Rating: 
Summary: I was there!
Review: The reviews here tell you about the movie. Which I agree is "5 STAR".This review is on the setting of the movie. Not many people get a chance to see the inner workings of a movie set. Not many people want to see the inner workings of a Lunatic Asylum, especially if it's not your choice to be there. Myself plus 2 friends visited the Danvers Lunatic Asylum about 2 years ago. The night was cold, the air was damp and the door was unlocked. We walked up a 300' dirt path to the side of a hill. A staircase 200'+ long that resembled a covered bridge was in front of us. We entered the stairs that led to a lawn. We came to the end where boards blocked the access. Needless to say we went around through the trees and entered the lawn. There it was. Amazing. Enormous! Institutional! The largest and creepiest thing I have ever seen. You have to see it to believe it. HUGE! We walked to what we think was the side of one building. Conveniently a door was unlocked. We entered.......................... An immediate stare case. Up or down was the choice. First time there so up was a safer. Inside was paint chips ready to fall from the walls, no electricity and particles of the building all over the floor. Years of neglect I guess. Between the 3 of us a single flash light and a 3 lighters. Walls stained with leaking water of the past, floor tile that crumbled under your feet as you walked softly not to disturb anything out of fear more than anything. It was amazing. We wandered for over an hour. 2 of us using useless lighters and one with the flashlight. My friend with the flash light would turn corners with the light facing forward and darken everything around us in back as to almost purposefully scare the hell out of us. Light didn't even seem to reflect on anything except the floor. Next time a couple lights each. We explored every room that came to us. We even went far enough for doors to close behind us. Doors that cleared a path to join each building yet block a quick escape. Each room had a story to tell. Some with documents others with boxes of personal belongings of former "patients". Our 2 A.M. expedition was cut short. I can't say why without sounding cliche or like I am making something up. Maybe it was pure fear, desperation for light. I can tell you this, whatever it was that got us out of that place made all 3 of us move at the same time from different places and all in a big hurry. I recommend you see this movie. You can't make scenery like this in Hollywood. This is the real deal. By the way, remember that lawn we entered the building from? It's a cemetery. (If I had tons more space I would have told it all) - RJD
Rating:
Summary: Session 9 made me jump at every noise in my apartment
Review: I sat down to watch Session 9 at midnight on a Friday. That was mistake number one. I was also expecting a film that was not very realistic and something that I would think could never happen. That was mistake number 2. Session 9 had me jumping at every little noise in my apartment after the first twenty minutes of the film. The part of this movie that made it so scary was that the story could have been a true story. There was no supernatural power pushing people to the edge, there was no crazy person back from the dead, just someone's mind, and a freaky building. This film grabs hold because it is about normal hard working people, who are not strange, but could live next door. This movie could realistically happen, and that is what makes this so frightening. I also liked the Extra deleted scenes, which show an alternate story line that was cut from the movie, and the director's commentary. I would suggest picking up Session 9, just don't watch it alone at midnight!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Film
Review: What is so special about this film is simply that it is real. There are no supernatural events or episodes that would render it a cheesy movie. The acting is superb and worthy or note. People have been complaining about the end and that it is hard to figure out. You know what?? Those are the type of movies that succeed best. It gets you to think about what you have seen and explore many different possibilites. I recommend this to any horror fan
Rating: 
Summary: A very scary movie, but flawed
Review: Session 9 is deliciously spooky. Brad Anderson revives some of the most cliche haunted house conventions with stylish direction, complex story layering, and enough plot twists to keep you curious and creeped out. The film is packed with great shots and beautifully framed images that will stick in your head days after you watch. Although the performances (especially David Caruso's) occasionally fall flat and the voice over technique is pretty silly, Session 9 is a must see for anyone who loves a good scary movie.
Rating:
Summary: Atmospheric genius.
Review: Session 9 (Brad Anderson, 2001) Since Scream, America has been inundated with horror films that want to be hip and trendy. Leave it to Hollywood to overlook the hippest and trendiest of them. Session 9 is The Others without an A-list actor to lend it credibility; it's all about atmosphere rather than shock value. That will probably turn most horror film fans off, but the true aficionado will find a whole lot here to like. The premise is a nice one: a team of asbestos removal workers, led by two guys with the unassuming names of Phil (David Caruso) and Gordon (Peter "My Name is Joe" Mullan), are hired to clear out an old asylum. The crew finds a series of tapes regarding a particular patient, and they start listening to them on breaks. The closer they get to the end of the therapy, the more tense things get in the real world. It's probably no coincidence that there are a whole lot of visual similarities between this film and the computer game version of John Saul's series novel The Blackstone Chronicles. Certain scenes could have been lifted straight from the game, and the actors dropped in. That said, it's probably not a coincidence that the two offer the viewer the same atmosphere, a slow, relentless building of tension. What makes Session 9 different than The Blackstone Chronicles (and The Others, for that matter), is that the right questions to ask in the game are irrelevant at the climax of the film. Whether the ghosts are all in the workers' heads or not doesn't matter a bit, except as post-film coffee-table discussion fodder. Anderson hands us the set of questions we expect, and then answers them with the answers to a completely different set. It's a beautiful thing; tends to put off people who don't like surprises (or, at least, those who like their surprises to come within a predetermined set of choices; e.g. most fans of your average run-of-the-mill horror flick), but done right can propel a film to greatness. This one comes pretty close. **** ½
Rating:
Summary: Creepy, creepy, creepy!
