Brad reviews SESSION 9 (2001), starring David Caruso and Peter Mullan!

Posted on October 19, 2025 by Bradley Crain

Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) the owner of a company that removes asbestos from old buildings, makes a bid for the work at the Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. In a desperate need for cash in his personal life, Gordon promises that his crew can complete the job in only one week, even though a job like this should normally take at least three weeks. His crew… Phil (David Caruso) is Gordon’s right hand man who tries to keep everyone else in line. This isn’t very easy these days considering that another member of the team is Hank (Josh Lucas), who’s currently “dating” (not the word Hank uses) Phil’s ex-girlfriend. The crew is rounded out by Mike (co-writer Stephen Gevedon), a law school dropout who seems to be way too smart to be doing this kind of work, and Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), Gordon’s nephew. As you might expect, once they begin the job, strange things start happening as the crew members find various items in the gigantic mental institution that once housed up to 2,400 people. Mike finds a box of tapes of nine therapy sessions detailing the case of Mary Hobbes, a patient with many personalities who may have murdered someone decades before. Meanwhile, Hank finds a stash of coins and other valuable items in one of the walls. A gambling addict, Hank goes back late that night when no one is around to collect his discovery. Things don’t go well and Hank doesn’t show up for work the next day. We’re led to believe that Hank has headed off to Florida for “casino school,” and this is where things start really getting weird as the pressure of the job and the strange events seem to be getting to the entire crew. When Jeff spots a very oddly acting Hank in the building a couple of days later, the sinister events at the Danvers State Hospital begin to completely unravel!

Director Brad Anderson’s SESSION 9 is a creepy, slow burn that’s best described as a psychological horror film. It’s one of those movies where you can’t trust what you’re seeing on screen because the story is about the disturbed and damaged human mind. In my opinion, this is the most haunting kind of horror film because there are so many examples in the real world of mentally disturbed people committing horrific acts of violence. My wife has spent the last decade of her nursing career in the area of forensic psychology where she takes care of mentally ill individuals who have committed these types of horrible atrocities, often against the very people in their lives who take care of them. This is real world stuff. And the film’s setting, the actual Danvers State Hospital, also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum, in Danvers, Massachusetts, which operated from 1878 to 1992, adds a lot to the atmospheric feel of dread in the film. The Neo Gothic architecture of the facility, and the labyrinth of tunnels connecting the various buildings are a perfect setting for the creepy elements of Anderson’s story, and he takes full advantage of the location. The story and the setting set the stage for what feels like true terror, and I have to admit that SESSION 9 has stayed with me after my initial viewing.

The cast of SESSION 9 is very effective. Though David Caruso receives top billing, the story really revolves around Gordon Fleming, portrayed by Peter Mullan. I primarily recognized Mullan from his interesting role as Jacob Snell in the excellent Netflix series OZARK, but he’s had quite a career as both an actor (TRAINSPOTTING, THE VANISHING) and director (THE MAGDALENE SISTERS). His quiet, internal performance is a solid anchor for the strange things going on around his crew. Caruso’s character is experiencing his own share of problems in his personal life, and the actor’s edgy intensity is a nice counterbalance to Mullan’s stillness. His life seems to be getting a little out of control and that dynamic works well for the moody paranoia of the film. Of the remaining performances, Josh Lucas seems to fair the best. His character isn’t really all that likable, but he does bring some humor to the role, and it’s ultimately the revelation of his character’s fate that begins to bring the story’s horrifying events to light.

As I mentioned earlier, SESSION 9 is a slow burn of a film. Brad Anderson takes his sweet time setting the story up by introducing us to the dynamic of the main characters and placing them in the spectacular environment of the institution’s decaying buildings. It takes a bit for the doom and gloom to really start kicking in, so it’s possible that impatient or distracted viewers could lose interest as not much seems to be happening. I also wasn’t very surprised when the revelations of the story finally came to light. If you’re paying attention, the end moments of the movie aren’t as big of a “gotcha” as they could have been. But that’s all okay, because the brilliance of SESSION 9 is ultimately the mood it creates and the impending sense of dread we feel for the final discovery of what some of our characters may be capable of. In those aspects, SESSION 9 is a resounding success.

October True Crime: Winter of Frozen Dreams (dir by Eric Mandlebaum)

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2009 film, Winter of Frozen Dreams, opens with a young woman named Barbara Hoffman (Thora Birch) in a Wisconsin courtroom in 1980. She is on trial, having been accused of committing two murders. The jury reads their verdict and the film flashes back three years to show us how how Barbara ended up in that courtroom.

