Gothica

Okay, here's the premise. You've got a female psychiatrist working in a woman's mental institution, who loses her memory and awakens as a patient. She has no idea why. She learns that she killed her husband, but she has no clue as to why she would do such a thing. She later learns that she is not alone.

Halle Berry stars as the said psychiatrist Miranda Grey, with Penelope Cruz playing her primary patient and later roommate, Chloe Salva. Then there's Robert Downey Jr who I hear took time off a rebab project to work on this very special film (sarcasm) in which he plays another pyschiatrist-- just a hunch, but I think we've got that type of character covered. Nope, I spoke too soon. There's Dr. Douglas Grey, who is a psychiatrist and also the previously said husband who gets axed. Okay, that's the last of the psychiatrist characters. The only other character worth a shoutout would be John Carroll Lynch's (who is known best as Drew Carey's gay-mimi-lovin bro on the Drew Carey show) Sheriff Ryan.

Have I said how Miranda is not alone? Well she isn't alone! She's not alone, man! She's being possesed by the ghost of a 12 year old girl, named Rachel! Holy hell, son of a monkey nut! That's scary! More sarcasm.

Actually, there are quite a few scary shots in this, which redeem the movie and make it worth spending $8.50 (or whatever you pay) on, but in terms of any other redeeming qualities...there aren't many. Penelope Cruz is WASTED, and I do not mean high like Robert Downey Jr! Her character is underused and pointless. We're led to believe that she's important to the story and she isn't.

The plot is decent, but only because of the semi-good twist towards the end, which I won't go into, because that totally make the movie useless to everybody. Yes, you should see this film. Wait until it's about to leave the theaters, which may be in 2 weeks, just so the room won't be so crowded. Go alone. Watch it alone. That coupled with a dark room will probably scare you. If it doesn't, then don't say I didn't warn ya.