Review: This has to be the creepiest movie I have seen since The Changeling. Don't be turned off by the presence of David Caruso, he gives a solid performance. But the star of this film is the little-known Peter Mullan, who plays Gordon. His character is in almost every scene, and he is entirely believable in all of them. He never hits a wrong note. The setting is an old asylum where the guys are hired to remove the asbestos. As soon as they get there, weird things start happening that they can't explain. Comparisons to The Shining are inevitable, but--I believe--are misplaced. Where that movie was merely icky, this one is terrifying. I was exhausted after watching this movie, and I realized how tense I was throughout, but couldn't help it--I wanted to keep watching. Gore and violence are minimal here, the mood is all that is needed. It starts out eerie and never lets up, even until the end. If you are tired of all the slasher films masquerading as horror, and are looking for something that is genuinely scary, this is a good bet, especially if you are a fan of The Changeling with George C. Scott. They don't really make them like this one much anymore, so when they do, it is a real treat.
Rating:
Summary: Brrrr...
Review: Chilling.
And creepy. The setting. . .that PLACE. . .
Don't expect Oscar-calibur performances or story-writing. Just pay attention to the atmosphere -- the thought of having to be in a place like that. . .
Don't expect in-your-face blood and gore or ... teenagers getting mutilated.
It's a GHOST story. Everything is NOT spelled out, but heck -- let your imagination take over for a while.
Rating:
Summary: Scary homage to THE SHINING and DON'T LOOK NOW
Review: SESSION 9 is a terrific, atmospheric, haunting, dream-like pscyhological thriller with a unique setting: the real-life Danvers Insane Asylum in Massachussets. A five-man team of asbestos removers is tasked to rid the abandoned, maze-like building of asbestos in just one week. Adding to the pressure of this seemingly-impossible job are the personal demons of each of the men working there. Slowly, the evil influence of the Asylum, as well as the aforementioned personal issues of the men lead to a horrific turn of events. Will any of the men live to tell about their week at the asylum? Is there something sinister there, or is one or more of them insane? Therein lies the hook of the movie. Let me just say this right now. If you're a fan of "cutesy" horror, then Session 9 is not for you. When I say "cutesy" horror, I mean horror that involves 1)self-aware teenagers or young adults spouting dialogue that sounds like it was penned by Kevin Williamson, 2) a slasher wearing a ghostmask/parka/rain slicker/fisherman's hood/fencing mask/cherub mask/whatever, and 3) at least one or two faces on hiatus from the WB Network. In other words, everything that followed SCREAM (SCREAM's success was really a double-edged sword: on one hand it revived the horror genre. On the other hand, we will probably have to suffer putrid, self-aware SCREAM rip-offs until the end of the world. I don't know whether we should celebrate Kevin Williamson, or slap him silly) SESSION 9 is, at the risk of sounding like a snob, a thinking-person's horror movie. Many things are open to interpretation. The pieces form different puzzles at different times. At the best of times, all you have are suspicions and fears, nothing known for sure. If you like SCREAM and it's progeny, this movie will frustrate the living heck out of you. But if you like films like THE SHINING and DON'T LOOK NOW, where the pace is deliberately slow to lull you into a sense of unease and dread, where seemingly benign environments gradually morph into treacherous and terrifying wastelands, where even after the film has ended, you are looking over your shoulder because, without realizing it, the film has gotten under your skin, if you like all these things in a movie, then SESSION 9 is for you. My hat is off to Brad Anderson and Steve Gevedon (the writers of SESSION 9--ANderson also directed, while Gevedon also acts). In a perfect world, their SESSION 9 would have been the one to revive the horror genre, and not Kevin Williamson's SCREAM. But as we all know...
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing!!! The way a horror film should be made!!!
Review: I recently picked up a copy of Session 9, and I must say this is one film that had me turning lights on to reach my bedroom at night.
The story focuses on an abandon mental institution and the 5 men tasked to complete an asbestos job within a week period. As the story progresses one of the men stumbles upon a series of session tapes left from the 1980s before the institution had closed. These tapes review a psychiatrist and a female patient's sessions on her split personalities and past sexual (satanic) abuse as a child. These sessions bring madness to the 5 men working day to day to complete thier job. This film will keep you guessing til the end. Do these sessions play a supernatural role or do the men and ourselves just let imaginations run wild.
I guarantee the ending is pretty startling. If you enjoyed the Blair Witch Project "plot" (not the crazy "make you sick" camera work), then you will enjoy this film.
Session 9 does not contain a weak "flavor of the week MTV metal band" soundtrack. Nor does it contain a stupid serial killer running around in a mask hunting down top heavy women. Those type of films are "not scary". This is. Especially if you are tired of seeing women as the victims. If you rent this movie please rent the DVD for the extras (especially the deleted scenes). These scenes give you a little more to the story that you might not know when watching it the first time. I must say I will add it to my collection soon.
Rating: 
Summary: sorry folks...
Review: ...I always enjoyed David Caruso's work on television, but I have yet to see him in a film that I feel truly showcases his talents. Also, I rarely write negative reviews -- of films, books, or music -- but after watching this last night, I feel like I've been insulted. The building in this film -- an abandoned mental hospital -- is definitely possessed of a personality of its own, but I can't say much for the charcters or plot. Several interesting avenues are approached -- but none of them are explored at any length or with any intelligence. One of the characters in the film stumbles upon a cache of tapes relating to a notorious sexual abuse case, involving efforts of doctors to awaken repressed memories in a multiple-personality disorder patient -- but other than listening to a few of the tapes and making some notes, that's as far as this is explored. I also found it a little hard to swallow that the haz-mat team featured in the film, pressed to do what they admit is at least a two-to-three week job in a week's time, finds so much opportunity to sit around and irritate each other and explore the various rooms and corridors of the hospital. The atmosphere depicted in the film was nicely portrayed, but that's about the only plus I could find in it. I was left feeling like I had wasted an evening.
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