A Cure for Wellness

"OK"

A Cure for Wellness Review


It's no surprise that this creep-out horror thriller is packed with whizzy visual invention, since it's directed by Gore Verbinski, who made the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, as well as Rango and The Lone Ranger. And the screenplay by Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) starts well, stirring in some resonant themes amid the growing, gnawing nastiness. Unfortunately, over the film's overlong running time, it just gets sillier and simpler.

The story centres on Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), a rising star workaholic New York broker who's been caught in some dodgy dealings. To redeem himself, he is sent to collect the company's boss (Harry Groener) from a Swiss sanatorium, where he seems to have gone native. Or something. But when Lockhart arrives at the picturesque Alpine castle, things quickly begin to spiral out of control. He's injured in a car crash, forcing him to become a patient at the spa alongside the rather too-cheerful elderly residents, who are undergoing some sort of odd treatment. As Lockhart digs deeper, he runs afoul of the director, Dr Volmer (Jason Isaacs), especially when he befriends the doctor's star patient, the oddly naive Hannah (Mia Goth). And as things get freakier, Lockhart begins to worry that he'll never get out of here.

Verbinski develops a darkly gothic atmosphere from the first frames of the film, and things get increasingly offbeat from there. Some elements are blackly comical, but the overall tone is grotesque, with a special emphasis on slimy eels, which appear alarmingly everywhere Lockhart looks. Meanwhile, Haythe stirs in a convoluted mythology about the mad baron who lived in the castle 200 years earlier. When combined with underlying themes about the stresses of modern-day life and the relative morality of Wall Street bankers, this is all rather intriguing. Unfortunately, these clever textures slip away quickly, leaving little more than a series of repetitive set pieces designed to give the audience the jitters as they remind us of other movies.

Much of what happens is genuinely cringe-worthy, but the effect is badly watered down by the movie's increasingly shallowness. DeHaan and Goth are intriguing enough to hold the interest, and Isaacs is superbly menacing right up until his character crosses a line. But it's all played far too seriously, bogging down so badly in the murky plot that it becomes impossible to care what happens next. It looks good enough to hold the attention, and some of the gross-out moments are truly unnerving. But without a sense of momentum or purpose, these are empty thrills.

Watch the trailer for A Cure For Wellness:



A Cure for Wellness

Facts and Figures

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Run time: 146 mins

In Theaters: Friday 17th February 2017

Box Office Worldwide: $9.5M

Budget: $40M

Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Production compaines: Studio Babelsberg, Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, TSG Entertainment, Blind Wink Productions

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 35%
Fresh: 11 Rotten: 20

IMDB: 7.4 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Producer: , , David Crockett

Starring: as Mr. Lockhart, as Volmer, as Hannah, Douglas Hamilton as 9-Year-Old Lockhart, Adrian Schiller as Deputy Director, as Victoria Watkins, Ashok Mandanna as Ron Nair, as Pembroke, Godehard Giese as Prim Technician, as Frank Hill, Angelina Häntsch as Volmer Institute Staff, Jeff Burrell as Funeral Director, Annette Lober as Volmer Institute Staff, Eric Todd as Josh, Christian Brauer as Technician, Thomas Richter as Water Trainer, Chris Huszar as Wedding Guest, Marko Buzin as Wedding Guest, Ivo Nandi as Enrico, Magnus Krepper as Pieter The Vet, Peter Benedict as Constable, as Bartender, Maggie Steed as Mrs. Abramov, Craig Wroe as Morris, David Bishins as Hank Green, as Hollis, as Mr. Wilson, Tom Flynn as Humphrey, Jason Babinsky as Carl, Johannes Krisch as Caretaker, Rebecca Street as Lockhart's Mother, Susanne Wuest as Volmer Institute Staff

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews