The Ward

Plot synopsis:
At the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital in 1966, a young patient named Tammy is attacked and killed by an unseen force during the night.The next day, Kristen (Amber Heard), a beautiful but troubled young woman, finds herself bruised and cut, whilst setting fire to an abandoned farmhouse. The local police find her and take her to the psychiatric hospital.She is taken to the ward where she meets the other patients that reside there, Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca), Sarah (Danielle Panabaker), Emily (Mamie Gummer), and Zoey (Laura Leigh). She is given Tammy's old room and is given medication so that she can rest for the night. While Kristen sleeps, her blanket is mysteriously pulled under the bed. Waking up to retrieve her blanket, Kristen finds a broken charm bracelet.The next morning, she meets Dr Stringer (Jared Harris). In his office, Dr Stringer tells Kristen that she had the address of the farmhouse written on her hand and asks about the fire and what she remembers. Kristen is unable recall anything and insists that she is not crazy. Later that night, she attempts to escape only to be caught by one of the orderlies and returned to her cell. Waking up in the middle of the night, Kristen catches a glimpse of a horribly disfigured figure who was staring at her through her door window.While in the courtyard with Iris and Emily, Kristen sees two people looking at her from Dr Stringer's office. The girls give no clue as to who they are, only to tell Kristen that they have been there before many times. Whilst taking a shower, Kristen is suddenly attacked by the disfigured figure. However, upon telling the nurse this, she is drugged and put through intense electroshock therapy.Dr Stringer runs a therapy session with all of the girls, where Tammy's existence is briefly mentioned but quickly dismissed. Iris attends her last therapy session with Dr Stringer where he uses hypnotherapy to unlock Iris' hidden memories. After the session, Iris is kidnapped and killed by the disfigured figure.Kristen, concerned about Iris, confronts the girls and staff about her disappearance but everybody keeps quiet. Kristen finds Iris' sketchbook and looks through all of the drawings to find a picture of a girl named Alice and another picture of the ghostly figure that had attacked her previously, with the name Alice Hudson at the top of its page. Retrieving the broken bracelet, Kristen pieces together the letters, which spells out the name "ALICE".Kristen confronts Dr Stringer and tries to convince him that the ghost of Alice Hudson is haunting the girls. Dr Stringer denies the existence of a ghost and cryptically tells her that she needs to find the answers out for herself. Kristen confronts the girls about Alice where Emily confesses that Alice was once a patient at the hospital but that she got out. That night, Kristen and Emily attempt to escape the ward. Their escape is discovered and the alarm is raised. Kristen makes it to the front entrance of the hospital but Alice's ghost appears in front of her, causing her to fall over in fright. Kristen blacks out and awakens back in her room the next morning. It is revealed that Emily was caught by the orderlies during the escape.On her way to her final appointment with Dr Stringer, Sarah is attacked and killed by Alice's ghost. Kristen finds out from Zoey and Emily that all of the girls killed Alice Hudson because she did bad things to them all and her ghost is now after them for revenge. Emily breaks down and, with the help of Alice's ghost, commits suicide. Kristen plans a last ditch attempt to escape by holding Zoey hostage. Her attempt is thwarted by an orderly and Dr Stringer. Kristen is drugged and placed in a straitjacket inside her room. However, she manages to escape and takes Zoey with her. They are both pursued by the orderlies and the ghost throughout the hospital. Zoey is captured by the ghost in a service lift.After pursuing Kristen through Dr Stringer's office, Kristen manages to kill the ghost. Returning the the office to look for Zoey, Kristen finds a file on Alice Hudson, which details her treatments and all of the girls names, including Kristen's.Dr Stringer enters and reveals the truth to Kristen: Her real name is Alice Hudson. Throughout the film, various flashbacks are shown of a young girl in chains, about to be abused by an unknown man. It is revealed that the girl in the flashback is Alice herself, who was kidnapped from her home 8 years previously. Alice was left chained up for months in the basement of the same farmhouse "Kristen" had burned down. It is then revealed that Alice is suffering from multiple personality disorder, creating Zoey, Sarah, Iris and Emily. Over time Alice's own personality became so overwhelmed by that of the others that she became lost. Through experimental techniques, Dr Stringer explains that her treatments were working until "Kristen" appeared. "Kristen" is yet another invention of Alice's mind to protect itself from reliving the trauma at the farmhouse. Dr Stringer had used hypnotherapy in an attempt to reawaken Alice's memories. After this revelation, Alice's ghost reappears and throws herself and "Kristen" out of the window, reawakening Alice.It is revealed that the people who were looking at "Kristen" earlier were in fact Alice's parents and have come to take her home under supervision. After gathering her belongings, Alice takes one last look around her room. Upon opening her wall cabinet, "Kristen" suddenly comes out and attacks her.

