Psych:9 (2010) User Reviews

Ghost story or Serial Killer movie?

[Matt_Layden · 5/10 · 12 April 2011]

A young girl gets a night job at an abandoned hospital doing clerical work. She's not alone though, there is another man on level 5 doing similar work. The woman starts to get visions of creepy things in the hospital, which slowly makes her lose her mind. It doesn't help that there is also a serial killer deemed The Night Hawk roaming the streets outside.

Psych 9 goes in too many directions and none of them come to a cohesive ending. Too much is left up being ambiguous and the film asks way too much from the audience. Big plot questions are never answered and we are left to assume things. Psych 9 doesn't know what type of film it wants to be, it's a slasher film at one point, then a supernatural spook story the next. The story should have concentrated on one aspect and stuck with it.

Sara Foster plays Roslyn, the young woman who gets the new job. She hears and sees things that a creepy, this takes a toll on her. She begins to go a tad crazy and we get to know a bit more about her past. Foster does a good job here, she has quite a bit of depth to her character, more than you would expect from a film like this. Her character is a lot like Nina from the recent Black Swan. The man up on the 5th floor is Dr. Irvin Clement played by Cary Elwes. His two most famous roles are Dr. Lawrence Gordon from Saw and more memorably Westley from The Princess Bride. he mostly sits and chats up Foster in this role, nothing too challenging or memorable to comment on.

There is a detective after Night Hawk, played by the always reliable and awesome 24/7 Michael Biehn. Again, underused a bit, his scenes consist of him showing up, asking questions and then leaving. The memorable role here belongs to Foster and the creepy factor belongs to the hospital. Session 9 has some similar elements to this film and they pulled it off better. Here, it feels disjointed which leaves the viewer confused. I sure was at points and even still am.

A lot of the film has that "seen it before" vibe. Its cues are straight from other films. The confusing parts are the faults of the filmmakers, for either not knowing a definitive answer, or never having one. Parts of it feel incomplete and like two different movies. I would have liked them to have left the Night Hawk killer subplot at the door and concentrated the the hospital and how crazy Foster became. I sure as hell wouldn't work at that place at night.

Excellent setting, but nothing going on.

[thekarmicnomad · 4/10 · 14 June 2011]

Right from the start the makers of this movie succeed hands down in creating the perfect climate for a horror movie.

Outstanding camera work, lighting, set design, acting and direction all contribute to the unsettling atmosphere of a disturbed woman working alone at night in a deserted hospital with an unsavoury past.

Unfortunalty it goes on for much too long. After a while(of pretty much nothing happening) the silent halls and creaking lifts start to feel like home. You almost want to nip in and give her a hand with all that filing she is neglecting.

As the film trundles on I found myself willing something nasty to jump out and kill her or the coffee machine to run out of milk or anything of any note worthiness.

This is an excellently produced film, superbly executed and if you have a surplus of patience and don't expect any form of 'pay-off' this film may be for you; otherwise I'd check the rest of your DVD collection before sticking this one on.

Sort of interesting...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 17 February 2011]

"Psych 9" was somewhat of a surprise of a movie. It turned out to be nicer than I had anticipated, and at the same time it also turned out to be more 'weird' than I have thought it to be.

The storyline was interesting and captivating. You are immersed into the story almost right away and taken along for a thrill ride. However, there were times where the story was a bit in disarray, but the overall picture of the storyline was quite alright. Although, I didn't really enjoy the way the movie ended.

Set in an old hospital, the settings of "Psych 9" are really nice. Because you have a sense of abandonment to the movie, and also the sense of impending dread as the hospital is kind of scary in itself. And there was a lot of cool details. So thumbs up to this part of the movie.

As for the cast. Well, it was nice to see Cary Elwes (playing Dr. Clement) in this role. He has been doing some pretty interesting roles these last years. But also Sara Foster (playing Roslyn), she really did a good job with her role. She really came off as a troubled individual and she was phenomenal in this role. Michael Biehn (playing Det. Marling) only had a small role, but he was still a nice addition to "Psych 9". Gabriel Mann (playing Cole) was adequate, but not memorable.

Though being a horror movie, "Psych 9" is not really that scary. It is more of a psychological thriller with a couple of spooky moments thrown into the mix. But the movie works well enough with this mixture, just don't expect to be scared out of your seat.

Could have been much better than it ends up being.

