A Cure for Wellness

Plot synopsis:
In the opening scene, a man named Morris (Craig Wroe) is working late in his office. He starts to experience pain in his chest. Morris goes to get some water when the pain gets worse. He then suffers a heart attack and collapses on the floor as he dies.We meet Mr. Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) on a train headed to work. He is very much into his work and seems rude and careless to others. Lockhart goes to a meeting with the higher-ups - Hank Green (David Bishins), Hollis (Lisa Banes), and Wilson (Carl Lumbly). They review a note sent by the company's CEO, Roland Pembroke (Harry Groener), who was supposed to be away for two weeks at a spa in the Swiss Alps, but has not returned since, and as the note indicates, he appears to have had some sort of breakdown. Green shows Lockhart an illegal document he handed in that is now under investigation by the SEC. Lockhart is ordered to bring Pembroke back unless he wants to face the penalty for his action.In a flashback, we see Lockhart visiting his elderly mother (Rebecca Street) at a retirement home. She carries a small music box with a ballerina that she says is dreaming, only she doesn't know that she is in a dream. Lockhart's mother dies and is cremated before his departure, and he kept the ballerina.Upon arriving in Switzerland, Lockhart takes a ride from a taxi driver named Enrico (Ivo Nandi). While riding up the hill to the spa, a villager chucks a drink at the car. Enrico explains that the villagers have a bad history with the people that live on the hill. There is a story of a baron who wanted to protect his bloodline by marrying his sister. After learning she was infertile, the baron began performing experiments on the villagers, which led to them revolting and burning the baron's sister alive.Lockhart arrives at the spa, but visiting hours have just ended. He finds Pembroke in the bath house where he goes for a swim. Lockhart urges Pembroke to go home with him. Pembroke appears fine and not interested in leaving. Lockhart leaves with Enrico and tells him to take him to a hotel to make a phone call since he has no service on the hill.Another flashback shows a young Lockhart in a car with his father. His father drove over a bridge on a rainy day as he hears on the radio that stocks have plummeted and a bunch of jobs are gone. He pulls over and walks over to the edge of the bridge. Lockhart watched as his father jumped after leaving the boy in the car.On the way to the hotel, a deer runs out from the woods and into the road. Enrico hits the deer, which gets stuck in the windshield and causes the car to swerve off the road and crash into a ditch.Lockhart awakens three days later in a room at the spa. He meets the spa's director, Dr. Heinreich Volmer (Jason Isaacs), who points out that he suffered a broken leg as a result of the accident. Volmer says he notified Green about the accident. He tells Lockhart to try out the spa's treatments during his stay. He is put to stay in a room where he hears the toilet handle rattling by itself. Lockhart also takes a drink of water and finds a parasitic creature floating in the glass.Lockhart meets three patients - Frank Hill (Tomas Norstrom), Ron Nair (Ashok Mandanna), and Victoria Watkins (Celia Imrie). Watkins in particular enjoys crossword puzzles. The three of them all seem perfectly pleased with their treatments. Lockhart then meets Hannah (Mia Goth), a young woman who considers herself a special case. She and several other patients, plus Volmer and other staff members, are frequently seen taking vitamin droplets from a blue bottle.Lockhart undergoes treatment inside a water tank. The water fills up and the orderly tending to Lockhart gets distracted. The tank fills up with eels, causing him to panic. Lockhart rises and has his breathing tube pulled off by an eel. He nearly drowns until he gets the tank to open and spill the water out.Watkins relays the baron story to Lockhart when he brings it up to her. She mentions that the spa was built on the remains of his castle after the villagers burnt it down. Watkins says that the baby was cut out of the baron's sister's womb and then thrown into an aquifer, but it survived. She also mentions that "She doesn't know..."Lockhart gives Hannah his ballerina figurine in exchange for a bike ride into town. The two go together and stop at a local tavern. Lockhart buys himself and Hannah beers and runs into Enrico, who survived the crash and was given a new car with money that the spa gave him. Hannah stays to listen to music and do a dance by herself in front of the other patrons. Lockhart comes across a barn with a mute child who is drawing the castle fire. His father Pieter (Magnus Krepper) approaches Lockhart. Lockhart asks questions regarding the spa and its history. Pieter then goes to a cow that is ailing and ready to die. He cuts the cow's stomach open, and out spills a stillborn calf and some eels. When Lockhart rejoins Hannah at the bar, he sees a punk dancing next to Hannah. Lockhart tries to get him away from her, but the punk attacks Lockhart. He is saved by Volmer, who arrives to pick up Lockhart and Hannah.Lockhart