{"id":604,"date":"2011-01-23T14:43:43","date_gmt":"2011-01-23T14:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=604"},"modified":"2011-01-23T14:43:43","modified_gmt":"2011-01-23T14:43:43","slug":"the-ward-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/thriller\/the-ward-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ward – 3*"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>After a ten-year absence, John Carpenter<\/a>\u2019s return to feature films with The Ward<\/em><\/a> is one of two exciting releases this week, including the 2010 remake of Meir Zarchi<\/a>\u2019s controversial I Spit On Your Grave<\/em><\/a>. Both thrillers go head to head, but both offer a horror helping of differing proportions and for different fan bases.<\/p>\n

After Carpenter\u2019s last and uninspiring Ghosts of Mars<\/em><\/a> in 2001, there is some intrepidation about watching a glossier Noughties offering, considering his former masterpieces have a gritty and nostalgic B-movie quality to them, including Christine<\/em><\/a>, The Thing<\/em><\/a>, and the film that still makes fog scary, The Fog<\/em><\/a> in 1980. The Ward<\/em> has a noticeably different aesthetic quality to it, more polished and more aware of the tastes of the modern audience.<\/p>\n

That said The Ward<\/em> remains true to good old-fashioned horror roots, with long, vortex-styled corridor shots, creepy dark shadows and flesh-rotting ghouls. It also has a graceful, celestial and remote feeling to it, resembling a cross between the open-panned spaces of the sinister Overlook Hotel in The Shining<\/a><\/em> and the soulless wards of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest<\/a><\/em>. As a Carpenter comeback it doesn\u2019t lose the shadowy suspense and all-important timing of his previous hits, but is far slicker and may surprise some fans.<\/p>\n

Amber Heard<\/a> plays a young woman who is institutionalised and becomes terrorised by a ghost called Alice. Heard of Mandy Lane<\/em><\/a> fame is fast-becoming our favourite pin-up horror girl. Highly watchable and full of earnest curiosity and fighting spirit, she has an instant leading lady quality that needs tapping into more. Although The Ward<\/em> is a safe bet, Heard\u2019s talents are screaming out to be put to better use in a meatier psychological affair, to elevate her out of the teen horror clich\u00e9 she\u2019s becoming too comfortable in.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, The Ward<\/em> never has a dull moment, with some decent jump-out-of-your-skin cheap scares, emotionless authority, and some thoughtful twists that merely showcase its film-maker\u2019s expertise and patience at letting the elements play out to the big reveal. It even has a titillating shower scene \u2013 a cinematic must when a bunch of nubile and attractive young girls are present. It\u2019s a tired clich\u00e9 that\u2019s quickly forgiven as Carpenter\u2019s at the helm who helped established these clich\u00e9s years before.<\/p>\n

The evil entity that lurks in wait to kill The Ward<\/em>\u2019s residents would be more effective, if its physical identity had not been revealed so soon \u2013 like the demonic misty figure on CCTV in The Ring<\/em><\/a>. In fact, judging by the success of the Paranormal Activity<\/a><\/em> films, less is more. Sadly, the ghoul in The Ward<\/em> is almost comical, like a girl in bad Halloween fancy dress and makeup that reduces the fear factor somewhat. Perhaps latter-day audiences have grown out of the pustule form of Linda Blair<\/a> in The Exorcist<\/em><\/a>, and pseudo-realism is the only way to inject some sheer terror, otherwise the end result is a camp dark comedy with synthesized soundtracks to prompt our reactions, however thrilling.<\/p>\n

The Ward<\/em> isn\u2019t quite a grandiose return to form for Carpenter, but it is a highly accomplished and effective horror that highlights the true \u2018Master of Horror\u2019 at work, and gives Heard another platform to further carve out her \u2018Heroine of Horror\u2019 niche.<\/p>\n

3\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

By @FilmGazer<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a ten-year absence, John Carpenter\u2019s return to feature films with The Ward is one of two exciting releases this week, including the 2010 remake of Meir Zarchi\u2019s controversial I Spit On Your Grave. Both thrillers go head to head, but both offer a horror helping of differing proportions and for different fan bases. After … <\/p>\n

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