Gothika (DVD, 2004, Full-Screen)

I liked the movie. Many pro critics didn't. I gave a fair one.

Driving home one night, Miranda Grey (Berry) finds herself detoured and running late. Crossing a bridge, she swerves to avoid a terrified girl in a nightdress standing in the middle of the road. On closer inspection, she sees the girl has been badly hurt, but as soon as the girl touches her, nothing is the same. After three days in catatonia, Miranda awakes to find herself a patient in her own hospital, confused as to how and why she is there.

With the help of colleague, Pete Graham, Miranda tries to uncover the truth behind the night of her crash, a path that finds her accused of murder and haunted by horrific ghostly images. It's not long before she discovers that the key to her sanity lies with Chloe (Penélope Cruz), a fellow inmate who might not be as psychotic as Miranda first thought.

There are no sub-plots, no little pieces. You'll discover the truth when Berry does - there's no revelation we're waiting for her to hit, It's a well-shot, if formulaic, psychological thriller. There is plenty to gasp at and the story is engaging enough.

It's let down somewhat by old supernatural story lines, the sort of thing found in every thriller of this type for the last few years. That said, this is a film that won't fail to impress Grade-A scary movie fans.

The only thing that really grates about her performance, and it's a big thing, is the first fifteen minutes and the last five. The happy moments. Halle Berry is not an actress who can play a cheerful and friendly character. Her experience is in drama and action, and the moments she's happy don't go over to good but that's me. They're annoying fillers to early involvement with the film, and while it's nice to see a bit of role-reversal taking place at a key moment, it's not until that moment that Gothika really picks up.

Excellant performances by Penélope Cruz and Robert Downey Jr., who both play their supporting roles perfectly and entertainingly, and it's really a disappointment that their involvement is so thin.

Gothika has all the makes of big budget thrillers. Effects-wise, this is a stunning film, not content with conventional photography when there is a distinctly unreal feeling, seeing the camera pull right through glass and grating. This dreamlike technique adds to the suspense of a film about a woman unsure of the world she's in, and has definitely been well made.

Gothika has a supernatural ending. What starts out a psychological thriller turns into more a ghost story, and the potential of the initial story is abandoned. But I found that intentional. If you like ghost stories, youl='ll be fine. If not, you'll be mad at the change in direction the movie takes.

Great storyline and great performances from the whole cast make Gothika a real good movie , but there's nothing that stands-out to make it anything more or origional.

You'll get this movie cheap on ebay and I recommend the buy. A sequil leading to a series is a great idea but we already have Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ghost Whisperer. They missed their chance! (-:

DTD