gets in touch with Green, who demands to know what happened with him and Pembroke. Lockhart mentions that Volmer called them about the accident, but Green knows nothing about the accident until Lockhart just mentioned it. He orders Lockhart to return to New York with Pembroke within the next 24 hours.Lockhart's tooth comes loose and he must pull it out himself. He brings it to a staff member who places it in water. Lockhart then goes off to continue looking for answers. He sneaks past the staff as he goes through several wings. He comes across one room where several patients, including Pembroke, are kept inside water tanks, appearing dead. He also finds an underground area with a pool where dead bodies are dumped in and fed to eels. One of those dead bodies happens to be Mrs. Watkins. When Lockhart tries to return to his room, he is found by the Caretaker (Johannes Krisch) along with Volmer and another staff member. Lockhart mentions the issue with his tooth. He is taken into a room and strapped down as he has a drill forced through his front tooth.Lockhart escapes the spa and heads into town to report Volmer's experiments to a police officer. Volmer and his staff member arrive to bring Lockhart back. Lockhart mentions the tanks and how he saw Pembroke. Pembroke then emerges alive and well, backing up Volmer's claims that Lockhart threatened Pembroke and saying he would bring him back to New York by force if necessary. Lockhart has no choice but to return with Volmer.After undergoing more treatments, Lockhart starts to act and think like Pembroke in that he believes he is not well and must stay for a cure. He has a moment of clarity while writing a note to his employers where he thinks to himself that "no man can unsee the truth". Meanwhile, Hannah is using the pool and has her first period. Eels start swimming near her, but then they start swimming in a perfect circle around her. Lockhart then breaks a glass and uses a shard to cut open his cast, revealing that his leg was never broken. He runs out of his room and finds Hannah. She is panicked and hits Lockhart in the face as he tries to help her. Hannah runs and finds Volmer in a room where he, the staff, and some patients are having dinner. Lockhart runs in and starts to tell everyone that Volmer is a liar and is the one responsible for everyone being sick due to whatever is in the water, which is responsible for making their teeth fall out as a side effect. Patients start to stand, which Lockhart thinks is in support of him, but they are all actually going against him as they slowly approach him saying that they are unwell. They all crowd around Lockhart until he passes out.Lockhart wakes up in a chamber where he is immobile. Volmer forces a tube down his throat and uses the eel-filled liquid to put into his body where the eels filter out the "vitamins" that Volmer has all his patients take.Lockhart has his teeth fixed and appears to be changed just like the rest of the patients, stuck in a delusion that he is unwell. Volmer throws a party that night with the patients and staff. He even gives Hannah a new dress for the occasion. In his room, Lockhart starts to come to his senses as he thinks about when Watkins told him about the baron. He finds a portrait that was taken a while after the fire. There is also a note saying "SHE DOESN'T KNOW". Lockhart breaks the portrait and uses a glass to magnify one subject in the picture - a man with bandages all over his face. What the portrait didn't show was the man holding hands with a little girl - Hannah.Volmer brings Hannah into a room by the transfusion wing. There, he has kept a portrait of his sister, who was also Hannah's mother. Volmer ties Hannah to the bed and prepares to rape her. Lockhart breaks out of his room and first encounters the Caretaker, who attacks him until Lockhart causes steam to blow in his face before he bludgeons the Caretaker to death. Lockhart then finds Volmer and saves Hannah. Lockhart and Volmer fight, wherein Volmer pulls off the skin from his face to reveal himself as the hideously scarred baron. The "vitamins" have been keeping him and Hannah alive for well over a century. Lockhart leads Volmer into a trap where he dropped a bunch of fuel, leading Lockhart to set a fire. Volmer catches fire and then sets fire to the curtains as he tries to extinguish himself. The fire then spreads up toward the rest of the castle. Lockhart tries to free Hannah, but Volmer attacks him. Volmer drags Lockhart near the eel pool and prepares to kill him, but Hannah takes a shovel and swings it down into Volmer's head. He stumbles backwards and falls into the pool to become eel food.Lockhart and Hannah escape just as the patients and staff flee the burning castle. They take Hannah's bike and ride away. On the road, they are stopped by a car. Green, Hollis, and Wilson step out, ordering Lockhart to get in the car. When they ask about Pembroke, Lockhart says he is gone. They tell him to get in again, but he refuses. Hollis asks Lockhart what's wrong with him. Lockhart responds that he is feeling much better. He and Hannah continue riding away into the night, with a sinister grin forming on Lockhart's face.

