The Skeleton Key has some issues, but is an overall fun time

I always had a strong fascination with voodoo and hoodoo. They seemed to blend in the mystical and the contemporary so seemlessly that I couldn't help no to end up being drawn to them. However, strangely enough, I haven't seen many pieces of visual media related to them. Sure, I've read books, but, as far as movies and shows go, my list is very brief, consisting of an episode episode of the Spanish documentary series Lost Worlds (Mundos Perdidos) and cult classics like White zombie (1932), I walked with a zombie (1943), andThe Serpent and the Rainbow (1988). However, I had overlooked one of the more well known and fairly recent cinematic takes on this secretive shadowy world (and the only one that doesn't feature any zombies), that being the 2005 supernatural mystery The Skeleton Key. I bet you're wondering why I did this? Just kidding, I know you're not, but I'll answer that imaginary question anyway. Honestly, I have no idea. Sure, I did hear mixed feelings about it from folklorists and practioners of said faith, but the general audiences seemed to have enjoyed it. So, after all this waiting, I decided it was time to finally check it off my watchlist and it just so happened that my best friend and I were having a movie night, with each of us picking one movie we wanted to see, with her choosing Del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) and me choosing this one. Seeing as how I had already reviewed the former title on here, I was thinking it was the right time to give The Skeleton Key a brief moment in the spotlight as well.

In the end the movie wasn't as good as I was expecting.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, far from it, in fact it's very entertaining and is just generally decently made as a piece of cinema and it had a solid amount of surprisingly tense moments, fun twists and enjoyable scares. However, it does have it's fair share of flaws, but, ever since I started this blog, I feel like pretty much everything I review has flaws of atleast some kind hidden within itself, so I don't really see it as much of a deal breaker, unless the actual product is overwelhmingly bad like some things I've endured. Fortunately, this one, despite all of it's flaws, is still leagues ahead of many of the movies, shows, books and comics I've come across over the years, so, I'm overjoyed to say that this is going to be a mostly positive review. I'm also given to understand the there exists a critically panned sequel titled 667: The Neighbour of the Beast (2008), however, judging by the description, it sounds way too trashy for my personal taste, so I doub't you'll hear about it on this site anytime soon.

HOWEVER, despite the fact that I enjoyed the film, I won't overlook some of it's more major problems, so I'll kinda flip back and forth in between the positives and the negatives, depending on my mood as I write each paragraph, but I'll give my best to be as fair as possible in both sides of all of it's aspects.

With all of that drivel out of the way, let's start off with...

(1) The Writing

Ok, this may not be a very profoundly written film or even that great all things considered. In fact, there's some pretty pointless sequences and some creative choices that really hurt the film as a whole, but, I'll talk about that when I get to the negatives.

For the most part, the writing in the first half and the majority of the second are, actually, surprisingly well executed. Yes, they're certainly cliche as far as ghost stories go and there is definetely some underutilized and unexplored potential throught them, but, as a whole, it's not even half that bad. Granted, it's not great either, but, it's still largely well executed.

First of all, let's start out by talking about two aspects of the film's script which I believe were handled the best: the mystery and the overall atmosphere.

The film is, first and foremost, a supernatural mystery, so it should be logical to assume that it's mystery should actually be well handled and, fortunately, it does indeed deliver. The first half sets up the general narrative we've seen done time and time again: a creepy house in the middle of nowhere that's been a subject of local urban legends and is owned by a very peculiar elderly couple. You immediately know something's up because, well, the plot wouldn't have happened if there wasn't anything going on, however, it keeps you asking a multitude of questions, all of which are answered by the end of the film. The lore is presented in a fairly cliche manner (expository dialoge), but that seems to be a norm for the majority of supernatural horror films anyways, so I'm not complaining. It manged to keep me guessing for atleast a little bit (even though many were quick to dismiss it as yet another popcorn horror flick) and, despite the twist being a tad bit stupid and even downright laughable, I'll give them credit where credit's due, I didn't see it coming, thusly, I can safely say that it's fairly well executed.

