Gothika (2003)

Director:

Mathieu Kassovitz

Writer (WGA):

Sebastian Gutierrez (written by)

Release Date:

21 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Because someone is dead doesn't mean they're gone.

Plot:

Ghost story in which a repressed female psychiatrist wakes up as a patient in the very asylum where she worked with no memory of why she is there and what she has done.

Plot Keywords:

Underwater Scene | Person On Fire | Mental Institution | Supernatural | Axe

Awards:

1 win & 7 nominations

Cast

Halle Berry	...	Miranda Grey
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Pete Graham
Charles S. Dutton	...	Dr. Douglas Grey
John Carroll Lynch	...	Sheriff Ryan
Bernard Hill	...	Phil Parsons
Penélope Cruz	...	Chloe Sava
Dorian Harewood	...	Teddy Howard
Bronwen Mantel	...	Irene
Kathleen Mackey	...	Rachel Parsons
Matthew G. Taylor	...	Turlington
Michel Perron	...	Joe
Andrea Sheldon	...	Tracey Seavers
Anana Rydvald	...	Glass Cell Nurse
Laura Mitchell	...	Inmate
Amy Sloan	...	Inmate

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, brief language and nudity.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Japan:PG-12 | USA:R (certificate #40310) | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Philippines:R-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Halle Berry broke her arm filming a scene with Robert Downey Jr.. Downey was supposed to grab her arm and twist but twisted too hard and the arm snapped. Production was halted for eight weeks.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Miranda enters the shed she is startled by an owl. You can hear the bird fly around, though owls move their wings without a sound.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Chloe: He came back again last night and tore me like paper. He opened me like a flower of pain, and it felt good. He sank into me and set me on fire, like he always does. Made me burn from the inside out.
Miranda: How did you know it was the devil?

Movie Connections:

References Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Soundtrack:

Papa Was a Rolling Stone

Excellent Initial Two-Thirds of the Story, But Horrible Conclusion

Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is a psychiatrist who works in a penitentiary, in the mental institution sector. She is married with Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles S. Dutton), the chief of department where Dr. Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) also works. Chloe Sava (Penélope Cruz), a patient of Dr. Miranda formerly abused by her stepfather, claims that she is frequently raped by the devil in her cell. After leaving the asylum in a stormy night, Dr. Miranda has a car accident, and when she wakes up, she is an inmate of the institution, being accused of an horrible crime and having no memory of the incident. This ghost-story has an excellent atmosphere and photography, and the initial two-thirds of the story is really intriguing. I really expected an excellent movie, in the level of "The Sixth Sense", "The Others" or "El Espinazo del Diablo". Unfortunately, the writer got lost with his plot and presented a horrible, almost ridiculous, conclusion of the story. I am a great fan of horror movies and I liked "Gothika", even with such a silly end, but it could have been better and better. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Na Companhia do Medo" ("In the Company of the Fear")