Session 9

Session 9 [2001]: An asbestos removal crew must fulfill a bid to clear out the Danvers State Insane Asylum in less than a week. With a giant bonus at stake, tensions are high among the crew members to get the job done on time. But of course, it’s hard to focus on something like asbestos whenever you’re in a fascinating/creepy place such as an insane asylum. As more information is uncovered on a specific patient’s case, things start getting crazy.

Is this genius, or garbage? Session 9 is one of the greatest horror films of all time, not only because of the fact that it’s genuinely creepy. The quality of the film can dip into cheesy b-movie levels, but it still ends up being an insanely creepy film in the end. The film looks very cheap — being shot at 24 frames-per-second, making the first and second act look like an episode of Dirty Jobs. But if you can accept some cheesy dialogue and performances in the first two-thirds of the film, then the ending is something creepy, intriguing, and haunting.

Josh Lucas with a mustache. The cast in the film is good for the most part. Peter Mullan is amazing in the third act of the film. Josh Lucas is trying not to be Josh Lucas, and David Caruso delivers one of the most underrated one-liners of all time.

It’s about the atmosphere, not jump scares. Although Session 9 might not be as polished as other highly regarded horror films — relatively worse than a found footage film, aesthetically. The setting is absolutely creepy, keeping you constantly guessing. The film can easily get boring, but instead of switching to something else, it leaves you guessing whether something is going to happen in the end. It’s a real slow burn.