Tags: flashback

Review:
I've worshiped the great ones (Assault on precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York, The Thing, Prince of Darkness) enjoyed the good (Christine, Star Man, Big Trouble in little China, They Live, In the mouth of madness, Vampires) and stomached the bad (Escape from L.A, Village of the damned, Memoirs, Ghosts of Mars).
Perhaps it was the lack of a traditional Carpenter score (although the score by Mark Kilian is suitably haunting, memorable and atmospheric) or maybe it was the somewhat derivative "jump" scares or could it have been the inconsistent overall tone because to me it felt like I was watching a movie made by someone trying to emulate Carpenter rather than a movie by "The Master" himself.
Oh dear, I rented this film with high hopes of a return to form from John Carpenter - the director who brought us Halloween (the 1978 version not the turgid Rob Zombie re-hash) and The Thing (1980).
At times 'The Ward' is reminiscent of an unusually long live-action episode of Scooby Doo (albeit one with a little more blood, no dog and less snacks.....) The acting and script leave a lot to be desired and there is an over-reliance on cheap 'jump' scares in place of genuine frights.
Since nobody really stood out I will give honourable mentions to; Amber Heard as Kristen, Mamie Gummer as Emily, Danielle Panabaker as Sarah, Laura-Leigh as Zoey, Lyndsy Fonseca as Iris and Jared Harris as Dr. Stringer.Some of the reviews I've read about this film have been really venomous in their criticism of it.
The Ward is an adequate horror film but could have been directed by anyone; after such a long hiatus one would expect John Carpenter to produce something much, much better.The film suffers from a fairly weak script (not penned by Carpenter) and the big "surprise" ending is easily deduced very early in the film.
As other reviewers here have noted, the "horror" elements are basically comprised of things jumping out variety; if you expect mood and atmosphere (e.g. Escape from NY, The Thing, Prince of Darkness)--THINK AGAIN.It would appear the film was made on an extremely low budget; 95% of the movie takes place indoors; most of it in just a few rooms.
This is a common element in modern "horror" films where style trumps substance; unfortunately I expected JC to make more of an effort to set an atmosphere where I'm less likely to ogle the actresses than I am to be sucked into the nightmare he's trying to portray.Having seen every Carpenter film (in the theatre) over the past 30 years, I am disappointed that I was forced to watch the master release this nearly direct-to-DVD title.
It seemed to me director Carpenter wasn't too convinced of the robustness of the story told in a different, more true to life, way and instead took the route most likely to shock people with it's "twisted" end.Most of all I felt this film lacked claustrophobia, the shackles and chains that surround mentally disturbed people both in their minds and in the places where they are secured.There was a lot of wasted talent here and that is a great shame..
I looked forward to watching John Carpenter come back and win his title of the horror movie Mystro that he was some time ago i.e The FOG, They Live and Halloween..But good god this movie plays out like a cheaper version of Shutter Island but with good looking girls and a terrible looking Supernatural Killer.
That's not all— turns out there's the ghost of a previous patient haunting the ward, and picking off the girls one by one.It's natural to have high expectations of John Carpenter; after all, this is the man who helmed "Halloween", so I get why so many people have taken issue with this film.
The film is a period piece, taking place in the 1960s, so that adds a level of aesthetic flair, though at times I had trouble believing any of the women (particularly Heard) were of that era.Overall, "The Ward" is a watchable psychological horror film that breaks no new ground in the genre, but is still enjoyable despite its structural unoriginality.
I'm a classic Carpenter fan and have been since the golden days of Hallowe'en which first graced our screens in the UK back in the early 80's (I think), thanks to the incredible time lag which these days is almost obsolete with the effective medium of DVD - a necessity to get films out there as quickly as possible to the street from the box office, en masse to the buying public.Although I'm not quite old enough to remember Dark Star or even Assault On Precinct 13 let's face it unless you're an avid reader of Fangoria, from the offset it was doomed to get slated by the mass media - why?
What doesn't help the situation with The Ward is that this is Carpenter's first film since Ghosts On Mars, so with the long gap (what's wrong with taking a creative break?) there is undoubtedly massive expectancy especially for the renowned master of horror to produce something that breaks new ground merging his previous ideas and styles together with 21st century technology.
John Carpenter, undaunted by the prospects of CGI and post Avatar computer generated wizardry that seems to be within the confines of well, lesser and unknown cartoon heroes at the moment has decided to stick to his own blend of paced horror that his trusty fans are familiar with, keeping the concept retro but not to the point of the film feeling dated in any way, or for that matter clichéd.
