Every one I come across who loves horror movies, I always tell them to check out SESSION 9. It's one of my top favorites for creeping me out. Be warned: there is no gore or much blood, but it's totally psychological and really gets under your skin. It's a low budget movie shot entirely at the old Danvers asylum in New England. I don't think it played in theatres, but I had read about it in Fangoria and then found a copy at Blockbuster. I've only watched it 3 times because it freaks me out so much. I'd love to hear what other people thought about this because some friends I've told didn't think it was that scary. Maybe it's an acquired taste. It reminds me of "The Shining" in the sense that you take a small group of people and isolate them in a building that is evil and watch what unfolds.

I happen to think this movie is brilliant. Very creepy, nice twist. The voice on the film annoys the shit out of me, but it is worth it.

This is how low budget horror is supposed to be done!

I sure do. Funny you mention The Shining, since the asylum in Session 9 was the creepiest thing about the movie, much like the hotel. My favorite parts were when Hank is alone in the asylum at night and sees the shadow appear at the other end of the hall, and when the nephew was running down the tunnel as the lights were going out behind him.

I was hoping for a different twist when I first saw the movie. I really thought that "Mary" on the tapes was really Gordon as a kid, and she was just another split personality of his... so he was the murdering kid all along. Mary died, not him, and he went on to live a "normal" life. That was the type of twist I wanted a few years ago. Now I appreciate the idea behind Simon a little more, a take on the whole "Simon Says" game. I've read some people say that Simon was a demon or spirit that lived in Mary, and that it had escaped when she died and possessed Gordon when he came to the hospital. While it certainly can be interpreted that way, I see Simon as that little voice inside our heads that most people can ignore; the evil side of our conscious. Gordon was so stressed with his demanding job, his slacker crew, and his newborn baby that he couldn't handle it. "Simon" took over his actions, just like it did with Mary. Gordon and Mary's stories are parallel. Back then I so badly wanted them to connect in a more direct way, but now I appreciate more how they connect indirectly.

Yes, this is one of my favorites too! One of the creepiest parts for me is just like astral mentioned - when the teen is running, and the lights are going out. That would be absolutely terrifying! I'm just super creeped out by the parts too when the one worker is listening to the tapes. Hearing all of the voices on it just creeps me out! I remember having to sleep with a lot of the lights on in my house after I watched this one

I'm glad to hear people mention the tunnel scene where the lights go out. That was an amazing shot and one of those things where you say , "Why didn't I think of that?!" The scene with Hank in the tunnel also freaked me out. I like the connection Astral made with Mary and Gordon. I always felt that Gordon was one of those people with a switch in his head and going to the asylum where 'Mary' lingered was the catalyst that flipped it and sent him on a killing spree. Not unlike Eleanor in Robert Wise's "The Haunting", a person who is in tune to the dark forces at work.

Both of my Grandparents worked at Danvers State. They used to tell me stories of all the tunnels running under it. When the place closed down there were a lot of rumors of inmates living in those tunnels for years afterwards. My Grandfather said it was definitely one of the creepiest places he ever worked in. He used to try to scare us as little kids driving by it and saying it was Dracula's Castle. Unfortunately, both my Grandparents have passed away but not before I could show them the movie Session 9. My Grandfather said he recognized some of the areas. It's too bad that the place is being torn down to build apartments or something. I don't know about you but I wouldn't want to live on the same spot of that place hehe.

It's funny you mention the stories about inmates living in Danvers after it's closure, some of the deleted scenes on the DVD deal with an inmate still running around the building. That's interesting that your grandparents worked there. That place would sure give me the creeps, even just driving by. Too bad about apartments being built there. Although, that has the makings of a horror movie written all over it...

Thanks for the stories. Abandoned asylums are a passion of mine.

I saw this movie a while back and it really suprised me on how good it was. I had an uneasy feeling the whole time I was watching it the twist was good but it was a little predictable but thats not a bad thing since the movie was good. I thought it would be another straight to video low budget piece of crap but I was wrong. Now i'm going to go out and buy the dvd, thanks for reminding me, I totally forgot about this movie.

For me, this happens to be one of the more psychologically unnerving movies I've ever seen. There is something about the building, the way it's all filmed and those freakin' tapes! Ugh You spend the entire movie wound up like a spring waiting to pop. You are always tense moving around the asylum expecting some awful ghost or creepy thing to jump at you from around the corner but it never really does and that keeps you on your toes. Instead it's so much more psychologically infused but so subtle that it just outright creeps up on you and freaks you out. I love this film and if you all enjoy this film, check out my review for Brad Anderson's (the director for Session 9) latest film titled Transsiberian. It's really good. I highly recommend it for a viewing. He also directed The Machinist, another great film from this director. Brad Anderson makes the creep in all of his movies with his style. I really enjoy anything from this director. He hasn't made a bad film yet. His Masters of Horror entry is also really good, imo. It's titled Sounds Like and it stars Christopher Bauer, a very good actor.