[lovecraft231 · 5/10 · 24 February 2011]

I have to give it to Lionsgate: they have had not one but two notable divisions/series devoted mostly to releasing independent horror films either in small, very brief theatrical runs or for the DVD market. While the former (After Dark Horrorfest) is the more well known of the two, the one made exclusively for the DVD and Blu-Ray market is Ghost House Underground, and just like that more well known venture, the series have offered some bombs ("Dark Floors" and "Offspring"), some hidden gems ("Dance of the Dead"), some letdowns ("Last House in the Woods") and some seriously awesome movies ("The Children.") So, where does Andrew Shortell's feature length debut "Psych: 9" land?

Roslyn Hanniger (Sara Foster) has agreed to work alone at night in an abandoned hospital to copy records and relocating files. She doesn't have any company save for Beth (Coleen Camp) and Dr. Irvin Clement (Cary Elwes), who has a psychological fascination with Roslyn, who has a troubled past, and who keeps witnessing strange, seemingly supernatural events in the hospital. Plus, to make matters worse, there's a killer running loose...

A mix of supernatural horror and psychological drama about the past, "Psych: 9" is a movie with lots of potential. The performances (especially Foster, who steals the show) are fine, the direction is good, the atmosphere is chock-loaded with dread, and the score by James Edward Baker is evocative and eerie. So why does the end result end up not clicking.

For one thing, the script is a bit problematic. The revelations and horrors of Rosalyn's past could have worked, but everything about them- including the unnecessary flashback scenes-feel too much like something from a Lifetime movie. It also doesn't help that many of the scares, especially does of the specter like variety, are things that audiences have seen before, and seen done to death. How many more times can a scary ghost pop up on camera or on a monitor? The final 15 minutes of the movie though, are the biggest letdown. In trying to wrap up the various plot points, the movie ends up rushing itself. The big revelation of who the killer is, as well as the reason for his actions can also be seen coming miles away, and while it doesn't necessarily feel like a cheat, I couldn't help but say to myself "that's it?"

To be fair, "Psych: 9" is far from a terrible movie. The problem is just that what should have been a nice sleeper kind of horror film ends up becoming a missed opportunity. I will say this much: the director shows some promise, and I'm interested in what he can do next.

Another "Ghosthouse" movie.More psychological then scary. More boring then scary.Not a bad idea, not good implementation. I say C

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 18 February 2011]

A woman working the night shift in a hospital that has been closed begins to witness things that may be connected to a serial killer. After talking with a psychiatrist (Elwes) that still works in the hospital Roslyn (Foster) begins to see things differently. This movie is hard to explain and review. One because it jumps around between daydreams, flashbacks and the normal movie scenes that its hard to keep track where you are, and two because it's kinda boring I wasn't focused on it the entire time. This movie was a little like the "Last Exorcism" in the way that it seemed like every few minutes the plot and idea switched back and forth. There were so many ideas that could have gone somewhere cool if they let it. Even though this is another "Ghosthouse" movie it was more psychological then scary. I really don't feel one way or the other about it, not much of an impact. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - No, barely made it through once.

Don't.

[longview-77631 · 2/10 · 8 January 2019]

The twists are telegraphed, and (SPOILERS) the entire movie is nonsense that takes place in unreality, so every scene is just a middle finger to the audience. A blatant misuse of some gruesome taboos, and a waste of Cary Elwes and Gabriel Mann, who were the reason I watched this movie to begin with. Also the reason I didn't shut it off halfway through.

Ugh.

[jynx242 · 3/10 · 4 January 2012]

Okay - to start: Carey Elwes is the man. I absolutely love him and he is the reason I watched this.

This movie? Where to begin? The sets were good and the effects were good as well. The plot? I wasn't sure what was actually supposed to be going on through a lot of it. It was part mystery, part slasher, part psychological horror, part ghost story, part... get my drift? There was a whole lot going on here and it got pretty confusing.

Also - what is up with the absolutely detestable characters in films like this? Was I supposed to like either of the lead couple? She was a shrieking harpy and I was frankly hoping someone would just put her out of her misery. The husband? Well, he was kind of a butt as well. I really didn't care for either of them - therefore I could have cared less if they were brutally slain. Kind of bad when these are the lead characters in a film.

I wanted to like this film, I really did. Promise.

But I didn't.

