A little seen but well-appreciated low budget horror offering, Session 9 remains one of director Brad Anderson's most accessible films, one that manages to create sufficient unease and tension from a familiar set-up that plays out in memorable moments.

A frustrating director whose well known for helming some of the best episodes of iconic TV series such as The Wire and Breaking Bad, Anderson has had a turbulent career as a feature director with the likes of this and Christian Bale classic The Machinist showcasing an undeniable talent but efforts like Fractured, The Call and Vanishing on 7th Street efforts that suggest quality control isn't always one of Anderson's strong suits.

Filmed with minimal funds at the perfect surrounds of the Danvers Mental Hospital (a more creepy setting you'd be hard pressed to find),Session 9 follows a group of Asbesto's removal workers who against the tight turnaround on the job at the hospital and their surrounds begin to loose grip on reality that seems to be infected by the darkness that lives within the walls of the long abandoned facility.

Staying clear of jump scares and generic frights, Anderson does a great job at allowing his characters room to breath and Session 9 never appears to be in any great rush to ramp up its proceedings but it never ceases to engage as we discover more about the history of the hospital, the men who find themselves working within its walls and the patients that once inhabited the premises due to various troubles and torments.

It's not just the hospital or its long gone patients that face torment in Anderson's tale though as business partners and long time friends Gordon and Phil appear to be battling their own personal demons as they go about their work and C.S.I heavyweight David Caruso and renowned character actor Peter Mullan are great in their respective roles that keep you guessing throughout when questions of sanity and mental state begin to be asked.

It's all very small-scale, the film remains confined for the most part to tiny rooms and foreboding hallways and its happy to focus on dialogue or empty corridors to create its uneasy vibe but it all goes hand in hand to eventually combine to establish one of the better low budget horror offerings of the early 2000's and a sufficiently spooky genre entry in general.

Final Say -

One of Brad Anderson's best feature film efforts, Session 9 is a small film with some big tension and a horror film genre fans would do well to seek out.

4 boxes of Oreo's out of 5

Made on a low budget, this brilliant horror film succeeds because it doesn't fall back on any cheap gimmicks, like special effects or "shock" moments, but instead provides an eerie, forbidding atmosphere and genuine, three-dimensional characters. Writer-director Brad Anderson allows each of the characters to be an individual, to develop and play off each other, so we become genuinely interested in who these guys are, and then he allows the horror to grow out of their personalities and the world that they inhabit. This is a genuinely effective approach that recalls some of the more brilliant horror films of the past (The Shining, The Exorcist) before they were replaced by cheesy slasher movies and self-mocking teen horror flicks.

The plot in a nutshell: five men are hired to remove the asbestos from a condemned mental hospital (the movie was filmed on location at Danvers State Hospital, a place so disturbing that many of the actors reported hearing and seeing strange things during filming). As the week continues, they each begin to be affected by the place, and it's clear there's a presence of some kind there...

Each of the five main actors has a distinct style; Mullan is sullen and unsettled, Caruso is dark and intense, Sexton is hyperactive and talkative, Lucas is loud and cocky, and co-writer Gevedon is quiet and introspective. Their distinct styles allow these men to emerge as having very different personalities, and they play off each other wonderfully, with friendly banter at the beginning and as they argue and conflict with each other as the plot wears on and fear gradually sets in for each of them.

As far as the film's ending goes, let this much be said- Anderson deserves credit for willingness to follow his dark vision to the intense and unsettling end. It was probably necessary for this to be an independent film, because any major studio would have forced the filmmakers to abandon their brilliant style and add a contrived, Hollywood-style ending. Like the great horror films of yesteryear, Session 9 powerful, frightening, and most of all uncompromising.

Bill Griggs (Paul Guilfoyle) has a rush job to clear asbestos from closed mental institution. Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) owns a small removal company. He's stressed out about the business and his new baby. Mike (Stephen Gevedon) tells the rest of the crew about the history of the asylum. Phil (David Caruso) is bitter after losing his girlfriend to co-worker Hank (Josh Lucas). Jeff (Brendan Sexton III) is the Gordon's idiot nephew. Mike discovers 9 taped sessions of patient Mary Hobbes with multiple personalities.

I don't find the characters that compelling. The rooting interest is limited. It's a low budget haunted house movie. The HD digital film looks a bit better. The fact that this is all in the daylight and with full grown men makes this less scary. It has a certain moodiness. I wish the movie's timeline is shorten to increase the intensity and make the ending even more compelling. This could be improved.