Film reviews

The Skeleton Key centers around the main character Caroline (Kate Hudson) who takes up the job of caring for Ben Devereux (Ben Hurt) in New Orleans. Sounds safe enough… except Caroline becomes increasingly suspicious of his cold wife Violet (Gena Rowlands), of whom Ben seems visibly terrified, and the contents of a locked room in the creepy attic of the plantation house. Weird powder, blood, snakes in bottles and sacrificial spells lend credence to her suspicions of hoodoo in the household. She confides in the Devereux’s lawyer Luke (Peter Sarsgaard) who is skeptical about her discovery. More snooping leads to another and Caroline realizes that she needs to get Ben out of the plantation with her immediately by using Violet’s own tricks against her. Or so she thinks.

The historical New Orleans setting and the whole hoodoo paraphernalia will keep all GK fans preoccupied for the film's two hours (while waiting for the next installment of GK). The fact that this is not just a suspense thriller where the audience simply lies back and enjoys the show, but they can hardly help immersing themselves in the story to find out the truth together with Caroline, will definitely appeal also to other viewers who are not familiar with GK.