Character interplay is interesting yet not over the top and the film trundles along with a story that builds to a suitable and convincing crescendo and twist that only adds to the successful, albeit tried formula.Without giving much away the late, great Richard Harris' son Jared makes a great appearance as the somewhat gentile and quietly spoken asylum 'Guvnor', the type who wants you all to believe that he has nothing but your best interests at heart, yet there is a certain je ne sais quoi about him that gives off an unnerving feeling that at any moment he is going to open a leather bound case full of chainsaws and experimental Victorian surgical equipment.I won't say anything about the film's story because it is up to the viewer to enjoy it - and enjoy it you surely will.
It's well worth the price of admittance if of course you can find anywhere on planet earth that's showing it.In a nutshell this is classic Carpenter - to his fans the style we all know and love and it is reassurance for those who were disappointed with Ghosts Of Mars although the similarities between such films could of course be compared to the artistic creations of Banksy and Picasso.It is obvious as a director that John Carpenter is stubborn enough to stick to his own style of filmmaking regardless of what the media think and there's only one ever word that can sum that up - respect..
This movie has none of that.Not worth the time it takes to get to the "oh so necessary in movies these days", cliché twist ending.....Unless you like to see pretty people playing predictable patients...
While not a great film, director John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, Escape from New York) deserved better this summer than the one week limited release The Ward received.
Amber Heard did a good job along with other girls.The Ward is a typical horror with a Twist in the end.
I can't believe that this is being billing as John Carpenter's comeback.It's just another routine 'ghost in the asylum' film that's been done so many times recently, nothing original here at all.There's so little going on.
The Ward doesn't live up to My John Carpenter favorites: Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing , Escape from New York, The fog, Big Trouble In Little China, Star Man, In The Mouth of Madness, They Live, and Prince of Darkness.Right under this list you have Someone's Watching Me!
Then the situation goes out of control and suddenly we get to know that the doctors were the "good people" and the "superman, multiple personality disorder ghosts" is the bad guy in some sense.I am too bored from this kind of horror, if you are really interested to see real horror, I would suggest you to see "exorcism of Emily Rose" which in my view was a quite horror film and based on true story.
Perhaps all those years away from directing feature-length films has left Carpenter a little rusty; even apart from the droll predictability of the ending, The Ward just doesn't strike me as the work of a master director.
The Ward isn't a bad film, but it's certainly a disappointing John Carpenter film - derivative, much too predictable, and far too reliant on scare tactics that stopped being scary in the 1980s.We don't know much about Kristen (Amber Heard) when she is first brought to North Bend Psychiatric Hospital.
One-time horror legend Carpenter gives us his latest flick "The Ward" which offers little to thrill or scare the viewer.
Carpenter found an abandoned state hospital and apparently decided to shoot a new horror film, but the plot is paper thin, the acting is more than a bit dull, and the ending is sheer silliness that comes right out of the blue.
Coming off as a poorly crafted extension of The Masters of Horror series rather than a new start, The Ward gives us nothing above the bare minimum of a stale plot and jump scares, disappointing fans of Carpenter and horror alike.Beginning with the death of one of North Bend Psychiatric Wards patients, The Ward quickly introduces us to Kristin (Amber Heard), a bruised and cut woman on the run who is picked up by the police for burning down a seemingly random barn.
John Carpenter probably took a look at The Ward, after many years of not directing a theatrical feature - he did make two 'Masters of Horror' episodes, which can practically count as films, and they ranged from being quite good to just OK - and though 'Ok, this gives me some room to play and do my thing.' It's one of the only films in his filmography that doesn't have him as a writer OR composer, but that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't have his heart in it...
What he saw was likely what I saw in the film: a chance to get some cool mid 1960's period feel with a mental hospital setting (essentially a 'bottle' film in many ways) and practice some grisly and cool atmosphere to up the stakes.The premise is 'B' horror all the way, as Kristen (Amber Heard) is sent to 'The Ward' after she is caught burning down a house.
But the script, by the Rasmussen brothers, is more like a 90 minute Tales from the Crypt episode for TV: put the main character into a situation that we the audience can (sort of) get into, make some visual intrigue with flashes to an abuse situation with a girl hung by chains (those are some of the truly striking images in the film, drenched in a different color scheme that doesn't feel cheap), and with the tropes of a looney bin: the harridan head nurse (no calm Ratched exterior), a-hole male guards, and a semi-sympathetic doctor (Harris is probably the best actor in here, not that Heard doesn't try and succeed in what she's asked to do).The biggest problem is that, as an audience who's come to see many of these mental hospital thriller and horror flicks - or just 'BOO!' psychological thrillers - you're ready possibly for what's to come next.
It's still a horror movie, and Carpenter wants to keep you on your toes in scene constructions and in the simple act of following characters, setting up tension, and letting the s*** go wild when it finally needs to.
