Release Date: September 25, 2007
Film Rating:  ½ /
Starring: Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill and Penelope Cruz
Written by: Sebastian Gutierrez
Directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz
Gothika is a combination psychological drama and horror film featuring Halle Berry as a criminal psychiatrist who finds herself on the other side of the bars and accused of murder. While the casting of the film includes some interesting faces and there are a couple of genuinely scary “Boo!” moments, the film is a fairly routine affair. The mystery at the heart of the movie is fairly simple to unravel, and there isn’t much to recommend it for repeat viewings. There are the usual echoes of The Sixth Sense and The Dead Zone, but nothing here really is all that memorable. And to be honest, the eventual climax falls pretty flat. Halle Berry fans may find this to be an interesting rental, but there’s not a lot here to recommend to the casual viewer.
Gothika was released on standard definition DVD over 3 years ago. Now Warner Bros. has released high definition versions of the original DVD release, on both HD-DVD and Blu-ray. The contents match the earlier release, while the new 1080p transfer is identical between the two formats.
 VIDEO QUALITY: 3.5/5 ½
Gothika is presented in a 1080p VC-1 transfer that is surprisingly ordinary. The colors and details are certainly sharper than on a standard definition DVD, but there’s not much here to make the viewer really take notice of the high-def transfer. The chill blue of the prison environment of much of the film certainly comes across well, as do certain sequences, particularly a brief series of shots of Halle Berry swimming, and a slow-motion flashback that occurs roughly halfway through the film. But the majority of the film really doesn’t look all that different from a standard definition transfer.
AUDIO QUALITY: 3/5
Gothika is presented in a 640kbps Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in English and French, along with a 2.0 mix in Spanish. The mix includes a few uses of the surround channels, with sound effects mixed out to the rear speakers. For the most part, though, the film lives in the front channels. There are a few jolts here and there to help goose the audience during the “Boo!” moments, but for the most part, this is a quieter movie than one might expect from the subject matter.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 3/5
The Blu-Ray presentation of Gothika includes all of the special features from the standard DVD edition, presented in their original 480p standard definition.
Commentary with Director Mathieu Kassovitz and Director of Photography Matthew Libatique – The commentary from the original standard definition of the DVD is included here. It comes in fits and starts, as Kassovitz and his DP will lapse into silence as they watch the film for a bit before piping up again. There are some gems here, if you look for them. The two men acknowledge the difficulties of night rain shooting, including their own conflicts with each other at the time.
On the Set of Gothika (16:08) (480p Non Anamorphic) – This behind-the-scenes featurette includes the usual mix of interviews, on-set clips, and clips from the movie. There’s nothing particularly deep here, just the expected series of mutual compliments between the actors and their director, as well as everyone else.
Painting With Fire (7:04) (480p Non Anamorphic) - This brief featurette, from the original release, showcases the CGI work done to enhance the film, including trick shots with glass panes inserted later, and enhanced exterior visuals that create the fictional penitentiary of the film. There’s some interesting before-and-after footage, but nothing particularly deep or involved.
MTV Punk’d clip (3:59) (480p Non-Anamorphic) – This clip from the MTV series, also found on the original DVD, shows Halle Berry supposedly being barred from attending the premiere of this film. It’s not particularly memorable, but I suppose if you’re a fan of the show, it might be fun.
Music Video: “Behind Blue Eyes” – Limp Bizkit (4:32) (480p Non-Anamorphic) – The Limp Bizkit video of their cover of the classic song by The Who is included here, as it was on the original DVD release. The video is a pretty ordinary affair, but it does include Halle Berry participating in the lip synch along with frontman (and director) Fred Durst.
MTV’s The Making of “Behind Blue Eyes” (19:17) (480p Non-Anamorphic) – This featurette from the original DVD is self-explanatory, and mostly consists of on-the-set camcorder footage. The most interesting thing about this featurette is that it is actually longer than the “Making of” featurette for the film itself.
Theatrical Trailer (2:11) (480p Non-Anamorphic) – The film’s original theatrical trailer is included in standard definition.
Additional Inmate Material (480p Non-Anamorphic) – Three additional patients are spotlit in this mock featurette, narrated by Bernard Hill in character as Dr. Parsons. Initially, we are presented with Dr. Parsons’ notes about the three subjects (1:22, 1:09 and 1:25 respectively). Patient artwork is then presented for the three women. (:26, :42, and :49 respectively). Finally, we are shown excerpts from interviews conducted by Dr. Parson’s with each of the three women. (2:48, 2:29 and 2:47)
The usual menus are all included here, including the pop-up menu bar that can be accessed during the film. There is a good chapter list and three languages worth of subtitles for the feature itself.
IN THE END...
Gothika is a decent, but unmemorable try at creating a psychological horror film. It looks good, but there really isn’t much substance here to hold on to. As I said at the beginning of the review, it may be worth a rental to fans of Halle Berry.
Kevin Koster
August 24, 2007.
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