot in the Boston area, has found a magnificent location in Massachusetts' Danvers State Mental Hospital. He and cowriter/star Stephen Gevedon have fashioned an homage to Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," with the modern feel of "The Blair Witch Project." The film loses its tense grip at its climax, when the titular Session 9 is revealed, but it provides an intensely nerve racking ride getting there.
We know Gordon is under a lot of pressure, not only because of his shaky business and some hinted-at problems at home with his beloved wife and new baby, but because he hears an eerie voice on his first visit to the site. Phil begins to doubt his boss's judgement, particularly concerning Gordon's loyalty to crew member Hank (Josh Lucas, "You Can Count On Me"), who stole Phil's girlfriend and continues to needle him about it. Hank also rides Jeff (Brendan Sexton III, "Welcome to the Dollhouse"), Gordon's neophyte nephew who's afraid of the dark. Mike (Gevedon) is a failed law student who immediately gets drawn into the records and patient histories he finds in the basement, especially the taped nine sessions of split personality Mary Hobbes.
Mike, whose uncle was a DA during a satanic ritual abuse case with one of the hospital's patients, knows the history of the place and delights in regaling his coworkers with tales of horrific abuse and botched lobotomies (based on actual stories from Danvers State).
As Mike listens to tapes, Hank discovers a load of silver coins and other treasures hidden behind a brick wall in a basement corridor (we're made privy to the other side of that wall where an unsavory looking medical lab still stands). Hank returns at night to recoup the treasure and doesn't return to the job the next day. Gordon visits the hospital cemetery to make private phone calls to his wife. Phil begins to speak to Mike about Gordon's state of mind. Mike listens as Mary Hobbes takes on one persona after another. Jeff's forced to face his fears replacing a fuse in a darkened room.
"Session 9" strongly resembles "The Shining" as each passing day is announced by title card that precedes aerial shots of a forbidding and abandoned old building with a dark history. A central figure is a father with job pressures who can hear the voices of the past. The film's look is more akin to "The Blair Witch Project" as shot by a professional (cinematographer Uta Briesewitz uses the 24P HD camera - widescreen digital video that apes the frames per second of film and captures every dust mote, paint peel and ray of light). Characters meet their fates in much the same style as Blair Witch (camera blackouts) and one is even found facing the corner. While the name Hazmat surely refers to hazardous materials, it sounds mighty similar to "Blair Witch's" production company, Haxan Entertainment. "The Texas Chainsaw" gets a nod via the prominence of a loud, belching generator and a bloody hand print on a van's exterior.
The cast all turn in good performances, with Caruso being the standout as a serious crew chief trying to keeping things pulled together. Mullan projects just the right amount of confusion to make us wonder if Phil's concerns are valid and an air of sadness that matches the gloom of his surroundings. Sexton III injects a freshness and innocence into the tough, experienced group.
Anderson knows how to build tension. As his characters go off on their individual side tracks, he cuts to the other team members innocently going about their jobs. Each will be impacted by the actions of the others in some way. But above all, Anderson knew a location in need of a horror film when he spotted one.
The grounds of Danvers State Mental Hospital are off limits to visitors. If Burkittesville, Maryland is any indication, they better get more guards.
B+
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