The Skeleton Key
- Kate Hudson: Caroline Ellis
- Gena Rowlands: Violet Devereaux
- John Hurt: Ben Devereaux
- Peter Sarsgaard: Luke
- Joy Bryant: Jill
- Maxine Barnett: Mama Cynthia
- Fahnlohnee R. Harris: Hallie
- Ronald McCall: Papa Justify
The Skeleton Key is a horror film directed by Iain Softley from the year 2005.
Action
Caroline works in New Orleans as a hospice nurse, announces, however, because she feels the conditions at the hospice as inhuman and want to pay closer attention to their patients. From inheritance lawyer Luke is persuaded to take a job in a remote house in the louisianischen swamps. There, the imperious Violet lives with her paralyzed husband Ben. Soon Caroline noted that in the house something is wrong. Ben signaled her that he is being held against his will by means of a hoodoo curse. An escape attempt fails, and Caroline in consecrates hatch their plans. This turns out, however, as an ally of Violets. Luke and Violet turn out to be the former servants of the old house Papa Justify and Mama Cecile. They had 90 years ago, when they were caught, Hoodoo Spell exercise their bodies with which replaced the children of the family of the house, whereupon those of their own parents - were lynched - in the wrong body. Since then she has lived as the siblings in the house of their former masters until 1962 when it again your body with the couple Ben and Violet exchanged, who wanted to buy the house at that time. And now Papa Justify been replaced by magic as Ben the body with Luke and solely for that reason Caroline was lured into the house: to serve as the successor to the aging Violet, so Mama Cecile. The transfer succeeds, and the helpless Caroline is now trapped in the body of the paralyzed after a fight Violet, taken away by an ambulance.
Criticism
- Filmdienst 17/2005: Against the background of Hoodoo cult is an offset with the set pieces of the horror genre souls history whose dramaturgical immaturity leave little voltage developed. In the leading role miscast, the film compensates by good supporting cast, the precise direction and the atmospherically dense Photography.
Publication
After its release on 12 August 2005, the film could import about 91 million U.S. dollars again with a production budget of 43 million U.S. dollars worldwide. In Germany the film was seen after its launch on 18 August 2005 of 783 304 moviegoers.