The Ward (2010)

An institutionalized young woman becomes terrorized by a ghost.

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen

Stars:

Amber Heard, Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amber Heard	...	Kristen
Mamie Gummer	...	Emily
Danielle Panabaker	...	Sarah
Laura-Leigh	...	Zoey
Lyndsy Fonseca	...	Iris
Mika Boorem	...	Alice
Jared Harris	...	Dr. Gerald Stringer
Sali Sayler	...	Tammy
Susanna Burney	...	Nurse Lundt
D.R. Anderson	...	Roy (as Dan Anderson)
Sean Cook	...	Jimmy
Jillian Kramer	...	Ghost Alice
Mark Chamberlin	...	Mr. Hudson
Andrea Petty	...	Mrs. Hudson (as Andrea L. Petty)
Tracy Schornick	...	Cop #1 (as Tracey Schornick)

Storyline

In 1966, in North Bend, Oregon, the runaway Kristen is captured by the police after burning down a farmhouse and is locked in the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital. Kristen is introduced to Dr. Gerald Stringer, who uses experimental therapy. Then she meets the inmates Emily, Sarah, Zoey and Iris and the tough nurse Lundt. During the night and in the shower later, Kristen sees the ghost of a woman and she learns that she is Alice Leigh Hudson, a mysterious wicked intern that has disappeared. When Iris is ready to go home, she is attacked by the ghost of Alice in the basement and murdered. She vanishes and the inmates decide to seek Iris out. Then Sarah is abducted by the Alice and also killed; the next one is Emily. Meanwhile Kristen escapes from her room and meets Zoey, expecting to protect her. However, Zoey is kidnapped by Alice and Kristen runs to Dr. Stringer's office. She snoops his desk and finds a report with the truth about Alice.

---

Plot Keywords:

death by electrocution | woman wears eyeglasses | rape of a young girl | rape | female mental patient | 

---

Taglines:

Only Sanity Can Keep You Alive

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and disturbing images

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last feature film directed by John Carpenter to date.

---

Goofs

Kirsten is shown picking a lock with a letter opener, that is not really possible, you need a two piece set to open a lock, especially a secure one such as they would have in a lunatic asylum.

---

Quotes

Dr. Stringer: What's the first thing you remember?
Kristen: Fire.

---

Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.26 (2011)

---

Soundtracks

Boom, Boom, Ain't It Great To Be Crazy?
(uncredited)
Performed by Mamie Gummer

User Reviews

Not terrible, but you've seen it all before

Returning to the director's chair after a ten year absence, you might think that during all that time, director John Carpenter would have gone through a lot of proposed projects and picked the best one of all for a comeback. I have absolutely no idea why Carpenter picked "The Ward" for his comeback. It isn't a terrible movie - for a somewhat low budget movie, it looks fairly professional, and it isn't boring at any moment. But throughout the movie, I kept telling myself, "You've seen this all before." This includes the "surprise" twist towards the end the movie - most likely you'll have some idea of what will be revealed before it actually happens. And when you think about the twist after the movie has ended, you will realize that some other parts of the movie don't make much sense with the knowledge of this twist. The confusing twist, along with the unsurprising makeup of the rest of the movie probably explain why this movie didn't get a theatrical release in North America.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's The Ward

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,343,820

Company Credits

Production Co:

FilmNation Entertainment, Premiere Picture, Echo Lake Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1