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HTF Reviewer
Location: Kernersville, NC
Join Date: Nov 2001
Local Time: 06:18 AM
Local Date: 10-13-2008
Posts: 534
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HTF HD-DVD Review: Gothika
Gothika
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2003
US Rating: R - Violence, Brief Language and Nudity
Film Length: 1hr 38minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Video Resolution/Codec: 1080p/VC-1
Audio: English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, French 5.1 and Spanish 2.0
Subtitles: Optional English SDH, French and Spanish
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US Release Date: September 25, 2007
The Film -   out of
“I am a rational person. I believe in science. I don't believe in the paranormal, and I don't believe in ghosts. But if you are the ghost of Rachel Parsons, can you let me out of this cell?”
Imagine waking up in an institution for the criminally insane, having no memory of how you got there, knowing that you are not crazy but no-one, not even old friends, believe what you say. That is the basic fear that sparks the mystery and scares in Halle Berry’s 2003 frightener of a film, Gothika.
Halle Berry stars as Dr Miranda Grey, a criminal psychologist at Woodward Penitentiary, a smart and caring doctor who oversees a psych ward at the facility and is married to the Head of the facility, Dr Douglass Grey (Charles S Dutton). One night on her way home during heavy storm showers, she must take an alternate route after coming across a road diversion due to a sink hole. Taking these back roads, she encounters a mysterious figure in the middle of the road, a frightened injured girl. As she tries to help her, there is a flash and she wakes up as a patient in the ward she previously ran. Her husband has been brutally murdered and she is the prime suspect.
As she tries to unravel the truth behind how she ended up as a subject in the facility, she gets a little help from a volatile former patient of hers, now fellow inmate Chloe (Penelope Cruz) and her former co-worker, Dr Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) She becomes haunted by visions of the girl from the back roads and the harrowing images she sees seem to make her appear more and more out of her mind, even though she is increasingly at risk.
The ‘scary mental institution at night with raging rainstorms’ is classic scary movie fodder. The creepiness throughout the halls of the insane, with flashes of lightning and the flickering lights brought on by power failures, are all familiar chiller techniques, and are all confidently used by Gothika to set the right mood and atmosphere. The story is a curious one, coming across as a little more original than most, although the ghost element is borne from well worn territory. Gothika, however, turns out to be more of a psychological thriller than just a scary movie, enabled by some particularly strong performances from Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz, and the innovative and fluid direction of Mathieu Kassovitz. Two of the film’s producers, Joel Silver and Robert Zemeckis have clearly infused the film with their distinct essences; bringing a high production value to the proceedings and an energy that keeps the film on point throughout.
Where the film doesn’t live up to the tone it sets, is in the scenes filmed outside of Woodward Penitentiary. The steely blue tone, cold feel and isolated atmosphere created at the facility is directed with confidence and smooth, unusual camera moves that put the viewer ill-at-ease and are complimented by intense lighting effects. But beyond the walls of Woodward, the pace of the film slows down and the originality in how the story is told peels away and becomes functional and plodding.
There are a few holes in the plot that deflate the ending a bit, but not enough to kill the enjoyment of the experience overall. This film has plenty of good honest scares and more than its fair share of goosebump moments. The terror of being locked up in a facility for the insane, with no-one believing you, as a Ghost terrifies and terrorizes you, has been captured very well by Halle Berry. She is given a number of scenes in which she must walk the line between being a doctor who is smart enough to understand how others must see her, and portraying a person who is living a nightmare. As her fellow inmate, Penelope Cruz has a small but vital role in the film and stands-out. Great British actor Bernard Hill pops up in another small but satisfying role as Dr Parsons.
The slick production design, subtle and effective visual effects and strong performances help Gothika escape being an easily forgotten, watered down Hollywood attempt at creating a meaningful ghost story. While it will not win points for its overall originality, it is more fun than you might expect and more impressive than any initial impressions you may have had.
Warner Bros. has provided us with Gothika in its original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, encoded VC-1, 1080p high definition. The majority of the film, set inside the mental institution, has a distinctly cold, bluish tint to it and that comes across on this HD-DVD quite nicely. But there are good scenes and bad scenes when it comes to the overall image quality. Most of the outside sequences, or those with very bright, white light, show a lot of noise. It can be quite distracting at times. The grain that invades at times is also not worthy of a proper HD-DVD presentation. While this is an improvement over the standard DVD, it is a disappointment in how it did not live up to expectations.
The audio options for this HD-DVD release include a Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound, a French 5.1 surround sound and Spanish 2.0. Gothika has many scenes of dialogue, filmed in interesting ways but simply two people talking – so the center channel is called upon more than you might think. The sound quality here is very good, nice and clean and distortion free. There are many scenes, too, that rely upon atmosphere to instill emotion in the viewer, usually one of fright, and the bolts of lightning and heavy downpours of rain sound good, but they don’t seem to ever excel. The mood of the film is so adeptly created visually, but the sound never seems to quite live up to the visual strengths. It is still a good audio track, just missing something that would have really pushed it over the top.
Commentary with Director Mathieu Kassovitz & Director of Photography Matthew Libatique : – The director Mathieu and cinematographer Matthew share many stories, from the rushed prep of the film to how complicated many of the moving shots were. This is a lively commentary, back and forth between these two. They provide a lot of technical details in how they accomplished certain camera moves or effects that I consider it a pretty worthwhile listen.
On the Set of Gothika : – (16:07) – This featurette contains interviews with the director, producer Joel Silver as well as other crew and some of the cast, discussing everything from the characters to the sets.
Painting with Fire : – (7:04) – A quick look behind the scenes at some of the more impressive effects shots in the film. This is a good insight into how the visual effects shots were, at times, very subtle and helped further the story.
Dr. Parsons’ Patient Profiles : – Bernard Hill gives voice-over narration of ‘fake’ patient profiles:
Notes on Candace Burns - (1:21)
Notes on Jeanne Howard - (1:09)
Notes on Wanda Clinton - (1:25)
Patient Artwork & Personal Profiles : – A look at images created by these patients with audio quotes:
Wanda’s Drawings - (0:26)
Candace’s Drawings - (0:42)
Jeanne’s Drawings - (0:49)
Woodward Penitentiary Interview Archives : – Video tape interviews with the three ‘fake’ patients:
Candace Burns - (2:48)
Jeanne Howard - (2:29)
Wanda Clinton - (2:46)
MTV Making of the video “Behind Blue Eyes” : – (19:16) – Limp Bizkit’s cover of a great ‘The Who’ song has its production of the making of the video (which features Halle Berry) captured by MTV. Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst directs.
MTV Punk’d featuring Halle Berry : – (3:59)
Music Video “Behind Blue Eyes” by Limp Bizkit : – (4:32)
Theatrical Trailer : – (2:11)
Final Thoughts
Gothika was never intended to be as original or dramatic as films like The Sixth Sense or the much older The Changeling, but what it turned out to be was a far better film than I even those making it meant it to be. The thriller aspect, with supernatural goings on and creepy, scary moments would have been ok, but the film is elevated by the mysterious nature of the material, manifesting as a curious ‘whodunnit’ in the costume of your average fright film.
I can’t tell you that Gothika is necessarily a very good film, but it is an exceedingly enjoyable one, warts and all.
Neil Middlemiss
Kernersville, NC
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