One film genre that hasn’t been very present at this year’s Dallas International Film Festival is horror. There are only a couple of movies that are considered “horror” to some standards that made it into the festival. When I heard that they would be screening John Carpenter’s The Ward as a midnight screening, I just couldn’t pass that up (although maybe I should have).
“When an old farmhouse is set ablaze by Kristen (Amber Heard) she is taken by police to the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital. She awakens in a special ward with four similarly unbalanced and wayward girls.Kirsten’s therapist, Dr. Stringer (Jared Harris), tries to uncover the root cause of her breakdown, but despite his calm and understanding manner, she resists any attempts at help and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, the hospital is not the sanctuary it seems to be. Kristen begins to have strange run-ins with a shadowy phantom that roams the halls when the ward is locked down at night. Persistent and inquisitive, she goes digging for information about former patients and soon becomes convinced that no one ever leaves the ward alive.” DIFF
People were very excited about seeing the film and I think a lot of people went into the film with higher expectations then you should when it comes to a horror film. I was one of these people because I had heard quite a bit of buzz about the film during the festival. I don’t know if I was jaded because it was a new John Carpenter movie or what but I left very disappointed.
The concept of the film was alright, I think the crazy and creepy psychiatric ward is a little over done. The film is very fast paced which is good because it keeps you interested in whats going on. The acting was sub-par, basically what you would expect in a horror film. Which brings me to my next concern with the film and that is the “horror” aspect of the film. There was nothing scary at all about the film which was disappointing. I guess the “horror” part was the ghost when it appears but even then it’s nothing to be afraid of. Carpenter uses cheap scare tactics in the film by making a hand pop out of nowhere or a quick glimpse of the ghost to get a reaction from the crowd. I knew it was a failed attempt at a horror film when there were more people laughing then there were jumping or screaming. There was literally a part towards the end, which is suppose to be the most intense, when everyone in the audience was laughing for a good minute or two. As far as the story is concerned, it was alright, it’s nothing new and there are a few gaps that don’t add up in the end.
I respect John Carpenter for his contributions to the film industry and he is considered a legend by most. Unfortunately
, The Ward failed to deliver and does not deserve the label of being a horror film, if anything it should be considered a psychological thriller or suspense. I don’t believe the film will get a wide release but it will have a limited release in the U.S starting April 15, 2011. I really don’t recommend anyone wasting their money on this film unless you are a die hard John Carpenter fan and you just can’t resist. The best thing to do if you really want to see The Ward, is wait for the DVD release of the film or for the film to hit Netflix. It runs right at 88 minutes so it won’t take up too much of your life.
Rating: Failed attempt at a horror film and the story has been done numerous times (4/10)
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