It’s a bit of an odd way to open the film, one that robs the story of any suspense. The story of Barbara Hoffman is a true one but, unlike other true crime stories, it’s not a commonly known one. I had not heard of Barbara Hoffman until I watched this film and, after the film ended, I immediately went to Google to make sure that the film was actually telling the truth when it claimed to be based on a true story. Barbara Hoffman and her trial apparently were a big deal in 1980. (Her trial was the the first murder trial to ever be televised.) But it is now so obscure that it doesn’t even have a Wikipedia entry.

As seen in the film, Barbara Hoffman was a genius. She had a 145 IQ and was the valedictorian of her high school class. She went to college to study chemistry and was doing quite well academically. However, when she got a job answering the phones in a massage parlor, she realized that she could make a lot more money as a sex worker than as a chemist. She dropped out of college before starting her final semester and went to work for a pimp named Ken Curtis (Dean Winters).

Barbara was engaged to two different men. One was Harry Berge (Dan Moran), who has a taste for bondage and being ritually humiliated. At first, his co-workers thought he was kidding when he started introducing the much younger Barbara as being his fiancée but Harry actually signed over all of his property to her and allowed Barbara to take out a life insurance policy on him.

It was Barbara’s other fiancé, a mild-mannered video clerk named Jerry Davies (Brendan Sexton III), who Barbara called on Christmas to tell him that she had discovered Harry’s dead and battered body in her bathroom. Convinced that Harry had been murdered by Ken, Jerry helped Barbara to hide the body in the Wisconsin snow. Of course, even while Jerry was helping Barbara cover up Harry’s death, Barbara was taking out a considerable life insurance policy on him.

After Jerry has an attack of conscience and leads the police to the body, it falls to the pipe-smoking Detective Lulling (Keith Carradine) and his partner (Leo Fitzpatrick) to figure out who was responsible for Harry’s murder. Lulling’s instinct is to suspect Barbara but everyone else seems to think that either Ken or Jerry is the more obvious suspect. After all, Barbara’s a genius. Why would she kill someone?

It’s an interesting story, though Winter of Frozen Dreams is never quite as compelling as one might wish. Some of that is because, despite her genius IQ, Barbara herself never becomes that interesting of a character and Thora Birch never seems to be that invested in her performance. She delivers her lines in a rather flat manner, never really showing the charisma necessary to be convincing as a real-life femme fatale. That said, you do feel sorry for the two men, especially Brendon Sexton III. And Keith Carradine and Leo Fitzpatrick make for an amusing detective team. I almost wish the two of them had starred in their own series, where they traveled the Pacific Northwest and solved small town murders.

Of course, the biggest problem with this movie is that it opens with the verdict so we already know what’s going to happen. We know who is going to die and we know what’s going to happen to Barbara as a result. There’s zero suspense as to how things are going to work out. It’s an error on the part of the filmmakers and an unfortunate one.

Back to School Part II #31: Empire Records (dir by Allan Moyle)

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 1995 film, Empire Records takes place in a fictional record store. The store is located in a state called Delaware, which I’m pretty sure is fictional as well. (Have you ever actually met anyone from Delaware? And don’t say Joe Biden because we all know he’s just a hologram…) Empire Records is a beloved institution, an independent record shop that’s as well-known for its lively employees as its amazing selection of music!

However, things are not perfect in the world of Empire Records. The store is owned by a heartless businessman named Mitchell (Ben Bode). Mitchell hates Empire Records and usually just lets the store manager, former drummer and Scott Stapp-lookalike Joe (Anthony LaPaglia), run the place. However, Mitchell has decided to sell Empire Records to the soulless and corporate Music Town franchise. Oh my God! If Empire Records becomes a Music Town, the employees will have to wear orange aprons! They won’t be allowed to wear anything too revealing or have any visible piercings! And nobody will be allowed to dance in the aisles!

Over the course of just one day, can the staff of Empire Records find a way to save their store!?

It would be easier if not for the fact that a hundred other things happen over the course of that same day. A shoplifter (Brendan Sexton III, who co-starred in the very different Welcome to the Dollhouse the same year that he appeared here) keeps trying to steal stuff and, at one point, he even shows up at the store with a gun! Is it possible that he just wants to join the Empire Records family and is just hoping that he’ll be offered a job?

