The Skeleton Key (2005)

A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.

Director:

Iain Softley

Writer:

Ehren Kruger

Stars:

Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Hudson	...	Caroline Ellis
Gena Rowlands	...	Violet Devereaux
John Hurt	...	Ben Devereaux
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Luke Marshall
Joy Bryant	...	Jill
Maxine Barnett	...	Mama Cynthia
Fahnlohnee R. Harris	...	Hallie (as Fahnlohnee Harris)
Marion Zinser	...	Bayou Woman
Deneen Tyler	...	Desk Nurse
Ann Dalrymple	...	C.N.A.
Trula M. Marcus	...	Nurse Trula (as Trula Marcus)
Tonya Staten	...	Nurse Audrey
Thomas Uskali	...	Robertson Thorpe (as Tom Uskali)
Jen Apgar	...	Madeleine Thorpe
Forrest Landis	...	Martin Thorpe

Storyline

Caroline Ellis, a Nurse, quits her job to take care of a elderly man named Ben Devereux who has had a stroke and can't talk. When she gets to the Home in Terrebone parish Louisiana, Ben's wife, Violet Devereux acts suspicious and creepy. The Family Lawyer, Luke Marshall tries to convince her to stay. Caroline ends up staying. She ends up in the attic and she finds a secret room in the attic full of spells, hair and bones used to practice HooDoo. Violet says she has never seen the secret room. Caroline wants to help Ben, she thinks his wife Violet has put a spell on him. She knows HooDoo can't hurt you if you don't believe. Caroline does whatever she can to save Ben from his wife and crazy things start to happen.

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Plot Keywords:

hoodoo | bound and gagged | southern gothic | surprise ending | double barreled shotgun | 

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Taglines:

Fearing Is Believing

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity and thematic material

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir John Hurt offered to perform the stunt of Ben falling off the roof, but he was not allowed, as the stunt was ruled too dangerous to guarantee no injury.

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Goofs

When Ben is trying to kill himself, Caroline isn't as wet when she goes to wake up Violet, but is completely wet when she first goes outside to help Ben.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Caroline Ellis: [reading from Treasure Island] I lost no time, of course, in telling my mother all that I knew, and we saw ourselves at once in a difficult and dangerous position. Something must speedily be resolved upon, and it occurred to us at last to go forth together and seek help in the neighboring hamlet. No sooner said than done. Bare-headed as we were, we ran out at once into the gathering evening and the frosty fog. The hamlet lay not many hundred yards away, though out of view on the ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Cursed Characters in Movies (2017)

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Soundtracks

Think Louie
Written and Performed by Don Nelson
Courtesy of Too Cool Records

User Reviews

Really good, also original

After a slightly slow start, 'Skeleton Key' develops into an original, evocative and at times genuinely scary occult thriller so Ehren Kruger has redeemed himself after his truly wretched script for 'Ring 2' . I am not going into spoilers, which would be extremely destructive for a film of this kind but there are very clever character shifts, achieving a wonderful tension lock for the last 40 minutes or so mainly because all the performances are so good. The use of props and flash-backs is also wonderfully rich. The setting is contemporary New Orleans and its surrounds but this is mythical south and none the worse for that. The mix of influences includes 'Turn of the Screw', 'Rosemary's Baby' 'Burn Witch Burn and a few other classics but that is to give nothing away for it absorbs them into something quite new. My only criticism would be there is something a little confined about the movie--especially at its start-- but its style and pace and excitement utilise this triumphantly by the end.

Details

Official Sites:

UIP [Brazil] UIP [Spain]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English French

Release Date:

12 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Skeleton Key

Filming Locations:

Laurel Valley, Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$43,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,057,945, 14 August 2005

Gross USA:

$47,907,715

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$93,983,911

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, ShadowCatcher Entertainment, Double Feature Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1