Convulted and confusing

[kaijueguy · 3/10 · 1 January 2012]

The cast was very good, the cinematography fine, its the movie itself which is just poorly edited and convoluted. I know this sort of thing is en-vogue these days but give me a stylish Argento over this sort of thing any day. The flashback sequences do little to make the films point or establish any coherency to the story and the surprise ending should really be no surprise no matter how improbable. Film is a form of communication and the end product fails miserably in communicating anything at all. Again, kudos to a fine cast in spite of the material. Sets, lighting, atmosphere, cinematography a movie that would have had everything going for it in more capable hands.

"Confusing To Say The Least"

[kimi_layercake · 27 February 2011]

"Psych 9" is a horror film about an unstable woman,Working alone at night in a recently closed hospital, who witnesses events that may be connected to a string of murders sloughing the streets at night. To uncover the truth she will have to revisit the past behind the walls of Psych:9.

Cast wise, Good. Sara Foster is convincing in the role of Roslyn Hanniger, a mentally unstable woman experiencing a series of unsettling events. Cary Elwes is chilling in the role of Dr. Irvin Clement, a soft spoken doctor who seems very friendly but holds great secrets within him. Rest are good.

"Psych 9" promises a lot and delivers a few. The final plot might seems confusing and is open to individual retrospection.It still has enough twists and turns to keep viewers engaged. The movie settings is very good with less preference of gore.

Overall, "Psych 9" is an average movie which could have been a good movie. But that doesn't take away anything from the fact that it deserves at least one view.

My Verdict : 5/10

Lieutenant Hiram Coffey quit smoking

[zuhairvazir · 7/10 · 15 April 2014]

The film opens like a gust of wind and rain pouring in through the windows, just that – you guessed it – it's not rain but blood.

'9' has a decent premise, nothing that has not been done before in movies like 'Session 9 (2001)', that actually succeeds to intrigue.

Yes, it's clichéd to the hilt, yes you can see the end coming from miles away; however by the time you reach there, so much is known to you about the characters that you don't seem to care; at least I (a B film crazy) wanted to know more.

It's just that the grunge editing sacrifices the narrative outcome although not to the extent of pushing you away. Rather, it does the exact opposite. By not giving you everything despite of spelling it out for you is a tale bender that keeps tugging at your coat when you're sad – either that or it's my failure as a keen viewer. The former sounds much cooler.

Plus it has Michael Biehn as the detective, still giving off those glimpses of Corporal Hicks and Lieutenant Hiram Coffey (his career highs). Still the unemotional, cool cat from the 80's, Biehn happens to be a favourite.

Biehn, while offering jelly-beans to one of the characters: 'It's not the nicotine that I miss. It's for uh… keeping my hands and mouth busy, you know.'

I've seen much better

[britishgoose01 · 4/10 · 9 April 2011]

"Psych 9" is a horror film about an unstable woman,Working alone at night in a recently closed hospital, who witnesses events that may be connected to a string of murders sloughing the streets at night. To uncover the truth she will have to revisit the past behind the walls of Psych:9.

This starred Sara Foster,I was unsure who this was book the trailer looked cool and I thought Id watch.

Sadly this film leaves many questions. It leaves viewers pretty confused at the end as well, I am not sure if its one of the films where you decide for yourselves what happened, but it was too confusing. Another bad part of the film is the beginning. It starts off OK but takes a good 30 minutes to get going which could get the viewer bored and even turn it off. This is supposed to be a horror but its a psychological film, it has been labelled wrong. overall its getting 4/10

Loved it!

[dougmunro64 · 10/10 · 7 March 2011]

Psych 9 is a fantastic addition to the genre. Sara Foster was amazing and there were typical strong performances from Michael Biehn and Cary Elwes. The pacing was taut and the story kept me guessing; I was drawn into the setting and could feel the tension on screen. Even as I started to draw conclusions as to what was going on I couldn't be sure-there was always an element of doubt, a chance that I was reading it wrong. There were some twitch in your seat moments, but the suspense was the highlight. The pressure kept building, layer by layer, throughout the story. It was wonderfully shot; the setting and cinematography added depth to the story. I loved it and highly recommend it!

