Gothika (2003)

Ghost story in which a repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the very asylum where she worked with no memory of why she is there and what she has done.

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writer:

Sebastian Gutierrez

Stars:

Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Halle Berry	...	Miranda Grey
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Pete Graham
Charles S. Dutton	...	Dr. Douglas Grey
John Carroll Lynch	...	Sheriff Ryan
Bernard Hill	...	Phil Parsons
Penélope Cruz	...	Chloe Sava
Dorian Harewood	...	Teddy Howard
Bronwen Mantel	...	Irene
Kathleen Mackey	...	Rachel Parsons
Matthew G. Taylor	...	Turlington
Michel Perron	...	Joe
Andrea Sheldon	...	Tracey Seavers
Anana Rydvald	...	Glass Cell Nurse
Laura Mitchell	...	Inmate
Amy Sloan	...	Inmate

Storyline

A criminal psychologist awakens to find herself a patient in the institution where she works, with no memory of the murder she's accused of committing. As she tries to regain her memory - and her freedom - a vengeful spirit manipulates her.

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Plot Keywords:

memory | murder | patient | ghost | psychiatrist | 

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Taglines:

Not Alone.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, brief language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [fr] WB [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gotika

Filming Locations:

Hinchinbrook, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,166,125 (Australia) (30 April 2004)

Gross:

$4,220,276 (Australia) (28 May 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Warner Bros, Dark Castle Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Halle Berry broke her arm filming a scene with Robert Downey Jr.. Downey was supposed to grab her arm and twist but twisted too hard and the arm snapped. Production was halted for eight weeks.

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Goofs

When Miranda breaks the window with the screwdriver, the glass shatters on the other side of the door. When she opens the door and runs, she should have had shards of glass in her feet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Chloe: He came back again last night and tore me like paper. He opened me like a flower of pain, and it felt good. He sank into me and set me on fire, like he always does. Made me burn from the inside out.
Miranda: How did you know it was the devil?

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions Round 1, Game 37 (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Behind Blue Eyes"
Written by Pete Townshend
Performed by Limp Bizkit
Courtesy of Flip/Interscope Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Very Good Horror/Suspense Film

Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a doctor at a psychiatric prison. On the way home one evening, she has to take a detour, and has a supernatural experience that winds up with her being an inmate in the same psychiatric prison, now a patient of her former colleague, Pete Graham (Robert Downey, Jr.). Gothika is an exploration of what happened to Miranda, as she gradually uncovers a mystery.

This was a very effective combination of a horror film and a suspense/thriller for me. I rated it a 9 out of 10, only subtracting one point for a somewhat awkward beginning. While it's not anything particularly groundbreaking, films do not need to be unprecedented for me to enjoy them a lot and give them high ratings.

Visually, Gothika follows the late 90s/early 00s trend of desaturated films that have a predominant color--blue in this case. It creates an atmosphere that works very well for a horror/suspense film of this type, and that is heightened by the Gothic sets and production design (the one shot we get of the exterior of the psychiatric prison makes it look like an old castle). Although the overall structure is more along the lines of a pedestrian thriller, the film adeptly weaves horror and unusual stylistic elements throughout its length, creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The performances are good, and the script and direction will keep you guessing most of the time. My only other slight negative criticism is that the ending is somewhat abrupt and could be seen as leaving some loose threads. However, it wasn't enough of a misstep that I subtracted another point--my score remains 9 out of 10.

This is a Dark Castle film, so it's perhaps not surprising that some of the horror-related effects have a similarity to Thirteen Ghosts (2001), House on Haunted Hill (1999) and Ghost Ship (2002). It's also a safe bet that if you liked those films (I loved all three), and the idea of melding them with a thriller, you'll like Gothika as well.