Psych 9

Imagine a scene in which a person is chased by a chainsaw-wielding serial killer or a hammer-wielding maniac. The chase begins with the victim huffing and puffing her way through a dark jungle. Then, everything freezes, and you soon hear struggling noises, followed by a thick stream of blood trickling from a dead body. The camera zooms in and out on the victim’s face, giving us the impression of the victim’s grisly death. Thereafter, it’s all about the suspense and horror surrounding the killer’s identity. But wait a minute, haven’t we seen a similar kind of scene in countless horror movies, like the “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “High Tension,” and many more. “Psych 9” (2009) opens with this kind of sequence, and from the opening moments, you very well know how the movie will end.  Lionsgate has been promoting upcoming talented directors through its “Ghost House Underground” series, and director Andrew Shortell’s “Psych 9” is one of the movies in this underground series.

After the murder in the opening moments, we see Roslyn (Sara Foster) taking a new job at a recently closed-down hospital. Her job is to collate the medical records of the patients treated in the hospital. Working alone at night, she begins to experience a strange series of events. Soon, Roslyn meets Dr. Clement (Cary Elwes), and they begin to develop a close professional relationship through their therapy sessions. The sessions take us to Roslyn’s world, and we see glimpses of her turbulent past.  Meanwhile, Roslyn is having intimacy issues with her husband, Cole (Gabriel Mann), that only result in a prolonged desire to have a kid. It is also revealed that a serial killer, popularly known as the Nighthawk, is on the loose and somehow the victims are related to the hospital. A police investigator, Detective Marling (Michael Biehn), leads the investigation, and he soon questions Roslyn and Cole.  But as the investigation gets deeper, Roslyn gets further pulled into the mess.

If you take “Psych 9” at face value, then it does present an interesting premise. With Roslyn’s hallucinations, a nonlinear narrative, a deserted hospital, and a killer, we have it all in a film that will make for an intriguing horror movie. But does all of this go anywhere? The answer is a no. 

First, the movie’s biggest problem is the film’s narrative.  The structure is constructed in such a manner that it superimposes Roslyn’s present state of mind on her hallucinations; it is as if she is living on the fringes of her married life to Cole and her traumatic visions from the past. The narrative weaves in and out of these states so rapidly that as a viewer, it becomes difficult to separate out Roslyn’s reality from her delusions.  Nonetheless, this approach impairs the structure in composing some reasonableness, and it only leads to an unconnected plot.

Second, Roslyn’s hallucinations delve deep into the past traumatic events that probably shaped her present life.  Apart from inducing a nonlinear element to the story, the hallucinations add a certain level of depth to Roslyn’s character. But it is all about the timing and how and where they are included in the story. A lot of details are revealed about Roslyn through these hallucinations, like her relationship to her parents and her husband, and and explanation of Roslyn’s current state of mind. By the time Roslyn’s past is revealed in full detail, we are an hour into the movie, and it feels too late. All of it appears to be forced, nothing meaningful comes out of it, and we are only left with a “who cares” moment.

The third element is the introduction of the killer, which happens in the opening sequence. The killer forms an important part of the plot, but the writers are unable to craft suspenseful moments around it. Marling’s investigation lacks the punch of a shrewd investigator. After the rudimentary details are presented about the killer, the killer’s identity is somehow lost inside Roslyn’s hallucinations. In the final moments, you are left with another “who cares” moment when the twist is revealed.

There is nothing original about “Psych 9.” The plot tries to tackle several things, and the end result is extremely disoriented. There are hardly any spooky moments, and the most-thrilling moments feel unnatural and out of place.

Video:

“Psych 9” comes to Blu-ray encoded in an AVC format, presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. To present the film’s gritty tone, the 1080p has a nice layer of grain throughout; in some scenes it is excessive while in others, the grain is nicely balanced. There are dark colors in Roslyn’s house, with green hues that are rendered beautifully. Flesh tones are lifelike and never appear to be washed out. However, the overall detail suffers, as there is an inherit softness to some scenes. The long shots are good-looking, but they lack consistent detail.

Audio:

Lionsgate has included an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track.  The track performs really well and adds necessary thrilling effects. As expected, the dialogue is crisp and clear throughout. Even though there are only a few scary moments, the screams excite the rear channels to the fullest.  In addition, the silent moments are presented reasonably well.

Extras:

We get a regular “making-of” segment in which filmmakers talk about the plot, the characters, and the locations. Following this, we get deleted scenes and outtakes. Also, included is a trailer gallery.

Parting Thoughts:

“Psych 9” is a derivative horror film that borrows several elements from other horror movies. The narrative is messy, and the buildup to the climax feels artificial.  In the end, “Psych 9” is something we have seen before.