The Skeleton Key [WS]

Director: Iain Softley Iain Softley

Overview

A young woman discovers a terrible secret while caring for an elderly man in this supernatural thriller. Caroline (Kate Hudson) is a care provider for the aged who is hired away from the hospice where she works by Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands). Violet needs someone to help take care of her husband, Ben (John Hurt), who is in poor health and doesn't have long to live. Violet and Ben live in a decaying rattletrap mansion not far from New Orleans, and as she settles into her work, Caroline spends her spare time exploring the house. It isn't long before Caroline discovers evidence that suggests Ben and Violet are members of a sinister voodoo cult, and that ghosts walk in the Devereaux mansion. The Skeleton Key also stars Peter Sarsgaard and Joy Bryant.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/15/2005
UPC:	0025192585029
Original Release:	2005
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00

Special Features

Kate Hudson's ghost story; Exploring Voodoo/Hoodoo; Behind the Locked Door - Making The Skeleton Key; Blues in the bayou; Audio commentary with director Iain Softley; And much more!

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kate Hudson	Caroline Ellis
Gena Rowlands	Violet Devereaux
Peter Sarsgaard	Luke
John Hurt	Ben Devereaux
Joy Bryant	Jill
Maxine Barnett	Mama Cynthia
Fahnlohnee Harris	Hallie
Marion Zinser	Bayou Woman
Deneen Tyler	Desk Nurse
Ann Dalrymple	C.N.A.
Trula Marcus	Nurse Trula
Tonya Staten	Nurse Audrey
Tom Uskali	Robertson Thorpe
Jen Apgar	Madeleine Thorpe
Forrest Landis	Martin Thorpe
Jamie Lee Redmon	Grace Thorpe
Ronald McCall	Papa Justify
Jeryl Prescott Sales	Mama Cecile
Christa Thorne	Creole Mother
Lakrishi Kindred	Frail Customer
Lawrence 'King' Harvey	Bar Man
Mark Krasnoff	Pickup Driver
Sabah	Luke's Secretary
Susannah Thorarinsson	Waitress in Bar
Bill H. McKenzie	Mr. Talcott
Joe Chrest	Paramedic
David Curtis	Party Guest
Tiffany Helland	Party Guest
Brian Ruppert	Party Guest
Philip Frazier	Rebirth Brass Band,Rebirth Brass Band
Derek Shezbie	Rebirth Brass Band
Glen Andrews	Rebirth Brass Band
Stafford Agee	Rebirth Brass Band
Derrick Tabb	Rebirth Brass Band
Shamar Allen	Rebirth Brass Band
Byron Bernard	Rebirth Brass Band
Herbert Stevens	Rebirth Brass Band
George Harper	Jazz Band
Howard McCary	Jazz Band
Kevin O'Neal	Jazz Band
Ryan Porter	Jazz Band
Ryan Regalado	Jazz Band
Nolan Shaheed	Jazz Band
Dustin Fleetwood	Third Infantry Band Member
Roderick Harrison	Third Infantry Band Member
Torrey McKinley	Third Infantry Band Member
Isaach de Bankolé	Creole Gas Station Owner
Ed Shearmur	Composer

Technical Credits

Ehren Kruger

Iain Softley	Director,Producer
Ehren Kruger	Screenwriter
Daniel Bobker	Producer
Lorenzo P. Lampthwait	Producer
Michael Shamberg	Producer
Stacey Sher	Producer
Clayton Townsend	Executive Producer
Kenneth Au	Special Effects
Christopher Assells	Sound Effects
Kevin Cerchiai	Sound Effects
Ronna Kress	Casting
Peter Devlin	Sound/Sound Designer
Ann Scibelli	Sound/Sound Designer
Harry Cohen	Sound/Sound Designer
Daniel Booker	Producer

Editorial Reviews

For an hour, Iain Softley's The Skeleton Key gives off the buzz of a genre film pulled off with great craft. The spooky Southern gothic setting oozes menace, and the art direction of the spooky house itself seems appropriately sparse, until one realizes how detailed the little details are. The actors all understand what is required of them, and Softley gives them just enough room to find the right pitch for the performances. Gena Rowlands and Peter Sarsgaard walk the line of overacting without ever crossing it, and many of their moments offer the simple pleasure of watching very gifted performers enjoying themselves. Sadly the screenplay is unable to match their level of skill. Ehren Kruger's "twist" ending should be easy for any regular moviegoer to figure out, but that would be easy to excuse if there were any thematic weight to the film. Sadly, there is nothing for the viewer to take from the film other than the most surface of surface pleasures. Everything about The Skeleton Key is well-crafted, except the screenplay.