Plot: A depressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the asylum where she worked, with no memory of why she is there or what she has done.
I’ve always enjoyed Dark Castle films, particularly two of their remakes House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts; I even enjoyed The Reaping.
This is one I’ve been curious about for years, but haven’t gotten a chance to watch it till now, and to be honest it’s a mixed bag overall.
The cast is solid for the most part, particularly Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz who dominate this film.
There’s some interesting choices regarding the direction of the film; some work and some don’t, but when it works, it can be effective.
Unfortunately, the story is incredibly convoluted with certain twists feeling very forced and contrived.
There is some very obnoxious editing that happens especially during the last half of the film that makes it feel like a music video which is distracting and rather pointless.
Some of the cast is incredibly wasted, especially Robert Downey Jr.; anybody could’ve played his role.
Overall, Gothika is a mixed bag of a film that has 2 good performances, has some interesting ideas, and some decent camerawork but is let down by its convoluted script, distracting editing, and sluggish pacing.