Review of Session 9

'Session 9' is a meticulously crafted and directed horror/psychological thriller film. In a conventional sense, the film isn't really scary. It doesn't have jump scares, there are no ghosts/demons jumping around, there is no mad killer cutting up people and indulging in gore. But what 'Session 9' does have is a constant, inescapable, palpable and bone chilling sense of dread that gets amplified by an absolutely exquisite score as well as great sound mixing. From a thematic standpoint, the film uses generic horror techniques to explore the negative effects of the patriarchal society, not on women, but on men. The film gives us a sensationalised version of the devastating violence that can be the result of the emotional repression of men in a patriarchal society where the stereotypical idolised version of the perfect man involves being hard, emotionally invulnerable and having the ability to handle the burden of being the sole provider of the household without ever having the right to feel stressed out. All the characters that are in the film are struggling with their inner demons. Gordon is stressed with his work and his stress level has been exponentially raised with his newborn daughter along with the financial worries. Phil is struggling with the idea of having to work alongside Hank, the man who stole his girlfriend Amy. Hank himself is no longer in love with Amy and desperately wants a way out of his job which he considers to be dead-end. Mike is struggling with the idea that he is a failure for not passing the bar exam even though his father is a state attorney general. Jeff, the young kid has a fear of the dark which clearly bothers him and he tries to compensate by listening to death metal and trying to look tough. What is interesting is that none of these men make an attempt to verbalise their concerns and have a heart-to- heart conversation with the others. They keep their emotions repressed. Some are capable of handling this repression, but some become ticking time-bombs ready to explode with devastating consequences. The director Brad Anderson himself has revealed that 'The Shining' was a huge influence on him and that becomes very clear while watching 'Session 9'. 'The Shining' utilised the Overlook Hotel, 'Session 9' uses the Danvers State Hospital. Just like Kubrick, Anderson uses the claustrophobia of the interiors brilliantly to build up the creepiness. Just like 'The Shining', there is an ambiguity to 'Session 9'. One can have a supernatural reading of the film and say that all the horrifying things that happen in the film are down to the spirits hovering inside the hospital influencing the mentally vulnerable character(s). On the other hand one can conclude that the wrong-doer in the film had already driven to the brink of depression before starting the work in the hospital and the claustrophobia inside just put him over the edge resulting in madness and violence. In a technical sense I love how Anderson lingers on shots and doesn't feel the need to speed up the pace. There is a lot of creepy imagery which work brilliantly with the sound mixing. There is a subtlety to it. There are very few plot contrivances and the film never really comes close to testing the limits of the viewer's suspension of disbelief. Another Kubrick link can be found in the way Anderson frequently uses the one-point perspective with his tracking shots. The acting is really good from everyone. It's a collective solid performance from the ensemble cast.

'Session 9' is a really really good horror/psychological thriller that really surprised me pleasantly. It's a film that is somewhat obscure and not talked about that often and I think that's a travesty. I can see myself watching this over and over again. Highly Recommended.