And then there’s Rex Manning! That’s right — it’s Rex Manning Day! Who is Rex Manning? Well, he used to star on a show called The Family Way and his nickname is Sexy Rexy. He has truly memorable hair. Middle-aged people love him but most young people think that he’s a joke. Rex is going to signing copies of his latest album at Empire Records and you better believe that he’s brought blue cheese salad dressing with him. There’s a reason they call him Sexy Rexy and it’s not just that Rex Harrison is no longer around to object. Rex is played by Maxwell Caulfield. Caulfield steals every scene that he appears in and it’s hard not to feel that he’s playing a version of who he could have become if Grease 2 hadn’t bombed at the box office.

And, of course, all the members of Empire Records staff have their own personal problems to deal with. Fortunately, since this is a breezy and comedic movie, nobody has problem that can’t be solved within ten to fifteen minutes.

For instance, Debra (Robin Tunney) is suicidal and shows up for work with a big bandage on her wrist. After clocking in, she promptly shaves her head. Debra is depressed and troubled but guess what? All she needs is for her friends to hold a mock funeral in the break room. (And who is taking care of the customers while everyone else is eulogizing Debra? Probably Andre but we’ll talk more about him in a moment…)

Berko (Coyote Shivers) appears to be Debra’s boyfriend but he doesn’t seem to be that good of a boyfriend. Berko’s a musician and he wants to make it big. Solution to his problem: an impromptu concert on the roof of Empire Records! And you know what? Coyote Shivers was not the world’s best actor but the song he performs, Sugar High, will stay in your head long after you hear it.

Eddie (James ‘Kimo’ Williams) has no problems, probably because he also works at a pizza place and he makes the best brownies in the world. Except, they’re not ordinary brownies … hint hint hint….

Mark (Ethan Embry) only has one problem: his character, as written, is pretty much interchangeable with Eddie’s. But, fortunately, Embry gives such a totally weird performance that you never forget who he is.

Lucas (Rory Cochrane) tried to help Joe out by taking the previous night’s cash receipts to Atlantic City. Lucas, however, is not a very good gambler and ends up losing all of the money at the result of one roll of the dice. Lucas’s problem is that Joe is going to kill him. The solution is to spend almost the entire movie sitting on the break room couch and making snarky comments.

Gina’s problem is that everyone thinks that she’s a slut, mostly because that’s how the character is written. Fortunately, Gina is played by Renee Zellweger and she brings a lot of depth to an otherwise underwritten role. One of the film’s best moments is when Gina and Berko perform together because Zellweger really throws herself into the song. Watching that scene always makes me want to sing along with them. It’s funny that Zellweger has even a stronger Texas accent than I do and yet, she can really sing while I mostly certainly cannot.

Then there’s Andre! Andre’s problem is that he ends up getting cut out of the film. However, he’s still listed in the credits, which is how we know that he was played by Tobey Maguire.

A.J. (Johnny Whitworth) is an artist. How can you not love a struggling artist? His problem is that he’s in love with Corey (Liv Tyler) but Corey is obsessed with losing her virginity to Rex Manning.

Actually, that’s not the only problem that Corey has. Corey, who is in high school but has recently been accepted to Harvard, is a driven overachiever. Occasionally, we see her popping a pill. Oh my God, is she using speed!? Of course. she is. How else is she going to be able to both study late and maintain her figure? If I don’t seem too concerned about Corey’s pills, it’s because I pretty much take the same thing to keep my ADD under control. They’ve worked wonders for me!

But not so much for Corey. In fact, they cause Corey to kinda freak out and attack a cut-out of Rex Manning. Fortunately, the solution to her drug problem is pretty simple. She just has to splash some water on her face.

As for her virginity problem, well … it is Rex Manning Day! Judging from this film and Stealing Beauty, it would appear that film goers in the mid-90s were obsessed with Liv Tyler losing her virginity.

Anyway, there are like a hundred overly critical things that I could say about Empire Records. I’ve seen this film a number of time and there are certain scenes that always make cringe — like Debra’s funeral or when Joe starts banging away on his drum set. A lot of the dialogue is overwritten and the whole things occasionally seems to be trying too hard.

And yet, I can’t dislike Empire Records. In fact, I actually really like it a lot. It’s just such an earnest and sincere movie that you can’t help but enjoy it. Meanwhile, the cast has so much energy and chemistry that they’re just fun to watch. This is one of those films where it’s best just to shut off your mind, say “Damn the man!,” and enjoy what you’re watching for what it is.

Add to that, I love that ending. Everyone dancing on top of the store? Perfect.

