Rating: 
Summary: danvers state hospital
Review: well ive been in the hospital the movie was shot at. and that is the most scariest, creepiest, most horrible place ive ever been in.( of course i snuck in ). if you were thinking if was a patient...lol. but yes that place is defiently haunted by all the souls that died in there, and i know from experience. I didnt last 3 hours in there and i was planning on spending the night exploring. and session 9 is a great movie. i saw it in the thearter in august, in cambridge MA. i think it was one of the best movies ive ever seen. but thats my opinon. cause ive been in there, and just seeing the movie is almost like.....being in there with permission, and not getting arrested. but yes if you like haunted places then you should defiently buy this movie.
CHRIS
Rating:
Summary: EXTREMELY - SUSPENSFUL
Review: and extremely underrated...absolutely unique...one of the best psychological/horror film i've seen in years!.it is comparable to kubrick's adaptation of "the shining"... SESSION 9 is also very convincing...fascinating. this film gradually transports you into the deranged mind of gordon FLeming (portrayed by petter mullan..aka "swanney" of trainspotting,he is also well known for such films as Miss julie, My name is joe , mauvaise passe.).. gordon,Hank,phil,jeff,mike and bill are an asbestos abatement crew working in a isoltated asylum. is this place haunted?...are they paranoid?...the conclusion of session 9 is ambiguous and chilling. see this film only if you're a fan of suspense,horror & intelligent films... session 9 is brad anderson's best film.(so far)..(he also directed "next stop wonderland" and "happy accidents"..etc)...but "session 9" is a radical change! even the dark/ambiant & experimental score works perfectly well with this film. the entire cast is great!...(especialy David caruso aka "kiss of death", "NYPD Blue" , "black point"...) ,hank (played by josh lucas aka "american psycho" , "a beautiful mind" , "the deep end" , "coast lines") and Jeff (played by brendan sexton III/ "welcome to the dollhouse" , "hurricane streets" , "boys don't cry" , "black hawk down"..) are the two most sympathic characters of the film..gordon is the tormented one... every minutes are a pure pleasure to watch..a MUST SEE! ...
Rating:
Summary: Looking at the tkt stub a week later I still get the chills!
Review: A wonderfuly original filmmaking experience, believe me you enjoy even the credits. FIVE STARS ALL THE WAY
Rating: 
Summary: Very engrossing...very perplexing
Review: The night after I saw The Others, I went to see Session 9 out of curiosity, again, knowing very little about it, during its opening weekend. Session 9 centers on a team of asbestos removers working to renovate a closed mental institution. The job would take three weeks, but desperate for work, the four men of Hazmat Elimination Co. opt to do it in two. When they are told that there would be a $10,000 bonus if they could get the job finished in a single week, they reluctantly conform to work like hell under the overwhelming, disturbing backdrop of an ominous insane asylum. The character dynamics of the team leader, Gordon (Peter Mullan), his friend and right-hand man, Phil (David Caruso), the astute and curious law-school drop-out, Mike (co-writer, Stephen Gevedon), and the arrogant ... who stole Phil's girlfriend, Hank (Josh Lucas), as well as Gordon's young nephew, Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), are what drive the movie. It becomes a haunting psychological thriller that will jolt you and compel you with its spectacular visuals, superb acting, and extraordinary integration of the real-life Danvers institution with amazing recordings from the actual asylum used as the hook of the movie. As the four workers become more immersed in their rigorous one-week elimination deadline, the atmosphere of the deathly place begins to consume them. Writer-director Brad Anderson was looking through the abandoned Danvers institution, and was suddenly inspired to write a screenplay that has become Session 9: a fictional plot based on frightening truths. The dark, fearless movie is not nearly as much fun or even as satisfying as The Others. Most likely it will leave you with an unsettling feeling, possibly hungry for more answers. It may be a bit heavier and less exciting, but it is equally intense, and still an exceptional movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, moody storytelling bogged down by a weak story
Review: The movie follows a small group of hired absestos removers as they spend a week to remove absestos from a shut-down insane asylum, as things fall apart between the workers during the week. The movie really is great at creeping you out and pushing your buttons. In fact, the storytelling is done so well that it builds up the tension and makes you think that there's a major surprise in store, as you're wondering which one of the abestos removers is going crazy. Sad to say, there isn't a major surprise. The question isn't 'whodunnit?', but rather 'it can't be who I think it is, because that'd be waaayy too obvious and rather lame, but there's no other option', which makes the story rather predictable, and gets nowhere. As long as you don't have any expectations, you'll enjoy the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Session 9 - The best horror movie of the year!!!!!
