The Ward

It's hard to say what movie this reminds me of without totally spoiling it. But the one it reminds me of is far better. This made me jump a few times, which is good but it didn't really scare me (even though a psych ward is one of the best premises for a movie to be scary). Overall, if I hadn't seen so many films that are very similar (especially with that "innovative" twist in the end), it would have been quite good. But I can't overlook the fact that I have.

I don't want to give too much away... Suffice to say that the screenwriters probably like a certain movie from 2003. I can accept the fact that the overall plot is this recognizable but the whole movie feels very derivative. It's supposed to be a character piece, I guess, and some of the girls did okay. However, like the movie, they were mostly bland.

This movie reaffirms the age-old adage... Hot bitches be crazy. Also, the only disorder any of these girls seem to suffer from is a bad case of the "sexy baby" syndrome.

Carpenter is just going through the motions now, only this kind of crap doesn't cut it thirty years later, and for some reason he got worse.

Nuts and bolts. Well polished nuts and bolts.

i catch myself watching a lot of movies starring amber heard these days. and if it wasn't for her being the lead, i wouldn't have made it even halfway through. but damn, she's fine.

John Carpenter does... John Carpenter. His first proper horror movie since In The Mouth Of Madness 16 years ago, and it's set in... a mental hospital! Amber Heard makes a good horror movie heroine (if not as good as she was in All The Boys Love Mandy Lane), Carpenter knows how to build a creepy setting in his sleep, and that's what he does. The plot is vague and often a bit annoying until the twist at the end - which is nicely done, but doesn't make the first 80 minutes any better.

Carpenter tries, and I'd watch Heard read the phone book for 90 minutes, as I believe I might have said before. But this picture just doesn't work. Realistically, that script's probably unfilmable, and I'd be lying if I said the legendary director doesn't lose his nerve (or lose interest) somewhere down the stretch. Remains watchable, though, particularly for Heard fans.

Doesn't even feel like a John Carpenter film.

Boring asylum movie with a ghost and a predictable twist. Bad script, and Carpenter brings nothing to it. I guess the actors were fine at least.

Uninspired at best.

(Viewed on 05/11): The script isn't good and features a predictable twist ending that would have been barely passable in the early 00s when silly twists were fashionable. But the real problem is the absence of Carpenter's visual signature and distinctive music which add enormous character and create a singular mood. In their place we have a generic score, generic lighting, generic performances and a complete failure to take advantage of a confined setting, which is deeply dispiriting.

So much talent wasted on a truly awful script.

O lance aqui é que o Carpenter era mais feliz quando roteirizava os próprios filmes, não caindo nesse amontoado de obviedades que já conhecíamos de outras paragens.

Dumb as all hell, but some pretty tense scenes. Not the worst way to blow 90 minutes of your life.

A ridiculous hodgepodge of tropes and cliches set in a loony bin which appears to have world-class makeup and hair-styling services for the patients.

A passable, if uninspired and derivative ghost story. Dressed up as a god-awful, interminably dull slasher.

Carpenter does what he's always done well here: distinguishing fast-sketch characterizations in a harried ensemble, but seems out to lunch on everything else, particularly the plot, which is mostly predicated upon dosed up babes in confinement. His frugal yet banal return to the helm is more under the spell of outmoded ghost stories and date-night shockers than it is by the cult classics of his past.

I liked the twist, however, I wish there were more variety of girls.

Paint by numbers horror.

It wasn't the best scary movie ever but it was a John Carpenter movie so I figured I would watch it.

The worst movie John Carpenter has ever made. At least Escape From LA was gleeful in its garbage.

I didn't know John Carpeneter has fallen so low that he has to resort to ripping off blackbuster horror movies.

spoilerificness: actually really liked the cliché twist. at least that explained how one can kill a ghost with a fucking axe. :D the ending itself, though...not the most elegant note to end this movie on. cool score, too.

