When word of this so-called "John Carpenter's
The Ward" began circulating, my ears were all like "We're perking up! A new John Carpenter movie? That takes place in a mental hospital? And Amber Heard is in it? Yes. Yes, we are
definitely perking up."
The Ward played a bunch of festivals and my brain was all like "Hey, yeah, still want to see that." Last night I finally made that dream come true, and now my ears and brain (and even, to some extent, my eyes) are all like "NO
THE WARD, NOOOO. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE GOOD! WE WAITED FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US?"
Honestly, my ears and brain and eyes have a point.
The Ward, you see, is a fucking slog to sit through. A slog I say! And so this review will probably be a slog to sit through as well, but at least there's not the extra layer of disappointment that
The Ward boasts. I mean, it's a
John Carpenter movie! While I don't expect everything to be a classic on par with his best work, there's still a bit of expectation on the part of a horror fan when the director's name is slapped onto the title. Here at Final Girl, there
are no expectations! Therefore, when a review is a slog or some such, it's only
one layer of suckiness. One layer of suckiness: that's my gift to you.
Anyway,
The Ward. Way back in the mythological time known as "1966", a young lass named Kristen (Heard) sets fire to a farmhouse and is carted away to...you know, the ward. The
psychiatric ward, that is! I know, you thought maybe she'd be taken to Montgomery Ward for some dungaree shopping, but nope- it's off to the "nut" "house" for Kristen.
Things at the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital are about as you'd expect: nurses are mean, orderlies are mean, doctors seem nice but are likely secretly mean, there are only five patients, all five patients are hot young women, each patient is easily-labeled (the "sexy" one, the "childlike" one, etc), the patients get to wear makeup and regular clothes, and so on and so on.
Kristen ain't havin' none of this "locked up" shit, though. I don't see why! These mental patients are kooky. Oh, and if you put on a record, they totally know how to have a good time. Yes, it's the obligatory "we're not crazy, we're whimsical" dance scene!
They also take super steamy showers together, because as I have intimated, they are not only crazy, they're crazy hot! In the
face! And also the side boob! But! before you start thinking this is some Designer Imposters
Girl, Interrupted, we get to the reason why we're here, and why
The Ward is purportedly a horror movie: a ghost shows up in the shower and puts the scare into Kristen. See, she's not there to borrow some soap on a rope, oh no- this crunchy-looking dead girl is there to get
homicidal.
"Do you have any moisturizerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I can borrowwwwww?"
No one believes Kristen about the ghost, of course. Or do they? Well, the staff doesn't. Probably. But her fellow patients do. Probably. It's all so mysterious!
At this point in the proceedings,
The Ward chugs along in what one hopes is a forward-motion but in actuality it feels like it's chugging in place. This happens a few times:
- Kristen says "I'm getting out of here!"
- Kristen tries said getting out, is caught, is drugged and/or restrained
- Kristen says "Hey, there's a ghost here, and she's gross and mean." (I'm paraphrasing that) (unfortunately)
- Everyone is like "Nuh uh."
- The ghost shows up behind a patient, wraps her Crackin' Oat Hands around the patient's throat, and kills the patient with some form of asylum therapy (Electroshock, lobotomy, etc)
- Kristen says "Where is patient so-and-so?"
- Everyone is like "She left".
AND SO ON. There's some sort of larger puzzle to be solved, and questions to be answered- what dark secret do the patients all share? What dark secret does Kristen have? Does the doctor have a dark secret? Why haven't I watched that copy of
Dark Secret of Harvest Home that I bought? It has Bette Davis and Tracey Gold in it! And by the time the answers all arrive, you likely shrug and give a "Oh yeah, that. Okay." It's not fresh and it's nothing you haven't seen before (and better), but still, I felt the explanation redeemed the boring-ass preceding 80 minutes a bit. A bit! It was familiar, but I didn't mind. That happens. I mean, I've had pancakes more than once, and it's not as if I've said every time after the first "Oh yeah, pancakes. Whatever." They're good, so I don't mind them.
Sorry, I've been thinking about pancakes a lot lately.
But then. But then!
The Ward can't leave well enough alone and simply end and go away. Nooo, it has to have one of those ridiculous last-second "This makes absolutely no sense but SHOCK ENDING CUT TO CREDITS!" endings. There haven't been many of those that have actually worked, in my opinion. You've got your
Friday the 13th, where the ending makes no sense but it's startling enough to be effective. Then you've got your
Pieces which is
so nonsensical that it actually obliterates the space-time continuum enough that it loops around on itself and ultimately makes perfect sense. But you,
The Ward...just don't. On you it's cheap. Gauche, even!
"No, seriously, I need some moisturizer."
What's good about
The Ward? Hmm. The ghost looked kind of neat, I guess. Amber Heard gave it her best, which isn't half-bad. Or maybe I just think that because she's so pretty. Pretty people are better at everything!
But I tells ya- if this wasn't a "John Carpenter" movie, I probably wouldn't even review it. There's a chance I wouldn't have even
watched it. But, like virtually every other horror fan out there, I was curious (and yes, excited) to see what he'd do after a decade away from the big screen. And what he did...doesn't feel like a "John Carpenter" film. Sure, his ability kept
The Ward from being total crap, but that's about it. There's no tension, only cheap jump scares. It's a plodding slog of a bore to sit through. Both the signature Carpenter score and his use of Panavision are sorely, sorely missed.
The Ward falls into that dreaded no-man's land of "I've seen worse, but I've seen way, way better." Oh well. At least I've now
seen it. That's...something, right?
Aww. Ain't that a sweet picture? Poor Jason. Poor Mrs. Voorhees. If only those counselors hadn't been sexing it up and Jason didn't drown. Or if only Mrs. Voorhees could have afforded to send Jason to a daycare center. Or if only Mr. Voorhees hadn't been such a deadbeat dad. Things would have worked out so differently for the whole clan! But then if things had worked out differently, then Jason never would have (ever-so-slowly) made his way to Manhattan and punched off Julius's head, and truly that would be a shame.
Icon. Icon! And this delightful shot of the Bride taking a tea break comes from a terrific write-up on the film over at Moviediva:
