The Ward (2010)
I don’t want to make this review too long because then I would be wasting your time, sort of like how this film wasted mine. The film is dry, boring, and not scary whatsoever. Although I wouldn’t say mental institution horror isn’t the widest of the sub-genres, but we have a variety to pick from, and they are all better than this. The film had no spice, and tried playing on cheap scares (loud sounds, etc.) and made the film feel pretty shallow. Now, I don’t want you to see this film, but if you must, please let me spoil it for you. If you’ve seen Identity, you’ve seen a much better version of this film. I don’t know how John Carpenter could put his name on this flick. Maybe the way of horror has been so dramatically changed in 2010 that he has to sink to cheap scares and even cheaper looking actresses. Now, this isn’t so much a critique on the film itself as it is a production model, but I couldn’t help but wonder why all of the actresses looked like they had just gotten makeovers, including whenever they woke up? The film was unrealistic, and I don’t say that because it was in some ways a ghost story, but rather because the characters were vapid and dry. Emotion felt contrived, and the characters weren’t even likable. Save your time, I wish I had. Overall, this film makes me wish I had spent the two hours in an actual mental hospital.
