The Ward

Released - 2010
Genre - Horror, Thriller
Director - John Carpenter
Starring - Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, Mamie Gummer, Jared Harris, Lyndsy Fonseca

Carpenter's first film in ten years is a generic disappointment packed to bursting point with genre clichés, woefully unbelievable acting and a backdrop that looks more like the Overlook Hotel than a mental institution. If they didn't slap his name all over the cover then you'd never know he was at the helm. There's really nothing to recommend this tale of a young girl in a 60's psychiatric hospital. The institution seems to be inexplicably empty, there's apparently a ghost picking off the inmates and the resolution is irritatingly daft. Amber Heard is distractingly bad and forced as the lead (the only nod to her being insane is the fact she doesn't comb her hair, otherwise she's perfectly made up throughout, even for her ECT session) and the supporting cast don't offer anything memorable. It's predictable, it's slow and there is no tension, much less any scares or thrills. It's not any worse than the average flick rolling off the horror genre production line, but you can't help expecting more from Carpenter.

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