Gothika (2003)

A repressed 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.

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writer:

Sebastian Gutierrez

Stars:

Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr.

3 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

Dr. Miranda Grey is a psychiatrist who works in a penitentiary, in the mental institution sector. She is married with Dr. Douglas Grey, the chief of department where Dr. Pete Graham also works. Chloe Sava, a patient of Dr. Miranda formerly abused by her stepfather, claims that she is frequently raped by the devil in her cell. After leaving the asylum in a stormy night, Dr. Miranda has a car accident, and when she wakes up, she is an inmate of the institution, being accused of an horrible crime and having no memory of the incident.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | serial rape | mental hospital | murder of husband | prison | 

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Taglines:

Because someone is dead doesn't mean they're gone.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, brief language and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia Tristar [France] WB [United States]

Country:

USA France Canada Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gotika

Filming Locations:

Oka, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,288,438, 23 November 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$59,694,580

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$81,896,744

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, 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 and Robert Downey, Jr. both star in superhero film adaptations, specifically Marvel comics properties. Halle Berry in the X-Men franchise as Ororo Monroe, a.k.a. Storm, and Robert Downey, Jr. in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man. Halle Berry also starred in Catwoman (2004), loosely based on the DC Comics character.

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Goofs

When Sheriff Ryan comes to interview Miranda Grey the location of the bandage on her arm moves from the back of her arm to the forearm and back again.

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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

Featured in Limp Bizkit: Behind Blue Eyes (2003)

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Soundtracks

Reach Out I'll Be There
(uncredited)
Written by Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland (as Edward Holland Jr.)
Performed by The Four Tops
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Pschologically creepy, but a little flawed

Halle Berry plays brilliant criminal psychologist, Dr. Miranda Grey; an expert in what is rational, logical and sane. After she encounters a mysterious young girl, she finds herself confined to the institute in which she once worked; along side the patients she once treated. She has to rationalise what is real in her own mind, before she loses it forever.

The setting and atmosphere that is created in Gothika is excellent, and the movie is definitely creepy enough to jangle your nerves. Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz and Robert Downey Jnr all fit into their roles nicely; the problem is plain and simple. The storyline and script are too weak to achieve what this movie sets out to do, and because of some lame dialogue and a flawed plot the movie only manages to be decent; when it really should have been great.

6/10 It's still worth watching.