Have you ever wondered what happened to Penny Lane after the film Almost Famous? Almost Famous, with its great, funny, emotional and entertaining script, was the only film I had ever seen starring Kate until I watched The Skeleton Key, in which she stars as an ex-Rock-and-Roll party girl, who decides to work as a live-in carer.
She accepts a post helping a lady (Gena Rowlands) look after her husband (John Hurt) who has had a stroke in the attic of their very large house.
I had been meaning to watch The Skeleton Key for quite a while; it is written by the guy who wrote the American version of The Ring - the only scary film that really really freaked me out when I first watched it.
The story centres around the mystery surrounding the attic containing lots of scary artifacts, and the spooky reasons why the man has had a stroke up there.
It also concerns itself with the history of black slavery and Hoodoo - the real practice of harmful black and helpful white magic - in New Orleans.
The film does have some of the usual horror film clichés - no light in the room; turning around when someone is behind you - but with a difference.
Unlike most scary films, Kate Hudson's character is realistic, and she has a strong believable personality. She goes into the dark attic because she is not scared and wants to have a look; she asks people straight away what is on her mind because she wants to understand what is happening; she takes the initiative and, where as in the usual scary films the pretty girl does exactly what no-one would ever do in real life, she does exactly what a lot of people would feasibly do in the same situation - how refreshing! Just as refreshing is to watch a film in the horror genre that has real substance, and quality acting from all concerned (John Hurt and Gena Rowlands are particularly impressive).
The twist at the end of this film is as clever as The Sixth Sense, or The Others. And the film is as spooky as The Ring.
Nevertheless, The Skeleton Key is not that scary. It was advertised as a 'scary movie' (I hate that term; it sounds so bad some how), but personally, I found it to be interesting, clever, well-written, well-acted and really quite compelling - but not very scary.
To conclude, although it wasn't the film that I expected it to be, I wasn't disappointed - I was pleasantly surprised. This film was as great as I had hoped, but it is also an intellectual film, and refreshingly different!