Back to School Part II #30: Welcome to the Dollhouse (dir by Todd Solondz)

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

1995’s Welcome to The Dollhouse is a seriously dark movie.

That really shouldn’t be too surprising. The film was written and directed by Todd Solondz, a filmmaker who goes out of his way to showcase the darkest corners of human existence. For that matter, the film stars Heather Matarazzo. Matarazzo won an Independent Spirit Award for playing Dawn Wiener, a 12 year-old outcast who is nicknamed “Wiener Dog” and essentially spends Welcome to the Dollhouse being tormented by almost everyone in her life. According to Wikipedia, upon winning the award, Matarzzo announced that she hoped to spend her career playing characters “whom are ostracized for some reason.”

And, if nothing else, Dawn is certainly ostracized.

There’s been a lot of movies that have claimed to be about teen outcasts. Whenever you watch those films, one thing you immediately notice is that the “outcasts” rarely seem to truly be outcasts. Instead, they’re often portrayed as artistic types who just need to take off their glasses, let down their hair, and go on a shopping spree. For instance, Rachael Leigh Cook was an outcast in She’s All That but it turned out that all she needed to do was go out on a date with Freddie Prinze, Jr. Sissy Spacek, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Emily Bergl all played outcasts in different versions of Carrie but, fortunately, they could always use their psychic powers to kill all the bullies at their school. Unfortunately, Dawn doesn’t have psychic powers and it’s doubtful that even dating Freddie Prinze, Jr. would help her out.

There’s a scene in Welcome to The Dollhouse in which Dawn witnesses a group of bullies shoving another outcast into a locker. When Dawn steps forward to ask him if he’s okay, her fellow outcast snaps, “Leave me alone, Weiner Dog!” and then runs off. Dawn is the outcast that even the other outcasts make fun of.

The entire film is pretty much told from her point of view. It’s a true journey into the life of an outcast and a chance to see what life looks like when you’re on the outside looking in. We watch as her family ignores her and instead lavishes their attention on her bratty younger sister, Missy (Daria Kalinina). When Missy is briefly kidnapped (largely because Dawn neglected to let Missy know that their mother wouldn’t be able to pick her up after ballet class), Dawn even goes, by herself, to New York City and searches for her. Dawn wants to be the hero of this story but not only does she not find her sister but, when Dawn returns, she discovers that no one even noticed that she was gone.

Dawn does have two friends. One is a fifth grader whose friendship she quickly loses. The other is Brandon (Brendon Sexton III), an angry delinquent who, before becoming her friend, tries to rape her. Brandon, who has a horrific and abusive home life, lights a joint at one point. Dawn tells him that she doesn’t smoke but then earnestly adds that she does think marijuana should be legal.

Dawn does have an older brother named Mark (Matthew Faber). Mark is as nerdy as his sister but he appears to have made peace with it. (Either that or he’s so used to being on the outside that he doesn’t even notice anymore.) Mark assures Dawn that things will get better but it’ll be a few years. He also starts a band, which leads to Dawn getting a huge crush on the lead singer, Steve (Eric Mabius). In fact, Steve is so handsome and charismatic (in a teenage rock star wannabe sort of way) that Dawn doesn’t even realize that, during the rare times that he does talk to her, he’s actually talking down to her…

Welcome to the Dollhouse is one of those films that you watch and you keep waiting for that one moment that Dawn is going to be allowed some sort of victory. You wait for her to get a compliment. You wait for her to make a new friend. You wait for her to smile after coming to some sort of sudden realization. And it never happens. If anything, Dawn is more miserable at the end of the movie than she was at the beginning.

In the end, you realize that her only triumph comes from the fact that she’s managed to survive and she now has a better understanding of just how much life is going to suck. It’s not exactly a happy movie. It gets even worse if you know that Solondz’s 2004 film, Palindromes, opens with Dawn’s funeral. (Dawn, we learn, committed suicide after getting pregnant in college.)

And yet, Welcome to the Dollhouse remains compulsively watchable. Heather Matarazzo does such a good job as Dawn that you find yourself rewatching and hoping things turn out differently. Whenever I watch Welcome to the Dollhouse, I always think to myself that I would have been nice to Dawn if I had known her. Of course, that’s probably not true. No one was nice to Dawn in the movie and no one would probably be nice to her in real life. At the best, if I had gone to school with Dawn Weiner, I probably would have just patted myself on the back for not being mean to her face.

What sets Welcome to the Dollhouse apart from other teen films is that Todd Solondz is willing to admit this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhXGDDN4PMI