While heading off for home one night, a psychiatrist encounters a ghostly young woman, who causes her to black out. After awakening, she learns that she has been imprisoned in her own asylum for apparently butchering her husband.

I hate to sound like an insensitive jerk. Oh hell, that’s not true. I make it a point to never be petty or needlessly cruel, (or John Simon-esque, as I call it) but I just Loves being a jerk!

Halle Berry’s widespread appeal leaves me totally befuddled. I just don’t see it. As an actress, she leaves a lot to be desired. I find her totally unconvincing in just about every role she takes. Her performances are just that, not laughably horrible or even totally distracting. Just painfully, obviously, artificial. I just never believe even for a second that she is the character she’s pretending to be. As for her sex-symbol status, well let's be fair here, attraction is subjective. I’ll certainly concede that she’s good-looking in a “cute girl that works at the library” or “hot coworker” sort of way, but internationally lusted-after sex goddess? Don’t make me laugh.

So, what the hell does this have to do with my review of this movie? Well, on one level the only real appeal of this film for most people is that it stars Halle Berry. Other than that, it’s just another in a long line of recently made cookie-cutter horror thrillers with crap endings. On another level, I just really wanted something to talk about at the start of this review, seeing how the main selling point of this shallow and sloppy little creepshow is something along the lines of “Dude, Halle Berry is hot! Go see our ghost movie. Now!”

The turnout of Dark Castle productions has improved in recent years. They’ve gone from vomiting on the memory of one of the greatest b-movie directors of all time with their atrocious ‘House on Haunted Hill’ remake, to merely insulting the intelligence of their audience. Okay, maybe any rube who lines up for a DC production expecting genuine scares doesn’t have the keenest analytical mind. Still, it would be a nice service to the general public not to go about constructing half-assed thrillers the plots of which fall apart under any serious level of examination. Making a movie is a lot of hard work. Let's write a few stories that are worth the effort, people!

Much like ‘The Forgotten’, the writer of this film had an excellent premise ( doctor held in own asylum as murderess) but being a hack, had no idea where to go with it. The result is a flick with an intriguing first act but a middle and ending so derivative and discursive that it makes you feel as if the writer started plucking lines and plot elements out of random screenplays and short stories. “Let's see, what’ll happen if I mix page 23 of ‘Ringu’ with this chunk of the second act of ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and stir in a few of the red herrings from an old Argento film. Ok the movie’s long enough now, let's shoot!”

At this point, I will offer a spoiler warning.

In order to buy the plot of the film, we must accept the facts that one of the world’s finest psychologists doesn’t recognize that her husband, the man she is closest to in life, is a sexual serial killer. Man, I’d have to hate her for an analyst!

 You know, next time I’m committed.

Also, we learn that one of the patients is being repeatedly and violently raped, but detailed medical examinations preformed by the staff show absolutely no evidence of this.

MAN! It’s not just her! Everyone who works at this feckin' asylum is incompetent!

On the whole, the movie isn’t much better itself. There’s a few creepy moments, and the story is interesting (until it chokes to death on its own lack of purpose) but the thing barely rises to the heights of simple mediocrity .

And keep in mind, I’m making a concentrated effort to be generous