The Bottom Line
Pros
- Well acted
- Intriguing bad guy
- Solid production value
Cons
- Not scary
- Unoriginal
- Confusing ending
Description
- Starring Gina Philips, Alex Hassell, Kellie Shirley, Andrew Knott, Jack Bailey
- Directed by Curtis Radclyffe
- Rated NR
- DVD Release Date: March 18, 2008
Guide Review - 'The Sickhouse' DVD Review
The Movie
The Sickhouse is essentially a riff on the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill, but with a medieval twist. Instead of an abandoned 20th century American insane asylum, it takes place in an abandoned British hospital from the 1600s. Instead of the ghost of a sadistic psychiatrist who tortured his patients, we have the ghost of a sadistic "plague doctor" who treated (i.e., killed) people suffering from the Black Plague. Instead of people looking to win a million dollars, we have an archeologist, Anna (Gina Philips, of Jeepers Creepers fame), and a few hoodlums looking for a place to hide from the cops.
Not only is the plot similar, though, but the direction -- courtesy of Curtis Radclyffe -- and special effects also echo Haunted Hill's then-edgy visual style. The ghosts have that "twitchy" movement that Haunted Hill borrowed from Jacob's Ladder and that every other ghost movie since then has beaten into the ground (Can we officially retire it alongside The Matrix's "bullet time"?). It turns what seems to be a solid directorial effort into a running gimmick and highlights the fact that Radclyffe doesn't seem to be at ease helming horror.
Practically all of his attempts at scares are cheap jump-out-and-say-"boo" moments (with corresponding obtrusive sound effects), and even then, they don't work. The timing is just off, and Radclyffe compounds matters by using a "shaky camera" technique (including shots with a hand-held video cam, just like in -- you guessed it -- House on Haunted Hill) during key action sequences that end up frustrating more than frightening. It's a shame, because the camera trickery detracts from what could be a creepy setting with creepy characters: a tall doctor in a robe and long-beaked bird mask, plus his gang of ghost children.
The DVD
No special features whatsoever. Shame!
Movie: C-
DVD: F
