The Ward

thank you

"The Ward" marks the return of John Carpenter to directing after a near 10 year hiatus after "Ghosts of Mars." "The Ward" represents the kind of film Carpenter does best...a spooky, shadowy supernatural thriller with an unknown force stalking victims at an insane asylum. It's also an old-fashioned ghost story done with class, style, and the director's signature pannache. I am definitely a Carpenter fan. He uses an economy of storytelling that I find refreshing especially in this era of excess where, especially in the horror genre, where directors believe more is more, not less. "The Ward" tells the story of a young woman, played extremely well by Amber Heard< who wakes up in an asylum after torching a house, although she has no recollection as to why or what brought her to the asylum. Her unit id filled with disturbed teens, all there for various reasons...presided over by a mysterious psychiatrist (played with Hitchcockian murkiness by Jarred Harris). The asylum has also had a rash of "disappearances" committed by a disfigured woman whom we only get passing flashes of, who is offing the young women. Heard is dtermined to find out not only what brought her to the asylum, but who or what is stalking them all before she is claimed as the next victim.Carpenter does not break new ground here, but he clearly demonstrates his skill as a filmmaker as the film has a polish and is often genuinely scary. I jumped many times in watching "The Ward" and I also admired the excellent performances by all, especially Heard (makes a gutsy heroine) and Harris, whose casting track record makes him a perfect choice for the role as we are not certain as to whether he is naughty or nice. Carpenter does not rely on gratuitous gore (though he does not shy from gore either), but rather creepy cinematography, an eerie score, and strong acting and directing. "The Ward" is a quality thriller, much better than most of what passes for horror these days, and Carpenter deftly pulls a surprise ending (I didn't see it coming anyway) that works quite well.The bluray presentation is excellent. Colors are well saturated and the film's grain structure remains in tact giving the movie a wonderful, filmic texture. There is no evidence of DNR, aliasing, banding, or any other pitfalls or attempts at artifically sharpening the film. This renders some terrific details, especially the truly creepy make-up effects by KNB. The soundtrack is mastered in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and it is a stellar listen. Every clap of thunder ans burst of music on the soundtrack sounds pristine. Dialogue is crisp and well-prioritized. Sound effects are terrifically detailed, only adding to the film's creepiness. I have heard the SD version is a rather lousy print, so BD is the only way to go here to appreciate the film."The Ward" heralds Carpenter's return to form. He has given us a classy ghost story. It's scary and well-made. This is a great movie to rent and watch with your girlfriend on a Saturday night to get her to grab on to you for protection. I greatly enjoyed the film, and for Carpenter fans, it is a must-own.

Must watch this movie all the way to the end, to understand it. And when you do understand it, it will become a great movie!

It’s a movie I watched it I liked it and that was it

I picked this movie up simply because it was a horror movie with John Carpenter's name on it. I was hoping that it would be entertaining and bring a little something different to the "mental patient/psych ward" story. However, I was wrong. The movie is OK, but it is nothing new. It is the same old story rehashed over and over thus making it very predictable. It is well directed and the acting is ok. But when a story is rehashed so often with nothing new added into the mix it becomes rather boring regardless of the talent behind it. From the reading the back cover of the DVD, I was hoping for an actual ghost story. But it turns out the predictable "twist" alot of ghost stories have used is in this story too.Nothing new, descent acting, good directing, the make up of the ghost looked a bit cheesey as opposed to scary. However, I did like the camera views of the hallway. As much as I liked the looooong stretchy hallways it isn't a movie I would watch again.On a side note it was nice to see a horror type movie without alot of gratutious sex and nudity. There wasn't any gore or extensive kill sequences in the movie so that was a treat. Just wished it was more original.

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. I can't begin to tell you how many people have told me how they were even disappointed with most of his films. While this film suffers from an uneven script, Carpenter's direction allows you to look past all of that and enjoy the movie for what it is. I've always felt that is the case with all of Carpenter's films but in a way, that's not really a bad thing. It's a horror film and it's a well made horror film I think. I feel that with JC, directing is his greatest talent. Forget about how weak the script is or how the performances can be cheesy at times, it still works and I admire Carpenter for aiming more towards simplicity.I want to end my review by saying that I think that Carpenter is one of the best and least pretentious directors working today. I would even place him up there with Francis Ford Coppola or Roman Polanski. He's a true independent and an artist I will even say. I even have faith that I will appreciate this movie more the next time I view it. Carpenter has never made a bad film in my mind and this film is just as good as his other works. If you're not into Carpenter or don't relate to his sensibilities then you may be disappointed.