Psych:9 (2011)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

I wasn't expecting much from this due to the bad IMDb rating. I only watched it because of Cary Elwes. Unlike a lot of the films in recent years where Cary Elwes is given top billing on the poster to then only have a 10 second cameo, Psych 9 was different because he was one of the main characters and although he isn't always on screen, he is in it from beginning to end and his character is important to the story (although it may not seem that way until the end). So if you are a Cary Elwes fan like me, then your in luck because he has a lot of screen time; and he's very good. The lead actress is pretty good but struggles to carry the movie on her own being the lead actress. Thankfully Cary Elwes and Michael Biehn are there in strong supporting roles to carry the weight of the movie that she can't handle. The story is quite good, keeps you interested throughout. There are a few cheap jump scares which threaten to detract from your enjoyment of the movie, but apart from that there are some well executed creepy moments scattered throughout. The main problem with the movie is it's final act. It piles on twist after twist, and is messy and very problematic, however, it is still fun to watch and you don't feel you have wasted 90 minutes of your life after seeing it. It's just a silly ending really, but not too bad. So if you're looking for a decent straight-to-video horror movie, then check out Psych 9 if you've nothing better to watch. Its fun while it lasts, won't stick with you, but also won't ruin you're life.

Okay - to start: Carey Elwes is the man. I absolutely love him and he is the reason I watched this.This movie? Where to begin? The sets were good and the effects were good as well. The plot? I wasn't sure what was actually supposed to be going on through a lot of it. It was part mystery, part slasher, part psychological horror, part ghost story, part... get my drift? There was a whole lot going on here and it got pretty confusing.Also - what is up with the absolutely detestable characters in films like this? Was I supposed to like either of the lead couple? She was a shrieking harpy and I was frankly hoping someone would just put her out of her misery. The husband? Well, he was kind of a butt as well. I really didn't care for either of them - therefore I could have cared less if they were brutally slain. Kind of bad when these are the lead characters in a film.I wanted to like this film, I really did. Promise.But I didn't.

The cast was very good, the cinematography fine, its the movie itself which is just poorly edited and convoluted. I know this sort of thing is en-vogue these days but give me a stylish Argento over this sort of thing any day. The flashback sequences do little to make the films point or establish any coherency to the story and the surprise ending should really be no surprise no matter how improbable. Film is a form of communication and the end product fails miserably in communicating anything at all. Again, kudos to a fine cast in spite of the material. Sets, lighting, atmosphere, cinematography a movie that would have had everything going for it in more capable hands.

I have to give it to Lionsgate: they have had not one but two notable divisions/series devoted mostly to releasing independent horror films either in small, very brief theatrical runs or for the DVD market. While the former (After Dark Horrorfest) is the more well known of the two, the one made exclusively for the DVD and Blu-Ray market is Ghost House Underground, and just like that more well known venture, the series have offered some bombs ("Dark Floors" and "Offspring"), some hidden gems ("Dance of the Dead"), some letdowns ("Last House in the Woods") and some seriously awesome movies ("The Children.") So, where does Andrew Shortell's feature length debut "Psych: 9" land?Roslyn Hanniger (Sara Foster) has agreed to work alone at night in an abandoned hospital to copy records and relocating files. She doesn't have any company save for Beth (Coleen Camp) and Dr. Irvin Clement (Cary Elwes), who has a psychological fascination with Roslyn, who has a troubled past, and who keeps witnessing strange, seemingly supernatural events in the hospital. Plus, to make matters worse, there's a killer running loose...A mix of supernatural horror and psychological drama about the past, "Psych: 9" is a movie with lots of potential. The performances (especially Foster, who steals the show) are fine, the direction is good, the atmosphere is chock-loaded with dread, and the score by James Edward Baker is evocative and eerie. So why does the end result end up not clicking.For one thing, the script is a bit problematic. The revelations and horrors of Rosalyn's past could have worked, but everything about them- including the unnecessary flashback scenes-feel too much like something from a Lifetime movie. It also doesn't help that many of the scares, especially does of the specter like variety, are things that audiences have seen before, and seen done to death. How many more times can a scary ghost pop up on camera or on a monitor? The final 15 minutes of the movie though, are the biggest letdown. In trying to wrap up the various plot points, the movie ends up rushing itself. The big revelation of who the killer is, as well as the reason for his actions can also be seen coming miles away, and while it doesn't necessarily feel like a cheat, I couldn't help but say to myself "that's it?"To be fair, "Psych: 9" is far from a terrible movie. The problem is just that what should have been a nice sleeper kind of horror film ends up becoming a missed opportunity. I will say this much: the director shows some promise, and I'm interested in what he can do next.