The overall mystery behind the true identity of the Deveraux couple as well as the urban legend of Papa Justify and his wife Cecile are both, surprisingly well executed and do suceed in retaining their original intended mystique up until the third act with a payoff that's far from perfect, however, does manage to bring the narrative to a close without being rushed.

Another aspect of the film I enjoyed was the structuring of the afframentioned urban legend itself. Whilst, yes, it seems kinda pointless when the twist is actually revealed and it is exceptionally corny (and even slightly racist if you reallly think about it), urban legends as a form of storytelling are goofy and corny by default, and I say this as somebody who literally studies them for a living. I sincerely doub't somebody treats stories of mirror ghosts, organ stealing femme fatales and sewer gators seriously, so stories of vengeful spirits of hoodoo practitioners aren't really that far out of the medium's wavelength, if you know what I mean.

However, this isn't to say that the movie's writing isn't without it's flaws.

First of all, voodoo as a religion and hoodoo as magic have been practiced primarily by the African-American community, so it's a tad bit confusing that the majority of the film's cast (in fact all but one of the principal characters) are white, not to mention that the whole thing was written and directed by two white men. I'm not saying that white individuals are forbidden to write and direct pieces about African-American history and culture nor that movies or shows on the topic should feature an exclusively Afr. Am. cast, however, I retain that getting a creole individual and a practioner of said faith as advisors on the screenplay and during filming in general would have helped the final product feel a lot more authentic, featuring far fewer mistakes that stem from both a lack of authenticity when it comes to the portrayal of the it's beliefs and rites, as well as the inclusion of some fairly racist elements that are kind prevelent throught the film (which I hope to God were unintentional). Also, as mentioned previously, if I was to write this one, I would have included far more creole characters, as the decision to make the cast largely white is honestly baffling and I have no clue as to what went into the thought process behind it (seriously, I can count the number of black characters in this film on one hand, and the majority of them either have very minor and episodic roles or are simply nameless background extras).

The final problem (wow, I really do make Sherlock Holmes references on accident) I have with the film's writing is with it's twist. Like I said, I didn't expect it, which should mean that I think it's a worthwhile effort? Right? Well... Wrong, and I mean DEAD wrong. I'll try to keep it spoiler free (as I usually try to do in my reviews), however, I, personally, thought the whole ordeal and the final confrontation sequence with the big bad at the end overall, took me out of the experiance and were just straight up goofy. It felt very out of place and didn't match neither the rest of the movie's style nor tone, not to mention the fact that wasn't even properly set up or built upon, so the whole experiance comes off as surprisingly annoying and even straight up stupid.

Overall, it's writing is decent and slightly entertaining for the most part, however, a LOT of tweaks should have certainly been added in order to make the whole thing feel much more authentic, less racist as well as far more palatable for someone in search of a good and spooky story such as myself.

(2) The Performances

Ok, I did criticise the film's cast mere moments ago, however, let's make do with what we got then, shall we? For what it's worth they're... ok? But, if I am to be completely honest, it's not like I expected anything more than that judging by the trailer and premise.

If I had to pick out a personal favorite out of the cast, that would, without a shadow of a doub't, be the late great John Hurt, however, is that really a surprise? This man will go down in history as one of Britain's greatest actors because, wheater he's acting in person, voice acting or even simply narrating, he presents a versatile talent and superb talent, being able to make even the most meaningless of lines or events, or even the most unbearable viewing experiances, absolutely gripping and has even saved some productions from being bland forgettable messes into bland but memorable experiances, always leaving me feeling satisfyed. One of his defining traits is undoubtedley his voice. It's booming, epic, magnificent and has a strangely hypnotic quality to it (kinda like David Attenboroug or Nigel Marven, despite the three of them sounding nothing alike). So, you might think that a movie where the man whose voice can make reading a phonebook or talking about algebra sound exciting plays a mute cripple misses the mark? Whilst on paper that idea sounds about as smart as casting Arnold Schwarzenneger in Fargo, John Hurt being John Hurt, despite his character's role in the script, manages to pull off the best possible outcome, thus saving this flick from the dustbin of history. His performance may not be unique or even amongst the best in his career, however, he probably achieves the one thing literally nothing else in this flick managed to do: actually be unsettling.

