#1 ·
Session 9 (2001) - IMDb
Session 9 - Trailer
So, I finally sat down to watch this... it's a solid psychological thriller with some heavy horror vibes—some people even call it straight-up horror—but I’d been putting it off forever. Honestly, I just didn't think the premise sounded all that original, even if the cast had some big names attached (though, let's be real, the acting wasn't always up to their usual level). My own biases definitely played a part here... probably just being burnt out from all those similar movies lately—you know, the whole Paranormal Activity wave—that ended up being a total waste of time. Anyway, since there wasn't much else to do last night, I decided to fix my mistake. Long story short? It actually blew me away.
The setup is pretty simple—a crew of contractors gets hired to clear out a section of an old, shuttered mental asylum (basically ripping out asbestos tiles), and things start getting weird. What keeps it from being just another mediocre flick is how they handle the characters... they're actually interesting, and the acting is decent enough—David Caruso is surprisingly solid when he's given actual room to work with. Plus, it avoids those typical slasher tropes and cheap jumpscares, opting instead to lean into the psychological side of things. Instead of gallons of blood, you get these eerie empty hallways and crumbling rooms... there's this part where a character finds recordings from a past session with a former patient that really stands out. It's also a huge plus that it doesn't constantly talk to the audience or rely on "BOO!" moments; it stays vague, which makes the final, relatively unexpected twist feel totally natural and well-constructed... quite intriguing, actually.
If I had to nitpick, you can tell the movie was originally intended to be something else entirely. The framing sometimes suggests a different vibe than what's actually happening on screen, and you can definitely see the tight budget at play—there's some improvisation in certain spots and a few missing explanations (which isn't a dealbreaker if you aren't the type who needs every single detail spelled out for them). Some of the dialogue also leans you toward thinking the story is heading in one direction, when it's clearly aiming elsewhere... it just feels like parts of it were meant for a completely different film.
I have to give credit where it's due, though—the biggest win here is that it was filmed on location at the actual Danvers asylum, which obviously helped with the low budget 🙂 and makes everything feel incredibly authentic once you see it. It's a shame they didn't use more exterior shots, but even what we get is enough to give the whole thing a sense of weight and quality.
Definitely worth a look if you're into psychological thrillers or horror.