Ashley Carter
Published: September 14, 2005
“The Skeleton Key,” explores the history of hoodoo, a magical religion among slaves of the old south that still is used by many in the underground of southern culture; this is practiced by past inhabitants of the house in which the movie takes place.
The film star Kate Hudson who’s character is portrayed as a “bleeding heart,” that wants to make sure that the elderly have someone to care about them as individuals and not just as extra space.
Set in the New Orleans area where an elderly man is in dire need of a live-in caretaker, Kate’s character is set against the obstacle of the lady of the house not warmly welcoming her, and feels her presence is a little more than an inconvenience to the woman!
This Hitchcock style film has a suspense that misleads the watcher into feelings of comfort, but the atmospheric house keeps them knowing that something is going on that’s not supposed to be.
Along with the eerie house, suspense is heightened by the surrounding inhabitants, and the awareness of the underground culture that practices hoodoo.
For some reason, the actual plot of the movie changes around a lot. Maybe this was meant to keep the watcher guessing, but this only made me feel that it had tangibles that ran away from the point.
The characters in the film were very interesting and revealed several oddities that made for entertaining surprises throughout the movie. The actors and actresses that were chosen played their parts superbly, in that the watcher felt the emotions and position of each of the characters.
Kate Hudson pulls the viewer into feeling her concern and suspicions till the very end; showing that she was the perfect pick to set the mood. Overall I wasn’t particularly impressed by it, and don’t think it will stay in the mind of the public for very long.