The Skeleton Key boasts a very respectable cast, but perhaps finds a lack of vigor in the direction itself, which is unable to carry out its task as best as possible, giving a few too many dead points, and not managing to manage much the rhythms are good, often tending to be a little too slow. And it's a shame, we should have valorised the excellent performances of the performers, with a John Hurt who manages to express pure terror only through his eyes, and a Kate Hudson who conveys remorse from the first glance.

The atmosphere , although indolent, is discreetly disturbing, thanks to an old house with a secret room and a creepy secret. There is not an abundance of original ideas, but the ending is able to deliver a delightful twist without equal.

Caroline (Kate Hudson), feels guilty for not having looked after his dying father, and begins to care for terminally ill patients. After the death of the last patient, she takes a job in New Orleans, caring for an elderly man suffering from a stroke. Swamps, humid heat and a house that seems haunted provide an excellent setting for a dark and sick plot. The total absence of mirrors, a strange wife and an ambiguous situation push the nurse to investigate, something doesn't add up to her, there are shadows and doubts to reveal. That elderly husband who seems like a prisoner breaks through to his heart, he wants to understand, save him at all costs and take away his pain. Not even the story of her that is told to her by her wife, revealing ghosts, hoodoos and violent deaths, persuades her from putting up her heels and disappearing quickly, oh no, a typical reference to horror protagonists and their proverbial stupidity. Worthy of mention is a phrase pronounced in the work "black women don't stay".

I'm white, and I wouldn't have stayed, but I'm me, lol

The weak point of the film, in my opinion, remains the direction, featuring a lackluster editing and a use of asymmetrical shots that does not do justice to a pleasant setting. Alas, there are no splatter or gore moments, and I believe that a handful of crimson scenes could have given the film discreet wonders. However, it is an honest and sufficient film, which is worth a viewing, perhaps when the storm is raging outside, and thunder and lightning with quick skill, embroider anguished symphonies around your head.