“John Carpenter’s The Ward” Movie Review

Published On: Tue, Jun 14th, 2011

“John Carpenter’s The Ward” Movie Review

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Amber Heard Danielle Panabaker Drive Angry Jared Harris John Carpenter John Carpenter's The Ward Lyndsy Fonseca Mamie Gummer Mika Boorem Mike Gencarelli The Ward The Ward movie review

By: Mike Gencarelli

So “The Ward” marks John Carpenter’s return to the big screen in 10 years. It is definitely a good return but not great. The film plays more thriller than horror but does deliver a few good jumps. The film was made on a very small budget though it does not really show that which is a good thing. I especially like the ending of the film, which seals the deal for me.

The film centers around Kristen (played by “Drive Angry” co-star Amber Heard) who is just admitted to an all-girl mental institution. Once she gets there she starts realizing that things are not right and that girls are turning up missing. Kristen is determined to get to the bottom of the issue and find a way out of the ward.

The gore is film is minimal and really only has one good ‘eye-popping’ scene. The ghost in the film is pretty creepy and does the job of provided some decent spooks. One of the main problems I felt is that the film took about 30 minutes to really get started keep me interested. The other issue was that I felt that some scenes cut early which could have left room for more scares and longer scenes. Overall like I enjoyed the film and even though it is not Carpenter’s best work, I am glad he is back in the game.

Directed by John Carpenter
Starring: Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, Mika Boorem, Jared Harris, Lyndsy Fonseca, Mamie Gummer
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date: July 8th, 2011
Running time: 88 mins

MOVIE MIKES SCORE: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars