The Skeleton Key Critic Reviews

For anyone zombified by creaky thriller clichés, Skeleton is a fine little shot in the head.Read the full review

The appeal of The Skeleton Key lies not in its plot but in its attention to detail, and the way director Iain Softley (still on probation for "K-PAX," but nevertheless the guy who did "Backbeat") luxuriates in the deeply textured sights and sounds of Louisiana.Read the full review

Tightly plotted and suspenseful enough to keep you guessing until the satisfying, unexpected end, which is worth suspending disbelief for. After all, as they point out in the movie, "It doesn't work if you don't believe it."Read the full review

An elegantly mounted ghost story that's steeped plenty of dank Louisiana atmosphere.Read the full review

Director Iain Softley employs intriguing camera angles to heighten some of the suspense. It's too bad the movie goes over the top and falls apart in the last third.Read the full review

One of those movies that explains too much while it is explaining too little, and leaves us with a surprise at the end that makes more sense the less we think about it. But the movie's mastery of technique makes up for a lot.Read the full review

Delivers its share of cheap scares but never unlocks the door to the creepiness that would have made this is memorable movie-going experience.Read the full review

One of the most enjoyably inane movies of the season, this faux Southern Gothic offers an embarrassment of geek pleasures.Read the full review

It's all ultimately made watchable by the exceptional cast ... and a story that, despite some unsavory racial undertones, holds the audience's interest even when it veers toward the downright silly.Read the full review