Tags: paranormal, suspenseful, gothic, flashback

Review:
Gore Verbinski, the man who gave us the first "Ring" movie, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, "Rango," and "The Lone Ranger" is now back with this Hitchcockian Gothic psychological thriller designed to keep you guessing till the very end.
Even though its final 20 minutes somewhat go off the rails a bit, overall A CURE FOR WELLNESS is stunning, bold and hypnotic.Dane DeHaan plays an ambitious young executive, Lockhart, sent to retrieve his company's missing CEO who's decided to stay at a remote wellness center in the Swiss Alps.
What is supposed to be an easy assignment turns into a journey of slowly but surely uncovering the center's dark past, uncovering the real reasons as to why the guests keep staying there, longing for the cure, as Lockhart himself starts to question his own sanity.You will fall in love with the cinematography by DP Bojan Bazelli.
And the fact that they actually filmed a big chunk on location at Castle Hohenzollern in Germany does help because the place becomes a supporting role.Ever since "Chronicle," Dane DeHaan has been an actor that's caught my attention because I do believe that this rising star has what it takes to be great, A CURE FOR WELLNESS allows him to showcase a tease of that potential.
But again, as I said earlier, the final 20 minutes do go off the rails a bit, by that time the film feels like it runs longer than it should and furthermore it gets ruined by its desire to leave us on a happy note.
The result is phenomenal in many regards, less so in others, but given the current climate of the horror film, this movie offers a lot of things that you simply do not see much of in genre films (or just films in general, for that matter) anymore.One could list the aesthetic references for days, though director Gore Verbinski seems to be heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock in compositions, David Cronenberg in theme, and Mario Bava in both—and that's probably just the tip of the iceberg.
I don't want to say the film devolves, but it certainly does cross the threshold from "genuinely unique amalgam" to "semi-predictable psychological thriller" somewhere in the third act.In spite of this, however, the film is undeniably fun, and remains engrossing from start to finish; though the two and a half-hour run time could have been trimmed a bit, the film never felt tedious to me, probably because of how skillfully it was able to invent and then wallow in its own world.
(I saw a preview screening of this.)Director Gore Verbinski is best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and also Rango, The Ring, and The Mexican, so "quietly understated" is not really his thing, If the Pirates movies are kind of a throwback to old Hollywood swashbucklers, this is a more lurid version of old Gothic suspense thrillers like "Rebecca" or "The Island of Doctor Moreau."The main character is Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), who is the exact sort of morally bankrupt young financial hotshot you've seen in a bunch of other movies.
(Oddly, a similar plot undergirds the otherwise-completely different Will Smith vehicle "Collateral Beauty.")Most of the rest of the movie takes place in a Swiss Alps sanitarium where practically everything looks like it's from some time in the first half of the last century.
As with the patients and the staff, there's something not quite right about the overly affable man, and the impatient Lockhart has plenty of time to figure it out after an accident delays his trip back to New York.Exactly what's going on, and why no one ever seems to leave the place, takes quite a while (almost 2.5 hours) to unspool, but Verbinski successfully distracts the viewer with visually arresting images of hallways, of peacefully exercising old people, of slithery fish, of living and maybe dead bodies in all shapes and sizes (but mostly white and old), and so on.
Every shot is a piece of art, framed and filmed with the utmost respect for the craft.The story is an interesting one, you'll be thinking to yourself for most of the movie, what is the cure for wellness?
Along the way, he meets some interesting characters and tries to figure out what exactly they're trying to cure up there on the mountain.The only thing I thought the film could have done better was with the twist, it could be seen from a mile away if you were watching the previous part of the movie with even a little bit of concentrated focus.My suggestion: See it!
this film is the reason people go to the movies, to be entertained to the extent of leaving a lasting impression..
I personally believe he is undermined especially after a rather catastrophic blow from his depiction of Green Goblin in Spider-Man.All in all, I would give this movie an 8.7/10, being that I was drawn in, and fell in love with both the visual appeals and the stunning work on color and sound, but also the fact that both DeHaan and Isaacs made me feel as if I was a patient searching for a cure...
Stuff happens, a lot of stuff, some of it great looking, but with nothing to tie it together or the any character depth to engage with, it ends up feeling like you're being taken through a film students visual exhibition that doesn't end soon enough.
The props, lighting, actors, sets, music, camera work, atmosphere, visuals, gore, special effects, casting, dialogues, writing - everything in this film is a masterpiece.
I could be a stickler and pinpoint some of the shortcomings of this film but in all actuality I see no point in doing that as some films were made to make one think, and "A cure for wellness" is such a film.I do not want to spoil anything for anybody so I will not even say anything about the plot however bear in mind that the movie starts off disturbing and ends on the same note.I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.10/10I would have given 11/10 I there was such an option.
