A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.A hospice nurse working at a spooky New Orleans plantation home finds herself entangled in a mystery involving the house's dark past.
- Awards
- 5 nominations total
Fahnlohnee R. Harris
- Hallie
- (as Fahnlohnee Harris)
Trula M. Marcus
- Nurse Trula
- (as Trula Marcus)
Thomas Uskali
- Robertson Thorpe
- (as Tom Uskali)
Jeryl Prescott
- Mama Cecile
- (as Jeryl Prescott Sales)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe swamp behind the Devereaux house was created with CGI effects. The actual house used in this movie, Felicity Plantation, is situated inland in St. James Parish, and is surrounded by farmland. The fictional Devereaux house was situated in Terrebonne Parish, which is coastal and swampy.
- GoofsViolet rides up in the elevator when all power is out.
- Quotes
Caroline Ellis: I told you I wanted a Black one this time.
Luke: You know the Black ones never stay. Beggars can't be choosers. I think it suits you beautifully. It's better than Violet, or Grace, even. We'll get used to it. We always do.
- Crazy creditsThere are no opening credits.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Making of 'the Skeleton Key' (2005)
- SoundtracksDo Whatcha Wanna
Written by Keith Frazier, Philip Frazier and Kermit Ruffins
Performed by ReBirth Brass Band (as The Rebirth Brass Band)
Featured review
Good performances all round. Good locations. Quite a lot of restraint on the writer's/director's part, building the chills in a more classic 70's way than out-and-out ghosts and scares. In fact, a few more scares after the half-way mark would have been welcome; if the ghosts were used any less, they wouldn't be in the film! The reason I've only rated a 6/10, is because it's so predictable. If you've seen any thriller set in the Deep South, you've seen this one. The background story is textbook 'New Orleans' voodoo vengeance, the characters' motives are obvious from the second they appear on screen, and the solid but pedestrian cinematography means that the locations are massively underused. If you've got a decrepit colonial mansion with antique furniture, surrounded by swamps and trees draped in that Lianna/lichen stuff, you've got to be pretty boring NOT to make it all seem brooding & scary - which is unfortunately what they've done.
Kate Hudson is really switched-on, and not your average dumb heroine. There's even one (small) moment where I think I saw a conscious attempt to subvert the conventions and have her do something quite intelligent while in a perilous situation. It's not a big thing, but I noticed. John Hurt is surprisingly effective, really 'working' his eyes and body, considering he's had a stroke (in the film). Gena Rowlands and Peter Saarsgard are fine, but their performances are hampered by the 'all too obvious' script and direction. Joy Bryant is gorgeous but her character is nothing more than a device to give Kate slightly more personality and a convenient person who can explain about hoodoo/voodoo.
Before I shut up, it's important to say something about the ending (without giving anything away). I'm not talking about the 'third act' - that's a bit OTT, as often happens in horror/thrillers - I mean the final scene.. Although the film as a whole is predictable and doesn't quite live up to its potential, the final scenes wrap up the story nicely and will put a grin on your face.
If you've not seen a lot of horror/thriller films, you'd probably give Skeleton Key a 7 or 8 out of 10 - it's coherent, not too long, and fairly enjoyable (like I say, Kate Hudson & Gena Rowlands are really good). But I have seen a lot to compare it to, so 6/10 it is. Which is still worth watching on a dull afternoon, or on a rental.
Kate Hudson is really switched-on, and not your average dumb heroine. There's even one (small) moment where I think I saw a conscious attempt to subvert the conventions and have her do something quite intelligent while in a perilous situation. It's not a big thing, but I noticed. John Hurt is surprisingly effective, really 'working' his eyes and body, considering he's had a stroke (in the film). Gena Rowlands and Peter Saarsgard are fine, but their performances are hampered by the 'all too obvious' script and direction. Joy Bryant is gorgeous but her character is nothing more than a device to give Kate slightly more personality and a convenient person who can explain about hoodoo/voodoo.
Before I shut up, it's important to say something about the ending (without giving anything away). I'm not talking about the 'third act' - that's a bit OTT, as often happens in horror/thrillers - I mean the final scene.. Although the film as a whole is predictable and doesn't quite live up to its potential, the final scenes wrap up the story nicely and will put a grin on your face.
If you've not seen a lot of horror/thriller films, you'd probably give Skeleton Key a 7 or 8 out of 10 - it's coherent, not too long, and fairly enjoyable (like I say, Kate Hudson & Gena Rowlands are really good). But I have seen a lot to compare it to, so 6/10 it is. Which is still worth watching on a dull afternoon, or on a rental.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- La llave maestra
- Filming locations
- Bayou Gauche, Louisiana, USA(trip to see hoodoo lady)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $43,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $47,907,715
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,057,945
- Aug 14, 2005
- Gross worldwide
- $93,983,911
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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