The Skeleton Key (2005)

I have written previously about the dubious talents of Kate Hudson who has been presented as the next big thing for what seems like ages now; I was therefore rather pleasantly surprised by how well she played her part in this Gothic tale.  It's not really a horror movie although it might have been tempting to market it as such.  She plays a hospice worker who takes a job at an isolated house on the bayou. owned by Gena Rowland, to care for her invalid husband, John Hurt.  Given a pass-key for all of the house's doors, she discovers various impedimenta suggesting that previous residents have been involved in Hoodoo (don't ask me how this is different from Voodoo).  And what, one may ask, is the hidden agenda of young family lawyer, Peter Sarsgaard?  Hudson begins to suspect Rowlands and believes she must save Hurt, but both she and the viewer are in for a totally unexpected twist.  This and the strong acting all round are what makes this film a step above your run-of-the mill genre flick.