The plot is a bit strange, but very entertaining I can't believe this was shot in 5 months, the cinematography and camera work is excellent, scenic environments, great audio presentation, acting is great, the plot is so-so but keeps you watching to figure it out!..That said I won't spoil it for anyone but the movie atmosphere similar to Shutter Island or the Cell so if you like mystery type movies then you might enjoy this..
It might seem peculiar for the director of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, The Lone Ranger, and the Oscar winning animated Rango to be the driving force behind an atmospheric Gothic mystery-thriller, but Gore Verbinski seems to ignore any attempt to generalize or label his films.
The look, sound, and feel create the tension necessary to prevent viewers from ever really relaxing, even if we wish the movie wasn't so darn long.Filmed at Castle Hohenzollern in Germany, it's a perfect example of how on filming on location adds an element that no soundstage can hope to achieve.
A Cure of Wellness is one of the best Western movies in recent memory and it's a mystery to me why this film didn't get the attention it deserved.
I would even say that the movie's conclusion is nearly on the same surprising level as Oldboy, Shutter Island or The Sixth Sense.Secondly, the film has a mysterious atmosphere and is told in a smooth but haunting way.
The main protagonists and antagonists and even the side characters are so interesting that one is always longing for more details and information about them.This movie is often compared to the brilliant Shutter Island and this is especially true for the mysterious atmosphere, isolated landscapes and sinister plot elements.
However, A Cure for Wellness is unique enough to convince due to the smartly employed dramatic elements that portray a set of flawed, haunted and mysterious characters and the shift towards fantastic genre elements in the last quarter of the movie.
If you would like to discover a psychological thriller with dramatic and fantastic elements, gloomy story, mysterious atmosphere, stunning settings and strong acting performances, then this film is worthy of your money, support and time..
Sometimes things seem to be ''too much'', but since it's a horror movie, it's nothing to affect the quality altogether.I'll recommend you to watch this if you like a good story, aesthetic and to think along with the characters as the plot goes on..
Every aspect of it drowns you from reality into a dream then into a 19th century nightmare.The story line it's unveiled slowly with enough information so you understand the main events of it, leaving ambiguously explained some other details so you must come face to the specific truth by yourself.I saw some reviews complaining about the plot not making sense which I disagree completely.And other reviewers who, having get the plot, did not liked it.
This had the makings of a really GREAT Action,suspense and mystery movie...The cinematography was excellent,the acting was very well done, and there was lots of suspense.
But, I think there are a lot of people out there that would LOVE this movie, but will sadly never get around to watching it.I will be honest...this movie goes way off the deep end.
Director deserves applause for depicting a brilliant psychological horror with intencse thrill , stunning cinematography , sound , brilliant direction , performance are enough to make it must watch , it will give you feelings like "Shutter island " ...
characters also act plain creepy, you know what I mean.I was expecting some kind of big reveal or twist and we do get it, the problem is that it's obvious to the point where I asked "that's it?" also the last scene is kinda nonsense, he smiles creeply like he's an evil genius or something, I could articulate this review more but that's how much I care now that its over, the movie could EASILY have been 1 hour and 30 mins, instead sometimes it feels like a drag.would I recommend this movie?
A twisting, winding, thriller, scary, big scale artsy masterpiece.Reading the negative reviews here shows me that a lot of people must be looking for pulp movies.
This movie is right up there with some of the most engrossing films that you can watch over and over and see new things..
Lockhart suspects that Dr. Volmer is performing experiments with the interns and decides to investigate the clinic."A Cure for Wellness" is a bizarre and weird thriller in a nightmarish atmosphere with strange characters and a long and predictable storyline.
Unfortunately, it didn't even try to put those movies together in any kind of cohesive narrative, and was so predictable that you will know how it ends halfway through, but are forced to sit through another hour and 15 minutes of a clichéd dull plot that at the end if you're still awake can unsatisfyingly say to yourself I knew it.Another thing was that most of the score consisted with a song that sounded like Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy", so much so I could have sworn that was the music being played except with the lyrics replaced by "lalalala".
When the 3rd act comes along I waited for a good twist and a sharp resolution, but the ending of this film has more in common with Return of the King than any John Carpenter horror.