Review: Take a talented filmmaker, add a cast of five interesting characters, throw in an abandoned insane asylum, with a dash of the supernatural and you almost have Session 9. This is one of those rare horror movies that actually sticks with you after the lights come up and thats a good thing. The only other work i've seen from the talented Brad Anderson is the romantic comedy Next Stop Wonderland, which was much more enjoyable than most romantic schlock. The movie stars David Caruso who's been out of the spotlight for far too long.... The rest of the cast is surrounded by relative unknowns that do a [heck] of a job with the material. The real star of this movie though is the asylum itself, if you thought the Overlook hotel was menacing in the Shining then you'll love this building, complete with an inmate graveyard. The movie is a little more slower paced than most horror movies but the characterization is amazing and if you saw the equally great "The Others" then you know what i'm talking about. If your looking for a good horror movie that is not cut from the Scream mold find this gem of a movie near you. I can only pray that it will get a wider release so I don't have to travel an hour for a second viewing
Rating:
Summary: Danvers State Hospital is Closed
Review: The closed Danvers State Mental Hospital in Massachusetts is the site of Brad Anderson's "Session 9." And a huge, ugly forboding place it is: opened in 1887 and closed due to "budget cuts" in 1985. It's 2000 now and part of the Danvers is to be renovated by the city for public use. But before construction can begin a Hazmat company (hazardous waste clearing) headed by the volatile yet outwardly calm Gordon Fleming (the super Peter Mullan who makes up for "The Claim" in this film), his second in command Phil (David Caruso) and three day workers: intelligent, quiet, inquisitive Mike (Steve Gevedon), slimy, greasy Hank(Josh Lucas who played a similar role in "Deep End") and mullet-wearing teenager Jeff (the redoubtable Brandon Sexton III)must do some major cleanup. Brad Anderson expertly sets the scene not only with the visuals and physical production(Danvers does much of the work for him) but also with the interior lives of the players: Mike, a law school dropout in the process of re-evaluating his life discovers a cache of tape recordings that has much to do with the progression and climax of the film as well as the title, Phil whose motives are called into question time and time again through innuendo and inference rather than anything concrete, Jeff,afraid of the dark, is used as a deus ex machina who propels the climax of the film and Hank the Cad, all surface swagger and machismo, looking for a quick way to get rich through scratch off lotto tickets . But it is Gordon who is the most conflicted and complex. Mullan plays him like a combination of Medea and King Lear, two of THE most treacherous yet gentle and caring characters in all of fiction. Into this mix Anderson throws the secrets of the Danvers and it's former mental patients, it's mode of dealing with these patients ( electric shock machines, ice water treatment baths, squallid cells resonating with bad vibes) and what you end up with is an expertly delineated psychological thriller more in the mode of "The Shining" than "The Blair Witch Project." Well Done.
Rating:
Summary: the true "Blair Witch" sequel
Review: This movie is a hidden treasure. I had never heard of it before last Friday, and a good review in the LA Times convinced me to see it. I was not sorry! This movie starts slow, but builds in creepiness and has an extremely satisfying ending, with something of a "twist," but not something ridiculous and nonsensical (i.e. Planet of the Apes). The actors are all great, the location is amazing, and it really gets under your skin. After seeing the film, I read that the mental patient tapes that are used in the plot of the movie are based on real tapes recovered from the abandoned mental hospital where filming took place. This is a great, great movie. SEE IT!!
