A Cure For Wellness

[TrenterPercenter]

Hmmmmmmmmm.....

I went into this expecting the worst, but as it turned it became quite good actually.  It's wonderfully shot and the direction is pretty solid.  It borrows heavily from other films, with even some well known homage motifs to other horrors but I think a few reviews have been a little unfair saying it's massively formulaic. I mean it is, but seriously, this is nowhere near as bad as other films; it's ostensibly a similar but better film than Crimson Peak which got much higher ratings.  It's quite nasty, suitably dark and menacing with a faint nod to Lovecraft.

Should have ended 30 minutes earlier though, in fact there is a point where you think yep that is fine call it there, even if it didn't quite tie everything up but it has to set it self up for the blockbuster finish.

Still, worth seeing at the cinema and one for the Good Horror movies thread.   

maybe 6/10 i'd go with (perhaps that is a little stingy).

[another Mr. Lizard]

Gore Verbinski's taken over Joel Schumacher's mantle as Hollywood's "very variable director who every now and then turns out a complete turkey or a stone cold classic". RANGO is one of my favourites of the current decade, and A CURE FOR WELLNESS almost rivals it. I may be biased as I'm a huge Hammer Films nut, but ACFW (especially during its final section) achieves the look and feel of an old Hammer/Roger Corman/60s Euro-horror flick. It's like watching a new Vincent Price film. Many critics and even vintage horror fans tried to claim that THE WOMAN IN BLACK or CRIMSON PEAK had successfully revived the old-school tone, but neither worked in that way for this viewer - however, seeing ACFW on a big screen in Nottingham earlier this week revived memories of watching old Hammer movies theatrically in the late 70s, when I managed to see stuff like THE VAMPIRE LOVERS and HANDS OF THE RIPPER on cinema re-runs. Certain shots here look like outtakes from KISS OF THE VAMPIRE. And if the central plot is a spin on the 'shut in an asylum' schtick familiar from SHOCK CORRIDOR/SHUTTER ISLAND, that's often a great compelling story and is very well done here.

[zomgmouse]

Resurrecting this thread because I've done a search and this is basically the only mention of this film. I just watched it and quite liked it. Mainly refreshing to see a big budget original film, like a proper studio production that was this out there. It has plenty of formulaic stuff, some of it a bit cringey, including the ending, but more than makes up for it with a buttload of genuinely disturbing moments and imagery. It is about 2.5 hrs and could likely be shortened but on the other hand it's drawn out like a nightmare and it works.