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Gothika

5.3

21,120

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Original title

Gothika

Year

2003

Running time

95 min.

Country

United States

Director

Mathieu Kassovitz

Screenwriter

Sebastian Gutierrez

Cast

Music

John Ottman

Cinematography

Matthew Libatique

Producer

Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures

Genre

Horror. Thriller | Psychological Thriller. Ghosts

Synopsis

A brilliant and respected criminal psychologist, Dr. Miranda Grey (BERRY) is an expert at knowing what is rational. What is logical. What is sane. Under the direction of her husband (DUTTON), the chief administrator of the psychiatric ward at the Woodward Penitentiary for Women, Miranda treats dangerously disturbed patients like Chloe (CRUZ), an intensely charismatic murderess whose confessions of satanic torture are dismissed by the judicious doctor as the psychotic meanderings of a paranoid mind. But Miranda's comfortable marriage and stable life are thrust into terrifying jeopardy after a cryptic encounter with a mysterious young girl leads to a nightmare beyond her wildest imagination.

When Miranda awakens from the horrific incident, she is shocked to discover that her husband has been murdered - and the bloody evidence points directly at her. Unable to fathom having committed an unmotivated act of such sheer brutality against a man she loved and admired, Miranda suddenly finds herself confined to Woodward alongside the highly unstable patients she used to treat with methodical detachment. With no memory of the night in question except for fractured visions of the hauntingly enigmatic girl, the doctor's behavior becomes increasingly erratic. Her claims of innocence are seen as the beginnings of a deep descent into madness by her former colleagues like Dr. Pete Graham (DOWNEY JR.), Miranda's sympathetic but skeptical coworker who is wrestling with issues of his own. Forced to rely on her instincts rather than facts, Miranda begins to believe that she has been possessed by a supernatural force determined to exact revenge at the expense of her sanity. As Chloe draws her deeper into her own personal hell, Miranda must determine if she is being driven to madness…or closer to the truth.

Critics' reviews

"This is a psychothriller with the plausibility of a nightmare -- which is to say, it doesn't make sense, but it keeps your attention (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: Chicago Sun-Times
"A plot that insults, betrays, and cheats every member of the audience."

James Berardinelli: ReelViews
"May try to revive the eerie spirit of the Gothic novel, but, unless you're suffering from amnesia yourself, it probably won't surprise or thrill you"

Michael Wilmington: Chicago Tribune
"While stylistic excess keeps Gothika mildly diverting, though suspense-and horror-free, Kassovitz can't do anything to keep the film's ending from degenerating into camp"

Nathan Rabin: AV Club
"How anyone in the cast manages to keep a straight face is one of the film's innumerable mysteries"

Manohla Dargis: Los Angeles Times
"An overwrought horror movie that lavishes budget and production design on a screenplay that should never have seen the light of day (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"

Adam Smith: Empire

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Ranking Lists Position

91 My Top 10 Movies from 2003 (20)

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