The Ward: Movie Review

There was a time when John Carpenter knew what scared people and crucially knew how to convey it on the big screen. Heck, his name was already synonymous to the horror genre and he was truly the master of horrors. Unfortunately, that time has long since gone and his latest take on the genre reinforces that point further. "The Ward", his only full-length film directorial attempt in almost a decade, flounders miserably. "The Ward" felt a bit dated in terms of scares and by the time the twist comes up, you'll be bored to death to even care. Read on to find our the full review of John Carpenter's "The Ward".

Kristen (Amber Head)is taken to a psychiatric ward after burning down a farmhouse. She has no recollection on why she had the farmhouse's address written on her palm or why she burned it in the first place. In the ward, she meets with four other girls. Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Emily (Mamie Gummer), Sarah (Danielle Panabaker) and Zoey (Laura Leigh). all the girls have their own quirks. Iris is the artist, Emily the aggressive one, Sarah the impulsive one and Zoey the one with emotional trauma. When Kristen starts feeling the presence of a mysterious girl inside the ward, she thinks that someone else is actually holed up inside with them.

What bothered us most about "The Ward" is not the poorly-developed story or the lackluster acting but mostly by the outdated scare tactics used. Imagine figures suddenly popping up on-screen or sound effects that mislead the viewer to nothingness. Cheap thrills and a complete waste of your time and money? Definitely. It's these things that show how much "The Ward" is delusional and out-of-reality when it comes to its presentation. "The Ward" actually has a good story but it was sparingly developed which completely ruins it. In fact, "The Ward" turns itself into a complete snore fest and no one is to blame but John Carpenter himself. Come to think of it, "The Ward" is almost a blatant rip-off of "Shutter Island" - minus all the good parts that made the latter a really compelling thriller. Why should you settle for less in the first place?

Rating: 1 reel





Why you should watch it:
- if you have patience, the story actually has an interesting twist

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- poorly-developed plot, bad acting and cheap and outdated scare tactics. Need we say more?