Horror Film Review

Psych 9 (2010):  Another abandoned hospital that may or may not be haunted movie.  Usually when I see Ghost House Underground, I flinch and waffle, wondering whether I should bother.  Not an awesome track record, them.  But when I saw Cary Elwes and Michael Biehn were in it, how could I say no?  I should really learn how to say no.

Roslyn (Sara Foster) takes an overnight job organizing files at a recently closed hospital while a serial killer is on the prowl in the area murdering blond women with a claw hammer.  Roslyn's told she'll be alone except for the security guard sleeping in a booth out front and psychiatrist Dr. Clement (Elwes) doing his own organizing up on the fifth floor.  Her husband Cole (Gabriel Mann) drives a cab at night and occasionally drops by with lunch.  All is fine...for about a day.  Then Roslyn starts hearing and seeing things.  She runs into Dr. Clement, a perfectly pleasant Brit who Roslyn begins to confide in over the coming days.  Turns out she's a bit nutty from some truly awful childhood trauma and has begun to suspect that Cole may be the serial killer Detective Marling (Biehn) is looking for.  Marling, however, suspects otherwise.

So where's the paranormal, supernatural shenanigans?  Well, it doesn't take a shrink to figure out that much of the weirdness just might be in Roslyn's head, but it does take a shrink to figure out why.  I consider myself a fairly intelligent guy.  The climax of this film, however, left me scratching my head.  Okay...I never do this, but - SPOILER ALERT!  Clement is dead and she's been talking to herself.  I get that.  I also get she's pissed that her blond-haired mother didn't stop her dad from molesting her and that Roslyn's been hard at work with a claw hammer.  But what I didn't get was why she set fire to the hospital files, fled from Dr. Clement who she knew was not really there, and then dyed her hair blond.  The only thing that makes sense is that she really and truly is out of her freaking mind.  Additionally, why would Cole think she's perfectly fine and decide to have a baby with her?  And lastly, why didn't Marling arrest her for being the killer when earlier he indicated that he suspected her?  The gaps in logic and plot holes big enough to steer a starship through left me frustrated and annoyed.

The Breakdown

Acting:  Biehn stands out as the hard-boiled cop.  Elwes is also good as the shrink.  Foster, though, got on my nerves.  She should have played Roslyn as sympathetic instead of bitchy.
Story:  You'll swear you've heard it before somewhere.  I know I did.  So not original, then.  Not even particularly interesting, to tell you the truth.  It feels tired.
Direction:  Now this was quite messy.  It was director Andrew Shortell's job to keep the action coherent, but unfortunately it was all over the place.
Production Values:  The filmmakers had money to play with, although I think most of it went to Elwes' and Biehn's paychecks. 
Gore/FX:  There is some blood but nothing serious.  The only CGI use is for the fires, and it looks pretty decent. 
Scares:  New category!  There is one guaranteed to make you jump.  Otherwise, it's more creepy and disturbing than scary.
The Ending:  Dumb. 
The Verdict:  Should you see Psych 9?  I really can't recommend it.  There was potential here but it was squandered.  Go watch Fragile again.

My Rating:  2 out of 5 stars.