Everything they needed was in place when they arrived. Anderson and his team had hardly any work to do to dress the set. Opened in 1878, Danvers was a working asylum until 1982, after which it fell into the glorious ruin we see on screen. Danvers State Hospital isn't a backlot set. The best character in the movie doesn't have any lines. Some actors have more bloody scenery to chew than others but it would be a spoiler to say who so I'll leave it by saying everyone’s great. Although they don’t all get rich backstories, we learn enough in our brief time with them to unpack the baggage they bring to work each day. David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Josh Lucas, Stephen Gevedon, and Brendan Sexton create believable characters, building a dramatic base for the scary stuff that follows. Session 9's chilling story is carried by a handful of actors. Just like the feelings of desperation that can grow in a man who is stressed on the job and at home, or who has to work alongside his ex-girlfriend’s new beau, or who can’t tell if he’s fooling himself thinking he could ever be something more. It’s a genius touch to have them “shucking fiber.” Asbestos isn’t just dangerous, it’s hidden and quiet and takes years to finish its deadly business. That’s hard enough, but to do it with a group poisoned by jealousy, rivalries, and ego is near-impossible. Hit the insane one-week deadline and they stay afloat. Strip out the creepy tapes and Anderson’s over-the-top visual style and Session 9 is a solid drama about blue collar workers with personal problems. While those tapes provide color and chills, fleshing out the history of the haunted hospital through the story of a notorious patient, they are secondary to the character drama. Session 9 bops back and forth between the crew at work and recordings of split-personality therapy sessions discovered by one of the men. That final reveal is still effective, but it’s a small part of what makes the movie work. This story of an asbestos removal crew cleaning up a defunct mental hospital is more about characters and atmosphere than its big twist ending. It doesn’t have a memorable monster or big set piece moments. It’s important to have that context, because without it Session 9 can feel slight. That a small upstart like Session 9 hung on long enough to be ushered into the Scream Factory fold is kind of a big deal. In this world ruled by The Babadook and It Follows, Anderson’s creepy thriller might not seem like a big deal. The modern horror landscape is a place where low-budget indie movies roam wild and free while big studio fright flicks have largely gone the way of the dodo. The film certainly has its champions, but this will likely be some genre fans’ first experience with this forgotten gem. Director Brad Anderson’s 2001 Session 9 falls into the latter category. Scream Factory’s stamp of cinematic approval might not carry the weight of the Criterion Collection, but horror fans have come to trust them as a curator of scary movies famous, infamous, and obscure.
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