Rating:
Summary: A True Psychological Thriller
Review: My husband and I had been excited about seeing SESSION 9 ever since we'd heard positive things about it from friends. Well, this chiller lived up to their praise and then some! By the time SESSION 9 ended, I felt like someone had been holding a knife to my throat for 100 minutes. I've never seen director/co-writer Brad Anderson's romantic comedy NEXT STOP WONDERLAND, but after sitting riveted and cowering in my seat throughout SESSION 9, I had a hard time imagining Anderson tackling anything even remotely lighthearted! Even when the blue-collar heroes of SESSION 9 exchange wisecracks, there's nothing jokey about the film; this isn't your ironic, self-mocking, postmodern kind of horror flick a la SCREAM. Speaking of lightheartedness, I knew Vinnie was as profoundly affected by SESSION 9 as I was because he never once leaned over and made any quips to me about anything happening onscreen, a rarity for my boy! :-) Basically, there are two kinds of horror films: 1) the rollercoaster thrill ride kind, usually with cool F/X and inventive violence, which manage to be both scary and exhilarating at the same time (such as JAWS or SCREAM) and 2) the moody psychological thriller, usually character-driven rather than F/X driven (think HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER or THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT). (Interestingly, the original 1963 version of THE HAUNTING fit in the #2 category and the 1999 version fit more in the #1 category-BID...) In the more emotional, realistic horror films, you might say the terror comes from, to borrow a phrase from FORBIDDEN PLANET, "monsters from the id." FP rendered its monsters from the id in animation form, but SESSION 9 doesn't need to. There's a sense of dread from the very first frame, with an askew camera angle on what seems to be an electric chair in an otherwise empty, long-neglected room. The sharp, sudden sound effects (passing cars sound like jets in this movie!) and eerie, backwards-sounding music by Climax Golden Twins (not at all what I'd have expected from Executive Music Producer Carson Daly of MTV fame) creeped me out, too. Having said all that, SESSION 9 isn't really a film about imagery, special effects, or gore. (In fact, there isn't much gore at all until the end, and even then it's plausible, real-world kind of gore, not some kind of Grand Guignol over-the-top bloodletting.) It's a truly intense, compelling nightmare about decent people and how, under pressure, their flaws and vulnerabilities and moments of bad judgment may lead to horror and tragedy for themselves and everyone in their orbit. I want to talk on and on about this film, and yet I don't want to, because I'm afraid of spoiling the shocks and suspense for you. I will tell you, however, that the protagonists are members of a hazardous materials removal team embarking on a job at the massive, imposing, long-abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital (a real place in Massachusetts, BTW. So no, the Danvers name is not a tip of the hat to REBECCA! :-). This bat-shaped behemoth of a building is so remarkable that it feels like a character in its own right. But even before the men set foot in Danvers, the stage is set for tension and trouble. Desperate to get the Danvers job, boss man Gordon (Peter Mullan), a recent Scottish émigré to the U.S. and new father of a sickly, fussy baby, bids low and promises that he and his team can finish the job in one week. Crew chief Phil (David Caruso) is unhappy because he thinks 2 or 3 weeks would be more realistic, plus he doesn't think much of crew member Hank (Josh Lucas), the weaselly troublemaker who stole Phil's girl. Then there's Gordon's wet-behind-the-ears, dark-fearing teenage nephew Jeff (Brendan Sexton III); in one scene, he's trapped in a hallway where each light goes out in rapid succession, making it look like the darkness is chasing the poor kid. Finally, there's on-again, off-again law student Mike (co-writer Stephen Gevedon, who for some reason kept reminding me of a younger, handsomer, more rugged Jeremy Piven), whose lawyer dad was involved in a case that contributed to Danvers being shut down. Once inside the grim old complex, surrounded by peeling paint, water stains, graffiti, creepy old equipment, and the various patients' memorabilia from the old days, Hank finds a veritable treasure trove in the morgue's incinerator, Mike finds compelling audio tapes of a multiple-personality patient's sessions, and the place's overall eeriness begins to work everybody's nerves. But is it that the building is in some way haunted, or are the guys really being haunted by their own demons? See, that's the fiendish beauty of SESSION 9. Just when you think you've got it pegged as a haunted-asylum thriller or a revenge thriller or a cross between THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE or whatever, it confounds your expectations. Soon you're too wrapped up in the mounting madness and suspense to sit there second-guessing. Every member of the superb cast gets you rooting for them and sympathizing with their characters (even Lucas as Hank is engaging in his own sneaky, self-absorbed way), so their unraveling has real emotional heft (unlike, say, the snarky, cocky trio in THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. I must admit I took a sadistic glee in watching those self-important little jerks degenerating into terrified, jibbering wrecks, whereas my heart went out to the heroes of SESSION 9). I must admit that, as budget-conscious parents of a young child, Vinnie and I could especially identify with Gordon; the writing and Mullan's poignant portrayal of a strong man slowly being overwhelmed by circumstances perfectly brought out the pressures of new parenthood and providing for a family. After the film was over, Vinnie likened it to HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER, not only in its true-to-life feel and its raw intensity, but in that it shakes you up so profoundly that you can't bear to watch it more than once. But believe me, if you're into psychological horror, you owe it to yourself to see SESSION 9 at least once. It's one of the most powerful, disturbing films I've ever seen, and definitely one of the best movies of the year.
Rating:
Summary: SESSION 9
Review: VERY SCARY AND CREEPY.GOOD STORY LINE AND VERY GOOD ACTING.A REAL CHILLER THATS DEFINITELY WORTH IT. YOULL WATCH IT MORE THAN ONCE. A++++++++++
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