Fairly creepy and atmospheric, but that's to be expected from Carpenter. Really what kills me is the fact that this could have been so much better than it actually was. The "twist" is painfully obvious from the get-go, what with the obviously underpopulated ward, cartoonish characters, etc. And I can't help but think that the "slasher" was a very poor choice of horror style to marry up with this story. Wasted potential.

Far from great but what the heck, I didn't think it was that bad. Pretty scary, actually.

Heard isn t realy hard to look at, but she also isn t a good actress. Carpenter basically safed this movire from becoming a total disaster and made it somewhat watchable.

The Ward is a failure in my eyes. I couldn't take much enjoyment from watching it. It's not scary, it's not startling -- it's not anything. I felt nothing while it was playing, and that's the ultimate failure of a film. It's a slasher film that tries to be more psychological, but mostly we get a bunch of jump scenes and death. It's not a successful comeback for Carpenter, and it definitely isn't worth your time.

People should stop making films in which the revelation is multiple personality disorder.

Girl Interrupted with Ghosts. Some of the ladies in this flick are easy on the eyes, but this film has what is honestly one of the worst twist endings I've seen.

Carpenter should never have left the 20th Century.

"Points for humaneness, I guess, but is The Ward scary? Not really." - Ed Gonzalez

I watched the entire movie, and I couldn't tell you the whole story line. Even though the story line had potential, this movie just did not hold my attention. Not even half way through I wanted to stop watching it because I already knew it was a waste of my time. I will say the twist at the end was interesting.

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd passionately despise a John Carpenter movie, but clearly life is unpredictable. This is a work both boring and trite, destined for the vortex of forgetability if it weren't for the well-known talent behind the camera. It's perhaps unfair of me to criticize Carpenter for operating outside of form, but the truth is that all the components that serve as substitutes for his mainstays, like a minimalistic self-composed score, are inadequate.

Lazy... predictable.

John Carpenter's long run of knocking out turkeys continues with The Ward. Sad to say the once great man simply doesn't seem to care anymore and is doing everything by the numbers. I counted one half scare in the 90 minute running time, which for a horror film lacking any atmosphere at all is unforgivable. Any plus points to be found here? Well the girls are kind of nice looking and that's about it. Sadly. Go watch Halloween or The Thing to see how good Carpenter can be, this sadly isn't.

Yeah this was pretty bad.

The film was technically well done, but the story did not impress anyhow. The ghost was a guy in an all skin rubber mask (with the help of mere CGI close-ups) and every other corner served a cheap scary moments. The story's got advanced twist in the end, though I guessed it pretty quick. The looney house was for good-looking girls only, but they acted together more or less okay. "Mandy Lane" Amber was only reason to see this film.

Not so good

Mocno spozniony horror. Carpenter w bardzo slabej formie.

Practically "Identity" with a woman.

Very unintelligent movie.

56.4.

The performances are fine, though Heard has a few noticeable iffy moments in the lead, & the elements of something interesting are there. However, the pieces never quite fall into place, and the final twist is so incredibly underwhelming & tired that it does a good bit of harm to what came before it. Beyond that, there are quite a few issues plot wise & characters who have a lot of implied depth, but who never fully show any of it. Plus, the big bad is more corny than spooky. Overall, it's meh.

20.04.2013 / Kanal D

* Casting, Acting : 3.5 * Script : 1.5 * Directing, Aura : 3 * Ease of Viewing : 4 * Naked Eye : 3

John Carpenter #1

43.500

akil hastanesi, ucube, intikam alan ruh, hayalet, hastaneden kacis, coklu kisilik bölünmesi (finalde; benzeri kimlik), sizofren, finalde cözülen film. (Kristen, bir evi yakmis ve polis tarafindan yakalanmistir. Akli dengesinin yerinde olmadigina kanaat getirilip North Bend akil hastanesine yatirilmistir. Kaldigi yerde kadin hastalar bulunmaktadir. Fakat hastane icinde siridisi olaylar cereyan etmektedir. (Baslangicta Sucher Punch'a benziyor.)

44.500