Kate Hudson takes a job caring for a paralysed John Hurt in 2005's The Skeleton Key. If she'd seen Dark Waters or Sister, Sister or any number of movies in which an innocent young lady goes to live in a large house deep in the Louisiana bayou, she might've thought twice about taking the job. But she straps in for all the familiar twists and turns in this predictable, formulaic thriller that's nonetheless moderately entertaining.
Peter Sarsgaard plays an estate lawyer who takes Hudson to the property where she meets Hurt along with his wife, played by Gena Rowlands.
Hudson starts to suspect something's up when Rowlands won't explain the absence of mirrors throughout the house. Rowlands gives Hudson a skeleton key and soon she's exploring every nook and cranny of the place, discovering a secret Hoodoo room in the attic.
The usual skittery editing and intermittent sepia tones are used for bits about the house's past which includes a couple witch doctor servants. The film ends up making a commentary on racism oddly reminiscent of Get Out.
Most of the interiors feel like soundstages although parts of the film were apparently shot at a real Louisiana plantation. Kate Hudson is fine as an average young woman. John Hurt manages to deliver a good performance despite being paralyzed most of the time.
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