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Overall Rating : 4/10
Directed By : Curtis Radclyffe
Gina Philips (Jeepers Creepers)
Alex Hassell
Kellie Shirley
Andrew Knott
Supplied By : New Line Cinema
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : March. 4, 2008
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| PLOT While excavating the site of a 17th century plague hospital, archaeologist Anna (Gina Philips) accidentally unleashes the malevolent spirit of a plague doctor responsible for a series of gruesome murders 350 years earlier…and he’s ready to practice again! Trapped inside the hospital with four trespassing teens and hunted by the murderous spirit, Anna must find a way for the living to escape the building before history repeats itself and they become permanent patients. |
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| THE REVIEW In THE SICKHOUSE, Anna is an archeologist has just completed an excavation on a rundown hospital in which people came to be treated for the Plague over 300 years ago. When Anna was finished, she accidently left behind some materials, and when she goes back to the old building she is told she cannot go back in because they are locking it down prior to it's impending demolishing the next morning. When the security guard leaves, Anna notices that one of the back doors remains unlocked as she sneaks her way in to retrieve her stuff. But when some joyriding teens stumble upon the building, Anna and the teens find themselves locked in the hospital amongst a terrible evil. It seems as if the spirits of an evil Doctor and 5 children patients have been released into the hospital. The Plague Doctor as he is know, killed the 5 victims in various ways, and he has returned to kill off 5 new victims in the very same ways, hoping to repeat history. Anna and the once fun-loving teens must buckle down and fight to get away before they to become a part of the hospitals dreaded history. As we all know, zombie films are probably the most common these days among Horror, especially in independent filmmaking. The second most popular would have to be ghost stories of any kind, and THE SICKHOUSE is one of the latest to follow this trend. When going into it I was looking for some originality, and while it offers some, I was still reminded of other films that are almost of the same mold, most prominently the HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL remake. Instead of a big mansion, however, THE SICKHOUSE takes place in an old rundown hospital where the plague was treated, some 350 years ago. But the hospital didn't run a normal procedure as the head Doctor, a member of a dark cult began to murder some of the patients. Now I know the whole evil Doctor thing should sound strikingly similar if you have seen HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL. with the similar plots of an evil, menacing and imposing Doctor. THE SICKHOUSE tries to expand the basic story with having the spirits of the evil Doctor and his patients released back into the old building while Anna and the kids are inside, and later revealing that the Doctor is trying to again repeat his dirty deeds. Unfortunately, even with this decent setup added into the ghostly mix of things, I still felt that this was just HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL all over again, with cheaper less extravagant CGI and special effects. The overall production is decent, the low lighting would suggest a hint of influence from SAW. As some have mentioned however, the lighting is sometimes a little bit too dark, making it difficult to see what is happening on screen - this happen from time to time in Horror films(mostly in Slashers, i'd say), but it is always something that seems to be of an irritation to me, for whatever reason. The first thing that caught my attention about THE SICKHOUSE, and had me wanting to see this was that Gina Phillips(from JEEPERS CREEPERS), had the starring role. Call me crazy, but I have always been a fan of JEEPERS CREEPERS, and thought Phillips, along with the now, much more famous Justin Long did great jobs in their roles. Here Phillips offers a good performance, but it was just not enough to possibly elevate the film to it's fullest potential. Whether it be the story, special effects, the supporting actors or what have you, she didn't have enough support to make it happen. In the end, THE SICKHOUSE offers a ghost story that I found to be just ok. It's not the best film, but neither is it the worst - it leaves you with this feeling that you have seen this somewhere else before, however. | ||||
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| GORE
METER 3/10 Not as gory as you'd think. There are a few impalements that more or less seem like routine horror gags. The one thing however that brings th gore up a notch is a well done bloody birth scene. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 3.5/10 The score is ok, it's the typical suspense stuff, the film does begin and end with some rock tracks that were fitting. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Like I said,THE SICKHOUSE seemed like a film that I had already seen before in similarity. It tries to be original and in very little it is, but to me it still had a somewhat generic feeling to it. This DVD will be available on October 18, 2008 |
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