He is incredibly intelligent and, because of that, a distant and cold man. But it is an absolutely paralyzing fear.Īnd then there’s Mike. His flaw is a simple fear: nyctophobia, fear of the dark. Jeff, Gordon’s nephew, is just young, brash and inexperienced. In an early moment, we see that he is not happy in his relationship with Amy, but he stays with her simply out of spite toward Phil. Hank is greedy and takes what isn’t his even if he doesn’t really want it, even if it makes him miserable. Before the events of the film, Phil’s girlfriend Amy left him for Hank and his rage seethes constantly within him. Phil is filled with anger, particularly at Hank. Even in the end, it is debatable whether or not the responsible party acted alone. For so much of the film, we have no idea which, or if any of them, are responsible for the chaos that will ensue. His unravelling may be the most extreme, but all five men on this crew are gradually being picked apart.

Though his actions are the most shocking, he is not the only one affected by Danvers. The building itself is an outward expression of the erosion occurring within his mind, heart, body, and soul.īut Gordon isn’t the only one we need to talk about. Just as Danvers has decayed over time, so has he: slowly, quietly, practically imperceptibly. Unlike them, the inside of Danvers is rotting, and the cracks are beginning to show. Like its spiritual cousins Hill House and The Overlook, Danvers “stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more.” But like those other landmarks on the landscape of horror, there is something “not sane” about the building itself. On the outside it is an impressive sight-a massive architectural marvel and not lacking in structural integrity. The Danvers State Mental Hospital is a lot like Gordon. As Hank ( Josh Lucas) tells Jeff ( Brendan Sexton III), Gordon is “the Zen master of calm.” But there’s something about this job.

Sure, his business has hit a rough patch-there is less and less need for asbestos removal-but he seems to have kept his wits about him. Gordon, played by Peter Mullan, is a quiet, apparently unflappable man with a lovely wife and a brand-new baby daughter, Emma. Needless to say, it is a film whose cult I hope only continues to grow. I wouldn’t normally issue a spoiler alert for a twenty-year-old movie, but Session 9 has only slowly gained its audience in the ensuing years since its release. īut before we do, I should mention that this will not be a spoiler-free review but a deeper look into this unnerving cult film. “We need to talk about Gordon,” as Phil ( David Caruso) tells Mike ( Stephen Gevedon) not long before all hell breaks loose in Session 9.

Session 9 online