Halle Berry is smoking hot! Ok well I admit a small crush on her, especially since she landed the role of Storm (Ororo Munroe) in X-men. So with lust in my eyes, I sat down to view her newest DVD from Warner Home Video. Gothika, as a title, had me thinking this was some sort of gothic horror film. In actuality, the film is really a psychological thriller featuring characters who are, umm psychiatrists!
Psychiatrist Dr. Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) treats mentally disturbed inmates at a women's prison. In the opening scene, Miranda sits across a table from prisoner Chloe Sava (Penelope Cruz); to which Chloe begins to tell her this fantastic "tale" of a man who continues to rape her. Using her college educated skills, Dr. Grey assumes that Chloe is insane and making up these claims.
Upon leaving their meeting Chloe makes a chilling claim that "he's coming for you next!". Of course Miranda writes this off as non-sense, leaving for a quick swim before heading home to the warden, who just happens to be her husband, Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles Dutton). Close friend and colleague Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) offers to drive her home, but she refuses. On her way home during a rainstorm, Miranda is redirected due to a ditch filled with water. Going over a bridge she's not accustomed to, Miranda suddenly sees a woman in the road which she nearlys wrecks trying to avoid hitting. She gets out and asks the girl if she's ok and the girl seemingly on fire touches her. The next scene has Miranda waking up in one of the prison's cells. She's been out for 3 days and her husband was murdered by none other than her!
Thus the plot is set and the movie winds through the plot of whether Miranda really did the killings, or if she is truly crazy. There's a hint of science fiction here along with some disturbing horror sequences. The film truly has a great unexpected ending that makes for a fun ride.
The Disc:
The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 has been expanded slightly to fill DVD's 1.78:1 anamorphic video frame. This is another fabulous transfer from Warner Home Video. The film has a true "gothic" look with plenty of dark sequences that utilize lighting well. For a film trying to "scare" you, it does a pretty decent job from a visual standpoint. The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is very effective in supporting the visual tone of the film. While I always prefer DTS, the DD 5.1 soundtrack still manages quite a few good series of surround sequences.
Extras on the disc begin with a Feature-length audio commentary by director Mathieu Kassovitz and cinematographer Matthew Libatique. As with most commentaries this day, these guys offer a good mix of humor and tech-talk to describe the filmmaking process. Next up is A non-anamorphic Music Video (4:32) of Limp Bizkit singing "Behind Blue Eyes". Like the song or hate the update, still this music video is creepy and worth viewing. Finally there's the trailer, making for a short but sweet set of extras on the disc.
bottom line:
Halle Berry leads this film into one huge mind trip. A nice horror science fiction whodunit that had me guessing for most of the film. Once again this actress proves she can lead a film. Horror fans shouldn't miss this one!
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