But Kris, how can a mute grandpa be considered disturbing in any way?, you might ask. Well here's the thing. A voice is probably one of the most comforting things an individual can experiance (unless you hear it around midnight when you know you're home alone, but, I digress), thus, when creating a character that's meant to come off as creepy or unsettling, having them be unable to speak will undoubtedley leave the audience to be a tad bit more frightened of the figure and more disturbed by their actions. This is primarily used for antagonists such as Twisty the Clown in American horror story: Freak Show (2014-2015) or Karl Ruprecht Kroenen in Hellboy (which, funnily enough, also stars John Hurt), however, The Skeleton Key uses this tactic for one of the film's heroes, that being Hurt's character, an elderly paralytic named Ben Deveraux, whose illness and strange behavioural patterns make up one of the the core elements of the film's central mystery. His twitchy, sporadic and almost inhuman eye and body movements, combined with his raspy and unnatural, almost demonic, sounding breathing make for a figure that may not be one of the icons of modern horror cinema, however still manages to get atleast some rather eerie moments in what's geniunely a very non-scary film, as well as probably being the only character in the entire cast that actually seems to try and give a good performance (even though the writer didn't give him any spoken lines). His expressions do plenty for the narrative's quality as well. Granted, they aren't suptle, but, nothing in this film is anyways. However, they suceeded at one thing, that being burning themselves firmly into my hypocampus and paying me visits just when my brain randomly decides to wake me up in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason whatsoever other than to make me wet my bed and feel intense paranoia. I think everyone will agree with my stance on the matter, but, hey, I'm fine with being part of the norm (even though being normal is overrated tbh).

(3) The Visuals and the Atmosphere

Ok, finally a part where I have no complaints.

As I had mention a few parts, the tone, visuals and overall atmosphere and visuals of something are a key component in making a product work for me as both a a viewer and reader of any visual medium. Even if the end result itself is less than satisfying, this aspect can end up redeeming it quite a lot in my eyes, which is certainly the case with this one (even though I had a fun time with it).

I had an exceptional fondness for southern gothic as a genre. Wheater it's books, movies, shows or comics, I find it to not only be able to wonderfully combine the mundane and the macabre when it comes to it's characters and storytelling, but also possesing a uniquely distinct visual flair no other genre manages to have. From True detective's stunning landscapes to True blood's dingy small town aesthetic, it's a genre that speaks to me on a uniquely personal level, even though I've never visited the southern US or even the country as a whole for that matter. It's also fascinating to see how it manges to appropriate the elements of various cultures inhabiting that ilustrious region and present them in a macabre, yet at the same time incredibly playful and joyous light that unites within itself many, many others. It's primarily rural setting allows for some gorgeous backdrops which managed to blend within itself the past and the present, as well as the ordinary and supernatural into a bubble that actually manages to leave a surprising impact on the viewer and, atleast partially, replicate the feel of the areathe story is set in, even though the actual film as whole, as I've pointed out, leave much to be desired in the eye of the beholder.

The Skeleton Key's atmosphere is gothic in the truest sense that genre can be. There's a creaky old house situated in the middle of nowhere, the pathway to which is a small gravel footpath which has become a subject of ghost stories and taken care of by a peculiar elderly couple. You can't really go more gothic than that without setting your story in, say, a church or castle, but that's mostly a European thing anyways. It, sadly, doesn't do much new or anything particularly clever with all of this good stuff, however, that doesn't make what's arguably the best part of the film any less of a positive.

So, would I reccomend this film?

It quite really depends on what you're looking for. If you want a geniunely realistic portrayal of voodoo and hoodoo or even a good supernatural mystery/horror experiance, this movie probably isn't going to do to for you (so, I reccomend watching the titles I mentioned in the introductory paragraph). However, if you a want a fun one time watch to view sometime around either the late summer months or around Halloween, with some gorgeous visuals and a storyline you can enjoy only if you switch your brain and don't think about it too much (preferably with some friends so you can laugh at the corny bits), then, I suppose, you'll be pleased with it to some degree. It's not a great movie, but, it's worth watching atleast once if you're a southern gothic fanboy/fangirl like myself.

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