It's watchable, entertaining, and worth a look if you like horror films or are a Carpenter fan.
With John Carpenter directing and a cast led by Amber Heard, one knows that they will at least get an above average horror-thriller.
I wouldn't go into this movie expecting a John Carpenter masterpiece or return to greatness, but instead know that you are seeing a solid horror-thriller that is well put together and well acted.
I recommend to anyone that wants to see a solid horror-thriller, but please don't expect anything groundbreaking.If you are interested in more details...You can tell this movie has John Carpenter written all over it after the first few minutes.
Overall,a solid job directing by John Carpenter in this film and hope to see more to come from him.The cast is lead by Amber Heard, who does a great job in her role as Kristen.
And why it was set in the 60's is still something I'm trying to fathom out having finished watching it.You can also tell it's a low budget movie when you consider that it's supposed to be set in a massive psychiatric hospital and the cast (with the exception of the staff) was limited to five girls and a ghost-like thing.
However, Michael Rasmussen & Shawn Rasmussen story twist lets the film down considerably as it's be done so many times before.The twist aside, John Carpenter is on form with an effective chiller horror mystery..
It's been a long time coming for John Carpenter's return to directing feature-length films.
Truly haunting and memorable, it adds to the character of the film and is a rare instance in a John Carpenter film where having the director not score a scene himself is okay.In a way, "The Ward" is a return to a more classic horror movie style.
I was eager to see Ward because i like the combination of ghosts+mental institutes...The movie is good but fails to capitalize at various scenes..Unlike most horror movies,the plot is excellent ..The movie has only a couple of truly scary scenes(nothing genuine though)..the acting is average...The story is of a mysterious girl,Kirsten (Amber Heard) being put in a mental institute..There she starts seeing a ghost..Her room mates (or ward mates) don't disclose much info on this ghost even though they too have seen her..the rest of this movie is how she tries to escape the institute while uncovering the mysteries of the Asylum..overall the movie should be seen,but not worthy of repeat watching...
John Carpenter,my all time favorite director,did not do a feature film in ten years since the underrated Ghosts of Mars in 2001,but in 2011 made his return to film directing with the entertaining horror film The Ward.
While The Ward isn't among the best of Carpenter's films The Ward is still a welcome return from the master filmmaker.The Ward tells the story of a young girl named Kristen(Amber Heard)who is discovered by the police in front of a burning house and is sent to a mental hospital,put into a ward with other girls.
The Ward is entertaining horror film from beginning to end filled with great direction,good acting,scary scenes,and great effects.
The story for The Ward isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary,but Carpenter makes the story work by mixing Horror,Mystery and a Ghost story,making us care for the characters and using simple scares and suspense.
With The Ward Carpenter wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel trying to create something original Carpenter was just interested in telling a good story and making a wonderful old fashioned scary movie and Carpenter definitely achieves that with this film.
Jump scares are a very common thing in Horror films but,Carpenter is a master making typical jump scares look like an art form of brilliance.
If your expecting a masterpiece on the level of The Thing or Halloween you'll be disappointed,but if you love Carpenter and want to see an entertaining,scary horror from the master The Ward is definitely for you.
I won't write too long of a review but I wanted to say that John Carpenter's latest is just like his other films, either you will love it or you will be disappointed.
Forward almost a decade later, and Carpenter releases The Ward, which promised a return to form.Set in 1966, the film opens with Kristen (Amber Heard), somnambulist- like, committing an act of arson on a farm house.
"The Ward" had some expectations to live up to, being a John Carpenter movie and all.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful...If you like horror movies, then you most definitely have to check out "The Ward", because it has a solid story, it is well acted and it should be watched in the dark and with the volume cranked up!
I watched The Ward being a horror movie fan and because of the fact that Amber Heard plays a title roll.The story: Kristen is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where she will stay among several other young women.
There is a plot twist that I will not reveal here and it is always a pleasure to watch John Carpenter's films and The Ward is solid and well made..
John carpenter still has it when it comes to the camera, but the script it was lacking something i just cant put my finger on, i believed this was going to be another one of JOHNS all time greats as is the thing, prince of darkness,someone is watching, they live, ghost of mars, Halloween, escape from new york, big trouble in little china town, memoirs of a invisible man,eyes of laura mars, starman, Christine, and many many more and don't get me wrong i do like this film, it is entertaining.
After a long time horror movie master John Carpenter returns to the big screen with THE WARD.
If John Carpenter (hopefully) decides to make at least one more film after this, I just hope it would keep the atmosphere of THE WARD but improve on the story and scares..
As is expected, our horror movie has some "twists" towards the end which is all well & good but it's all so done before.