I just knew it was going to end badly. After such a build-up how could there be a resolution that would be totally satisfying.
I enjoyed the first 80 per cent of this movie. Although I didn't know much about it, the trailer hooked me. It looked like a dark twist on Alan Parker's "The Road to Wellville".
Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), a young executive from a New York financial firm is sent to retrieve a senior executive from a seemingly idyllic wellness centre in Switzerland run by Dr. Heinreich Volmer (Jason Isaacs). When Lockhart is involved in a car accident, he ends up as a patient at the centre. Then things get weird.
He meets a mysterious girl, Hannah von Reichmerl (Mia Goth), and there are events that make him wonder if he's losing his mind. You know a horror movie is on track when a live, healthy tooth is drilled without anaesthetic. So far, so good.
Now being a devotee of this kind of movie, I thought the story could have gone in a number of directions. There was the possibility Lockhart was killed in the car accident and just didn't know it: "Carnival of Souls", "The Sixth Sense, and "November". He could have been having a schizophrenic episode à la "A Beautiful Mind", "Mulholland Dr.", "Woman in the Fifth" etc. Or it could have been an elaborate sci-fi set up as in "Vanilla Sky". Mind you, I would have been disappointed if it had been any of those; I was hoping for something original.
There was some business about the suicide of Lockhart's father, which could have provided an avenue for the filmmakers, but nothing came of it. That's where I think the opportunity was missed to bring this baby home.
Writer/director Gore Verbinski gave us an ending straight out of the Roger Corman horror movie manual 1964. Except for the sex, Dr. Volmer could have been played by Vincent Price.
I also think Mia Goth could have been treated better. Nudity is still a little iffy in mainstream movies and it's not handled well here. It comes in late and is a bit shocking, but not in a good way.
I don't consider this to be a total turkey, visually and stylistically it is stunning; I like movies that have intriguing build-ups and play with your head. "A Cure for Wellness" falters before the fade-out, however there are still things to appreciate before it topples over the edge.
I enjoyed the first 80 per cent of this movie. Although I didn't know much about it, the trailer hooked me. It looked like a dark twist on Alan Parker's "The Road to Wellville".
Lockhart (Dane DeHaan), a young executive from a New York financial firm is sent to retrieve a senior executive from a seemingly idyllic wellness centre in Switzerland run by Dr. Heinreich Volmer (Jason Isaacs). When Lockhart is involved in a car accident, he ends up as a patient at the centre. Then things get weird.
He meets a mysterious girl, Hannah von Reichmerl (Mia Goth), and there are events that make him wonder if he's losing his mind. You know a horror movie is on track when a live, healthy tooth is drilled without anaesthetic. So far, so good.
Now being a devotee of this kind of movie, I thought the story could have gone in a number of directions. There was the possibility Lockhart was killed in the car accident and just didn't know it: "Carnival of Souls", "The Sixth Sense, and "November". He could have been having a schizophrenic episode à la "A Beautiful Mind", "Mulholland Dr.", "Woman in the Fifth" etc. Or it could have been an elaborate sci-fi set up as in "Vanilla Sky". Mind you, I would have been disappointed if it had been any of those; I was hoping for something original.
There was some business about the suicide of Lockhart's father, which could have provided an avenue for the filmmakers, but nothing came of it. That's where I think the opportunity was missed to bring this baby home.
Writer/director Gore Verbinski gave us an ending straight out of the Roger Corman horror movie manual 1964. Except for the sex, Dr. Volmer could have been played by Vincent Price.
I also think Mia Goth could have been treated better. Nudity is still a little iffy in mainstream movies and it's not handled well here. It comes in late and is a bit shocking, but not in a good way.
I don't consider this to be a total turkey, visually and stylistically it is stunning; I like movies that have intriguing build-ups and play with your head. "A Cure for Wellness" falters before the fade-out, however there are still things to appreciate before it topples over the edge.