gordon fleming ( peter mullan ) is in a bind .
he has a new , unexpected baby and his business , hazardous material removal , is in danger of going under .
when he and his crew get a job opportunity at the long - abandoned danvers state hospital , he underbids the competition to secure the contract and promises to get the three - week job done in one .
it will prove to be a fateful week for them all in " session 9 .
" gordo gets the job to remove asbestos and other hazardous materials from the spooky old mental hospital in preparation for relocating town offices there .
their guided tour of the facility by a local official , bill giggs ( paul guilfoyle ) , brings them through some of the creepier parts of the former asylum .
but , a job is a job
and , if they finish in a week , as promised , there is a $ 10000 bonus in store .
as they get down to their work , things , normal and not so normal , begin to happen .
gordon hears a disembodied voice beckoning him .
phil ( david caruso ) is conflicted working with a guy , hank ( josh lucas ) , who is seeing his old girlfriend .
mike ( co - screenwriter steven gevedon ) has discovered a cache of audiotapes and transcripts from old psychiatric sessions ( hence , the title ) with inmate mary hobbs , a multi - personality patient with a dark secret .
gordo 's nephew , jeff ( brendan sexton iii ) , suffers from night phobia and is afraid to venture into the dark bowels of the hospital .
as the agreed upon week draws to an end , hank mysteriously disappears from the workplace after a nocturnal confrontation with someone ( something ? ) in the hospital .
tensions mount and distrust build among the rest as they watch their chance for the bonus start to slip away .
but , there is more , much more , at stake as the hospital and its history of insanity weigh on them all .
i do n't want to give away too much of the story of " session 9 , " so i 'll stop there .
what we have here is a spooky horror flick that uses none of the jump - out - at - you - from - the - dark cheap shots that have become part and parcel with horror films since the advent of " halloween " and " friday the thirteenth .
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there is no cat leaping out of the dark or the shock of suddenly seeing oneself in a strategically placed mirror .
with the exception of one shadowy and chilling image at one point spooky interlude in the film , there is little that you can get your arms around as far as what , specifically , is " frightening .
"
as i watched " session 9 " i became aware of the subtle things that built up during the story that make it a true horror movie .
the striking high - definition video camera work by uta briesewitz ( who worked with the director , brad anderson , on his " next stop wonderland " ) helps to build up tension with close - ups , fluid camera movement and odd angles in a way that would make alfred hitchcock proud .
music , too , is used to intense effect , joining with the camera to make simple scenes frightening , even horrifying .
couple these tech feats with an intelligent story that uses elements of " the shining , " " the blair witch project " and , even " the texas chainsaw massacre " and you get
a decent , intriguing horror flick .
additionally , the brilliant decision to shoot at danvers state hospital gives the film another starring character , the institution itself , which lends even more chills to the equation .
acting is another factor that raises " session 9 " above the usual dreck presented in recent horror hits like " scream , " " i know what you did last summer " and their sequels .
those films took good - looking , though generic , young actors and actresses and put them to use to build up a body count , substituting mayhem for real horror .
anderson opted , instead , to use mature , experienced actors like peter mullan and david caruso to fill his characters ' shoes and the difference in casting quality is notable .
mullan , in particular , puts an arc on his character , gordon , as the troubled guy who slowly and inexorably falls under the pressures of family , job and , finally , danvers state hospital .
the rest of the small cast fit the bill as people , not just fodder for the mayhem .
david caruso , as gordo 's senior man and near equal in the business , shows just how good an actor he is .
he made the jump from tv 's " nypd blue " to film far too soon and his decisions in the roles he took ( i 'll never forget the horrendous " jade " ) were less than star making .
he rolls his sleeves up and does the job well here .
gevedon , lucas and sexton are more than fodder , too .
the only problem with " session 9 " lay in the uninspired ending .
it takes on a fairly conventional finale that covers old ground and is a bit of a disappointment after the terrific ( and inspired ) build up .
the pleasure is getting there
and i wish that anderson and gevedon had kept up the steam they had so ably built during the bulk of the film " session 9 " is an unusual feat .
it is scary , does n't use cheap tricks and raises goose bumps with its intelligently rendered , subtle horror .
because of the local interest of danvers , it should do well with the northeast crowd .
i hope it gets the national distribution it deserves .
i give it a b+ .
Output: P