{"id":12549,"date":"2016-07-29T08:05:01","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T15:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=12549"},"modified":"2016-07-29T08:05:52","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T15:05:52","slug":"review-session9-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2016\/07\/review-session9-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Session 9 BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Session 9<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t feature great performances, though Caruso is a lot of fun to watch, though Peter Mullan and Josh Lucas had a few solid scenes, and the writing is, at best, so-so, but writer\/director Brad Anderson did take full advantage of the real-life creepy location of the mental hospital to great effect.<\/p>\n

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Session 9<\/span>
\n(2001)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror, Thriller
\nShout Factory | R \u2013 100 min. \u2013 $27.99 | August 16, 2016<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 07\/29\/2016 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/u>MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Brad Anderson
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Brad Anderson and Stephen Gevedon (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>David Caruso, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle, Josh Lucas, Peter Mullan, Brendan Sexton III<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/u>DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Commentary, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Theatrical Trailer
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>40.9 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis:
\n<\/strong>It looms up out of the woods like a dormant beast. Grand, imposing… abandoned and deteriorating, the Danvers State Mental Hospital, closed down for 15 years, is about to receive 5 new visitors.<\/p>\n

Donning protective hear, the men of the Hazmat Elimination Co. \u2014 Gordon (PETER MULLAN), Phil (DAVID CARUSO), Mike (STEPHEN GEVEDON), Hank (JOSH LUCAS) and Jeff (BRENDON SEXTON III) \u2014 venture into the eerily vast and vacant asylum that is filled with an evil and mysterious past. Rampant patient abuse, medieval medical procedures and rumors of demonic possession are some of the many dark secrets the hospital holds \u2013 but then so does each of the men.<\/p>\n

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Quick Hit Review:
\nSession 9<\/em><\/strong> is a movie that is atmosphere over substance. The performances from a so-so cast isn\u2019t the best though David Caruso does possess that charm to make each of his scenes so enjoyable to watch even if he\u2019s merely playing himself while Josh Lucas appeared to be having a good time playing the necessary douche of the group. Outside of them, the film\u2019s main character really is Danvers State Mental Hospital which indeed was a real place and outside of a couple props, was what was shown in the movie, creepy warts (plus puddles) and all. As such, this was a blast to watch and was effectively creepy to the dark finale.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 This is an old track with Writer\/Director Brad Anderson as he discusses filming the movie at the Danvers Mental Hospital and delving into the characters and story.<\/p>\n

Return to Danvers: The Secrets of Session 9<\/em> (48:57; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a featurette with new interviews by various cast and crew including Writer\/Director Anderson, Cinematographer Uta Briesewitz, Actors Stephen Gevedon (who co-scripted with Anderson), Brendan Sexton III, Larry Fessenden and Josh Lucas.<\/p>\n

Horror\u2019s Hallowed Grounds (20:13; HD)<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 Host Sean Clark takes us to Danvers 15 years later where the main building still stands and the area has been turned into high-end condos. He also shares personal home video footage of he and his friends exploring the building back in 2004 (or thereabouts) before the conversion. HHG is one of my favorite shows so it was a nice surprise to see it on this release.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes\/Alternate Ending (9:40; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a collection of scenes, not to mention an alt ending which I\u2019m glad they didn\u2019t go with, that didn\u2019t make the cut. Includes an optional director\u2019s commentary.<\/p>\n

Story to Screen (10:01; SD)<\/u><\/strong> is side-by-side feature with storyboards and behind-the-scenes footage compared to the final scene.<\/p>\n

The Haunted Palace (12:54; SD)<\/u><\/strong> is an older featurette on the Danvers facility and its dark history and feature on-location interviews with the cast and crew.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (1:53; SD)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Session 9<\/em><\/strong> arrives on Blu-ray through Shout\u2019s Scream Factory line and doesn\u2019t look half bad for a film with only a $1 million budget. Colors are generally vibrant when outside while inside the creepy hospital, blacks are fairly stark and I saw no major signs of aliasing, artifacts or even instances of dust marks or scratches while detail looks well defined and sharp.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo mix is pretty decent relaying the right amount of dread in the story and characters. This isn\u2019t the most incredible aural experience but it does show off the score relatively well not to mention the many instances of ambient noises that permeate numerous scenes, particularly towards the end.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.75\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Overall, Session 9<\/em><\/strong> doesn\u2019t feature great performances, though Caruso is a lot of fun to watch, though Peter Mullan and Josh Lucas had a few solid scenes, and the writing is, at best, so-so, but writer\/director Brad Anderson did take full advantage of the real-life creepy location of the mental hospital to great effect. The Blu-ray released by Shout offers good video\/audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus material.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers<\/strong>.
\nThese are only here to give an idea of the movie\u2019s video quality and may not be truly representative of it.<\/p>\n