Surprisingly Decent

[jackbradwilson · 6/10 · 27 April 2016]

I wasn't expecting much from this due to the bad IMDb rating. I only watched it because of Cary Elwes. Unlike a lot of the films in recent years where Cary Elwes is given top billing on the poster to then only have a 10 second cameo, Psych 9 was different because he was one of the main characters and although he isn't always on screen, he is in it from beginning to end and his character is important to the story (although it may not seem that way until the end). So if you are a Cary Elwes fan like me, then your in luck because he has a lot of screen time; and he's very good. The lead actress is pretty good but struggles to carry the movie on her own being the lead actress. Thankfully Cary Elwes and Michael Biehn are there in strong supporting roles to carry the weight of the movie that she can't handle. The story is quite good, keeps you interested throughout. There are a few cheap jump scares which threaten to detract from your enjoyment of the movie, but apart from that there are some well executed creepy moments scattered throughout. The main problem with the movie is it's final act. It piles on twist after twist, and is messy and very problematic, however, it is still fun to watch and you don't feel you have wasted 90 minutes of your life after seeing it. It's just a silly ending really, but not too bad. So if you're looking for a decent straight-to-video horror movie, then check out Psych 9 if you've nothing better to watch. Its fun while it lasts, won't stick with you, but also won't ruin you're life.

Psych:9

[Scarecrow-88 · 5/10 · 4 March 2011]

Sara Foster is newly hired to organize files in a rundown hospital about to be closed for good. There are no longer any patients, nurses or doctors who work there. She is a mess. Foster was abused by her father, nearly burned alive in a car by her mother, and almost sodomized by her psychotherapist whose method of curing his patients was questionable to say the least. Foster is cold, unfeeling, and numb to her cabbie husband who wears the fatigue of being married to this woman on his face and demeanor. The baggage of her past polarizes her from everyone around her. Cary Elwes is a therapist organizing files in the floor containing the psych ward, offering his services to Sara who seems to be coming unglued, nightmares deriving from trauma which seems just as real to her as an adult as they were when she was a victimized daughter. Foster seems to be swallowed up by memories, snapped back into reality by those who see that she has drifted back into the past. She simply cannot escape, a reason she could be a suspect behind a series of killings to blond women in the area near the hospital where she works, the use of a hammer is the weapon of choice for the psychopath. Slow moving psycho drama is what one might consider a "slow burn" type of film, but I found it a bit too leisurely paced, not to mention, the lead character is really difficult to attach to. Foster here is a polar opposite of her character in the Owen Wilson comedy THE BIG BOUNCE or the bubbly girl action flick DEBS. She has these pouty lips which work for her troubled character who has a hard time showing affection to Gabriel Mann, her husband, and, to his credit, this man does tolerate a lot of BS from her. He acknowledges that she has problems, and seems to have put up with his share of emotional--and sexual--distance, as well as, instances where she berates and scolds him for any small thing(like when she bitches him out for looking at photographs in a file folder of a previous patient). When she considers Mann a possible candidate for the hammer-killer, even asking him questions which would insinuate distrust and paranoia, it's surprising he'd remain loyal to her even to the end. Michael Biehn(a man who has aged quite well)is the detective on the hammer-killer case who visits the hospital where Sara works, with questions, and eventually--motivated by her, believe it or not--visits Mann, just to make sure his whereabouts are innocent. These kinds of movies do that. The suspects are put out there and we must determine if we believe this or that character has the capability to commit these murders in question. Almost right from the beginning, Foster's mental state is challenged, so the end result shouldn't really come as any big surprise. Colleen Camp has a small role as a friend of Foster's who got her the graveyard shift job at the hospital, later regretting that decision. Elwes never seems hostile which obviously sounds alarms that something sinister lies behind his character, even though he offers an ear to her, with advice and counsel this poor woman needs desperately. The real star of the film is the ominous hospital, the walls green and yellow, the floors and walls live and breathe the horrors and wounded lives which happened there. I think that is important, that we feel the disconcerting history which remain even though the halls and rooms are now absent bodies.

Dull, dark and dismal

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 29 December 2012]

A film about a young woman working in an abandoned hospital...zzz...are you still awake? Yep, we're back in the world of creepy abandoned buildings, ghosts caught on CCTV cameras, long corridors with poor lighting and unexplained noises coming from empty rooms. PSYCH 9 is one of those would-be horror films that ploughs entirely familiar turf.

The movie attempts to take a psychological approach to the material, but the derivative script combined with poor film-making skills results in a highly painful viewing experience. There are long, endless shots thrown in in a bid to establish mood but which do little other than test the viewer's endurance.

Throw in some by now perfunctionary flashbacks, clichéd jittery editing shots and a bunch of tired, has-been actors (Colleen Camp, Cary Elwes and an entirely superfluous Michael Biehn) and you have a recipe for disaster. Sara Foster's cold and unsympathetic lead is the final straw.

I don't know what's worse about the ending: that the script is so poor I wasn't who sure who the murderer was, or that by this point I had no interest in finding out.

