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Gothika (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (55 - 57 of 68 Reviews)

"I See Dead People" 2
I'm not an aficionado of scary, slasher flicks. But Halle Berry is too much of a Babe to pass up in GOTHIKA. Besides, my Mom, a former prison psychiatrist, wanted to see it.

Berry plays Dr. Miranda Grey, a shrink on the staff of a women's penitentiary that has all the ambience of a Transylvanian castle. Driving home on a dark and stormy night - hey, is there any other kind in this genre? - Miranda swerves into a ditch to miss a young woman standing in the road. Upon asking the near-victim if she's OK, Miranda observes that she's been physically abused. Then, the woman undergoes spontaneous combustion. Miranda next wakes up to find herself an inmate on her own psycho ward, under arrest for chopping her husband (Charles Dutton) up into little pieces, and in the care of a former colleague (Robert Downey, Jr.).

Berry's performance makes the film great fun to watch despite a preposterous storyline that, at the end, had me saying "Yeah, but ..." about too much of what I'd seen. And the set designers weren't at all subtle in their use of flickering lights, shadows, and general gloominess. I had to check to see if I'd inadvertently left my sunglasses on for the show. Perhaps the prison was economizing on the use of electricity after being forced into the California Plan. Really scary stuff is sometimes more effective in full daylight because it's less expected.

Penelope Cruz, another hottie in my book, appears as Chloe Sava, an inmate accused of cutting her stepfather's throat, and who claims to being repeatedly raped by the devil in her prison cell. While this is a clue to the endgame, it added nothing to the plot's credibility. In retrospect, it was just another "Huh?" that defies understanding if you think about it too much.

Downey's performance was unremarkable, and his Dr. Graham character serves only as straight man to Miranda's more frenetic moments.

GOTHIKA is a chilling ride on which Halle Berry is pretty much the only driver. Keep the DVD release in mind next Halloween as something to watch while waiting for those pesky trick-or-treaters.

Don't Blink!
Because if you do you'll get lost in this movie. I didn't understand why Halle's character was chosen to do what she had to do. I don't understand what happened at the end. I was just lost! I had to watch it twice to try to figure out what the world was going on.

This was a different and new kind of role for Halle. I don't think that she ever played a part like this before at least not to my knowledge. Overall though she did do a good job. But as far as Charles Dutton goes, he needs to stick to his good guy roles. He looked like a fool when he was on that video camera torturing that girl.

If you like a challenge I'd suggest you get this movie. It's worth it.

Worth Watching...
Some folks are just too serious. This is a great movie from an entertainment standpoint. Sure it's confusing at first...but it's supposed to be. It is supernatural? Is she being set-up? Did she do it? Is she experiencing a schizophrenic episode? It's spooky and makes you jump. If you go to get a drink, you'll put the VCR or DVD on pause...that's the test of an entertaining movie. For some movies, I'll let it play and cut the grass. Just enjoy this thriller.

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