If you are going to see this film you have to WATCH it and not just look at it.The production is pure excellence, with every piece fitting together to bring to the screen a real movie that feels how movies used to be.The visuals are stunning - not the usual 'formula' digitally enhanced kind we see far too much of in movies nowadays, this movie looks like it was crafted by artists in their respective fields - but it is not pretentious in any way, and fits perfectly with the story.All of the performances are first class - with some lesser known but very experienced classical actors supporting the main cast.The story is fascinating, and (if you pay attention) will reveal itself - but not until it is ready to draw you into the world of the writer to reveal it's secrets.For me, this is one of those films that will be forever on one of my lists of favourites..
1) The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking 2) Wonderful and believable performances by DeHaan and Goth 3) Well-crafted narrative with surprising twists and turns 4) Outstanding production design 5) Full of classic Gothic/horror elements that help develop the film's eerie vibe 6) Overall a quintessential example of what visual-storytelling should look like.
Although the "A cure for wellness" focuses mainly on the fantastic history of the place and people who own it, I was touched by the concrete stand this art piece took on the influence of professional competitiveness and ambition on the personal and family life of each individual.Also I have to point out the perfect beginning scene in this film.
As an avid movie lover, watching A Cure for Wellness made me feel at ease.
The occasionally nonsensical plot turns of "A Cure for Wellness" also reinforce the idea that the main character is slowly losing his mind - After all, this takes place in a sanitarium.The visual style for this movie is fantastic.
The horror in this film doesn't come from jump scares or gore, but rather a building sense of dread and some truly shocking scenes* of what some humans are willing to do to other humans in the name of the eternally elusive goal of "purity."And that goal is the drive behind the heinous acts committed in this movie, as well as some of the most heinous acts ever committed in the real world.
"A Cure for Wellness" is the latest film from Gore Verbinski, who has delivered an entertainingly mixed bag of movie goodies over the years from the original (western) version of "The Ring"through three of the first five "Pirates of the Caribbean" films (for the love of God, please STOP!) to 2013's entertaining if bonkers reworking of "The Lone Ranger".
"A Cure for Wellness" – shot, by the way, at the Castle Hohenzollern in Baden-Württemberg, Germany – will probably appeal to lovers of Gothic horror, but its over-indulgences are likely to both frustrate and entertain you in equal measure.(For the graphical version of this review, and to comment on it, please visit bob-the-movie-man.com)..
What's not to like on this film, fantastic location great story good acting.
The performances are excellent.Similar to Shutter Island at parts, since you won't know for sure if the main character has gone mad or not, A Cure for Wellness has the ability to please many different audiences, if you can look at it right.
I know, the whole production is 2 hours and 20 minutes, but believe me you want take your eyes off of the screen.Very good acting, a few moments which put you in between your own sanity and logical explanation, the thin line between a horror and a thriller, major plot twists and scenes questioning your own understanding of life, add just a few fine touches to the composition like a fine brush to a good painting.Yes, the film is provocative, but that's why it is R-rated.
A Cure for Wellness starts as a medical thriller, later becomes into a surrealistic mystery, and ends like an exorbitant Gothic horror film from the '30s.
For the rest, A Cure for Wellness is an authentic visual delight, while keeping us on a perfect suspense until getting to the delirious ending, which can be taken as a sincere tribute to the Gothic cinema produced by Universal Pictures and Hammer Films during the '30s (I definitely say this as a compliment).
It actually wasn't as dark and demented as i hoped it would be but it is definitely pretty dark.Horror fans should go see this film because if it bombs then studios will not want to make more movies like it.
-A Cure for Wellness-Status: APPROVEDAn ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.What I liked: Great cast Great cinematography Directing was on point Well thought out story Takes it's time developing its mystery Great, great, GREAT musical score by Benjamin Wallfisch An odd and kind of disturbing movie that unsettles you, and yes i think that's a good thing for this filmWhat I didn't like: Fake out endings almost made me mad It's slow pace isn't for everyone.
Time God gave you to do something good in this world I cannot believe someone wrote this, then someone gave the green light to film it (invested money in it) then people actually worked on this.It is the worst movie i have ever seen in my entire life !!Except from some cool scenery images (that you can see in the trailer), so effectively nothing, this film will offer you nothing.
Two and a half hours is a very long time for a fantasy horror to sustain tension and that is why A Cure for Wellness (2016) feels more like a eerie melodrama.
"A Cure for Wellness", although not necessarily a great movie, does keep you watching and guessing throughout its 2 and a half hour run time.
Similar to Shutter Island which has been pointed out from critics and audiences (though that film is superior), a cure for wellness does some things quite good and also not so good.
The visuals are great and the story is overall interesting but overall, the film seems to miss its mark.It isn't as thrilling or suspenseful as expected and the twist in the end is quite predictable.