Mindless Amateurish Awful Film

[jblacktree · 1/10 · 7 July 2012]

Neither the director nor writer has any idea what they are doing in this dismal,draggy, soporific endless mess. Every cliché in horror filmdom is given a shot: empty creepy hospital, all night job, scratchy video security monitors, "it was all a dream," the psychiatrist friend " isn't really there," the focus character was sexually abused, bilious toxic green light, confusions,time leaps, comically awful dialog. This is the worst film I've seen in decades. What did they spend five million dollars on? Elwes and Bein walk through their parts. The film was so obviously made in Eastern Europe that I was taking bets with my wife, Czech or the Ukraine? Avoid this film!

A delirium tremens fueled nightmare...

[gregamaddox · 1/10 · 14 June 2023]

And it should've died of liver poisoning.

Seriously under developed, poorly written, and generally not interesting. I've not seen a more unlikable protagonist in awhile.

Is it a ghost story? A dissociative disorder fever dream? What, what is this movie? It goes from past, to present, to alternate points of view so many times half the time i couldn't tell where or what we were being shown.

This is a perfect example of a movie that got a sick location, and then AFTER decided to write and film a movie.

I've honestly had out of my mind drunken fever dreams that made more sense then this.

Thanks for elevating the genre.

Could've been more succinct

[adeleysim · 5/10 · 13 January 2019]

It wasn't a bad movie. The plot was interesting and the atmosphere was creepy and a little menacing. The ending however was a little dragged out. It could've been tighter, then it wouldn't seem so dreary towards the end.

Pretty good 'what's going on?' sort of movie

[robertemerald · 7/10 · 22 April 2020]

There are more good things happening in Psych:9 than bad. I found the lead actress captivating and beautiful. She was a good actress in a very difficult role that required an extremely attractive and self-confident woman to eventually show vulnerability. I thought the writers and Director needed more time to make this aspect appear more natural, but, in fairness, what's presented comes across as reasonably authentic. They used cameras that seemed to drop blue out of the equation a lot of the time, which worked a treat for some contrast shots, but lost something outdoors or in some of the tenser moments. I thought this movie came across as an indie Director making his first big feature, and I thought it was a grand effort, but not yet perfect. I like the honesty of calling this movie Psych:9. A psych out is what you get, and it's a pretty hair raising ride.

Need to up the rating so gave it a lil better score but is still a great movie.

[kaysild · 10/10 · 25 June 2013]

I thought this movie was actually pretty good. I watch a LOT of so called scary movies and NONE of them ever scare me in the slightest, and most of them are stupid to boot. However at least this ne had me guessing and then reguessing and then 2nd guessing that! I was pretty close but still it had a few twists then got twisted back to my original thought but in an interesting and different way that still made it very good. It does not deserve 4 stars! I think this is at minimum a good 7+. It was creepy at times but not annoyingly so where it makes the main character look stupid, all the actors did a great job and gave you just the right amount of clues without making it too predictable and still kept you on the edge of your seat. It's not the best movie in world but does deserve a higher rating and is definitely worth seeing so I gave it 10 stars to help it out a lil, a real vote would be Ike a 7-8 tho. Watch it if you like movies that get you involved then you'll enjoy this!

Not confusing at all...actually quite interesting.

[sherilynn · 7/10 · 9 August 2012]

I am not sure why so many said they found this movie confusing and convoluted. I did not find it that way at all. I thought it was quite interesting, and I liked how the story like kept changing my mind on who I thought the killer was. I like to be kept guessing.

I especially liked the location. I really like films set in abandoned hospitals. Specifically mental hospitals. Super creepy.

I was quite impressed with this film,especially after reading the other comments. I do recommend this film to horror fans who like psychological twists and turns. And the acting is quite good. An especially good turn by Gabriel Mann.

Decent thriller with psychological/horror elements, not amazing but watchable

[gluonpaul · 6/10 · 13 November 2018]

Okay so first of all I think the setting of this movie was great, and the build up and suspense was actually done very well. The acting was decent too so overall there is a lot to like in this movie.

I think the only problem really is none of the characters are likeable in any way, the main character you are supposed to be following is the most irritating of all.

WARNING MAJOR ENDING SPOILER BELOW DONT READ IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING>



So the only thing I think this really highlights as a film is that it is still considered 'shocking' to find out the killer was actually a woman. Its amazing that our society still has so much sexism despite the fact that crimes are committed by both sexes that this still constitutes a "twist" ending. It was done pretty well though.