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Skeleton Key, The
Universal Pictures


6.2

based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 54 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity and thematic material

Starring Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, John Hurt, Peter Sarsgaard, Joy Bryant, Maxine Barnett, Fahnlohnee R. Harris, and Marion Zinser

This contemporary supernatural thrilled, set largely in the dark atmospheric backwoods just outside of New Orleans, stars Hudson as a live-in nurse hired to care for an elderly woman's (Rowlands) ailing husband (Hurt) in their home...a foreboding and decrepit mansion in the Louisiana delta. (Universal Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Horror \| Mystery \| Romance \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Ehren Kruger
DIRECTED BY:	Iain Softley
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 15, 2005 Video: November 15, 2005 Theatrical: August 12, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	104 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Entertainment Weekly Scott Brown

For anyone zombified by creaky thriller clichés, Skeleton is a fine little shot in the head.

The Hollywood Reporter Michael Rechtshaffen

An elegantly mounted ghost story that's steeped plenty of dank Louisiana atmosphere.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Tightly plotted and suspenseful enough to keep you guessing until the satisfying, unexpected end, which is worth suspending disbelief for. After all, as they point out in the movie, "It doesn't work if you don't believe it."

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

The appeal of The Skeleton Key lies not in its plot but in its attention to detail, and the way director Iain Softley (still on probation for "K-PAX," but nevertheless the guy who did "Backbeat") luxuriates in the deeply textured sights and sounds of Louisiana.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

It's far from strikingly original, but it's well-acted, skillfully plotted and moderately chilling, and it's something slightly different in the haunted-house genre.

Chicago Tribune Jessica Reaves

For all its dark, Gothic intentions and supernatural twists, it lacks the emotional and intellectual punch of similarly themed films, most notably Alejandro Amenábar's "The Others."

USA Today Mike Clark

Director Iain Softley employs intriguing camera angles to heighten some of the suspense. It's too bad the movie goes over the top and falls apart in the last third.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

One of those movies that explains too much while it is explaining too little, and leaves us with a surprise at the end that makes more sense the less we think about it. But the movie's mastery of technique makes up for a lot.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

I didn't believe most of what I saw until the last 20 minutes, and whaddaya know? This thriller finally cast the spell it had been trying to achieve and lifted itself above the pack of late-summer, clean-out-the-studio-attic releases.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Delivers its share of cheap scares but never unlocks the door to the creepiness that would have made this is memorable movie-going experience.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Stylishly spooky and featuring a hammy, cigarette-sucking performance from Gena Rowlands.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

The soundtrack is guaranteed to send chills where they'll be most effective, and the ultimate resolution is a real shocker. While it doesn't explain away everything that's happened, it comes deliciously close.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

No director yet has found the best use for Hudson, the role that will tap those terrifying and thrilling reserves that are just lying in wait. But Softley comes closer than anybody has.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

One of the most enjoyably inane movies of the season, this faux Southern Gothic offers an embarrassment of geek pleasures.

Miami Herald Connie Ogle

Neither scary nor thrilling, although it's reasonably entertaining despite an abundance of haunted-house clichés, the usual inexplicable scary-movie behavior and an almost-naked John Hurt.

Washington Post Jen Chaney

It's all ultimately made watchable by the exceptional cast ... and a story that, despite some unsavory racial undertones, holds the audience's interest even when it veers toward the downright silly.

Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky

Ultimately, the filmmakers build toward a reasonably satisfying "Twilight Zone" climax, only they crawl toward the ho-hum ending; the movie appears to have been written and edited in a swamp too.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

The Skeleton Key takes its time making a slow, creeping ascent, but once it starts plummeting downward, Softley keeps things moving at a furious pace, and both Hudson and Rowlands enjoy surrendering themselves to the grandiloquent lunacy of it all.

Variety Robert Koehler

Stirring up a humid Gothic mood and amassing a gifted roster of actors, The Skeleton Key is unable to ward off the nasty spirits of formula screenwriting.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

A very goofy movie that makes sense only to the screenwriter and his next of kin.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

A fine, solid cast and fully exploited settings cannot make up for the by-the-numbers screenplay, which is filled with all-too-convenient plot points.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

It has the wild, rancid atmosphere of a garbage bag that a raccoon has ripped open.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

The only thing to do, then, is settle back and appreciate Hudson's no-nonsense performance, an appealingly mature turn that makes you hope she has turned her back on second-rate romantic fluff. (Whether second-rate horror represents actual improvement is another matter.)

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

After getting off to a decent, somewhat muted start, Skeleton Key just gets sillier and sillier and sillier until it's yet another one of those stupid, noisy thrillers where everyone's running around in a house, yelling and falling down, and you're mostly wondering why nobody bothered to call the cops.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

The surprise ending is neatly done, but the characters are so thin that waiting around for it is no fun whatsoever.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

Isn’t exactly dull, but it isn’t scary either.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Hokey, slow-moving thriller.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Strictly summer schlock.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Creaky in its mechanics and numbingly protracted, this is basement B horror that fancies itself a prestige chiller.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub

A well-intentioned horror film that is weighted down by stellar cast members who for the most part act as if they don't want to be there.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

A top-notch cast was gathered and then wasted in this atmospheric but prosaic hoodoo spooker.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Wholly devoid of suspense or chills, The Skeleton Key simply bides its time until its big final plot twist, but the filmmakers don't seem to realize that a second-rate twist can't redeem a third-rate fright flick.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 54 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Dez M. gave it an8:
Suspenseful movie and pretty good acting, but if you've seen Burnt Offerings (from 1976) and Die Die My Darling! (from the 1960s), you've already seen it. It is not an original movie -- it is a remake.

jon r gave it a5:
I really liked it at first but it's one of those movies that tries to be original and shock you with a plot twist. Unfortunatly it just gave too many clues and it's very easy to figue out what's going on and it's annoying to watch the clueless protagonist. At least it gets props for a unstereotypical ending.

Marco M. gave it an8:
Not the scariest film out there but the intriguing storyline makes up for it. I absolutely detested/adored the ending. It’s so frustrating yet so good. Definitely recommend it.

Wally S. gave it an8:
Suspensful and morraly correct, a product of fear with surprising sequences that will leave you haunted, masterful work, the climax is stunning!

Joseph S gave it a1:
Its like unintentionally funny multiplied itself by unintentionally funny and they canceled eachother out.

Robert R. gave it an8:
A very well-done thriller. One of the more underrated films of 2005. First of all, you have some supremely talented actors who could probably make any script work. Also, the screenplay is very intelligent. The characters are fairly fleshed out, and the story never veers over the top. The twist is a corkscrew in and of itself, strengthening everything that came before it. In fact, it may take moviegoers two viewings to realize it's true power. To top it all off, the movie is beautifully designed and photographed. A solid rating from me.

io m. gave it a3:
Uh, no; the critics are pretty much right— in fact, maybe too generous. It's not even slightly good. Unfortunately, it would've been better just by the full filming of Kate's yayas. Yep. Stay away.

Skeleton Key, The Universal Pictures

Skeleton Key, The
Universal Pictures