The Ward came out in 2011, so I know I’m a little late with this review. Still, I’ve been living in heavy anticipation of John Carpenter’s first return to feature film directing since 2001’s Ghosts of Mars. With classic films such as Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, Christine, Escape From LA, and Vampires under his belt – the question remained – does John Carpenter still have “it” roughly 35 years later?
In The Ward, a young woman named Kristen is institutionalized after setting fire to her home, which I guess was a common occurrence in the late 50s/early 60s when this film takes place. Almost immediately after entering the ward, she begins to bond with her fellow inmates and starts to realize something is not quite right within the facility. It turns out, young women have a habit of disappearing late at night. Sometimes they return barely conscious and other times they return as a zombie ghost.
The Ward stars Amber Heard (The Stepfather, “The Playboy Club”), Mamie Gummer (Stop-Loss, “The Big C”), Danielle Panakaber (The Crazies remake, Piranha 3DD), Lyndsy Fonseca (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Nikita”),and Jared Harris (“Fringe,” Resident Evil: Apocalypse). The screenplay was written by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen.
The first thing I want to get across to readers is that The Ward is 100% an authentic John Carpenter film. By this I mean it contains the essence – that special quality – of every Carpenter movie that makes you realize right away that you are watching a masterpiece. There are subtle differences, maybe even tricks or styles that Carpenter has that make his films productionally unique to him. As a director, this is an important characteristic to have because it makes you stand out from the crowd, and could be the reason Carpenter has had such a long lasting and prolific career in film. If you enjoyed the quality and style of his previous films, then you will enjoy The Ward too.
Secondly, Pam Dixon was hired as casting director and I can see why she has had a career in film just as long as Carpenters. She has been responsible for picking cast members in films such as Revenge of The Nerds II, Tremors, City Slickers II, Angels In The Outfield, The Craft, Exorcist: The Beginning, and Green Lantern. The casting decisions here were simply magical; the cast members chosen were the perfect actors to fill the role and their performances is what sold the movie for me. Each and every actor – even down to the barely there orderly – pulled in a great performance and really captured the emotions both within the facility they were locked in and the movie in general.
The Ward’s screenplay was superb and original. Very creative! The pace of the movie is even and keeps viewers interesting from start to finish. The creature/killer was kept a secret until most of the movie was over; although I already spoiled that for you above. However, the way the script was written, it becomes very clear there is more than one villain in The Ward. I think it’s safe to say that the institution itself is a second antagonist as it causes many internal conflicts for its inhabitants. My biggest compliment to the script is the two twists that happen. They were written and displayed on-screen so expertly that I honestly did not see them coming. The script is a really inventive mix of drama, horror, and supernatural elements.
I think that – after roughly 35 years – John Carpenter still has “it,” but this time he had some help to create another great film to add to his accomplished resume. John Carpenter, Pam Dixon, Michael and Shawn Rasmusen, Amber Heard, and Jared Harris really all came together to form a perfect storm. I’m shocked that The Ward only received a large release in Italy, Ireland, and parts of Asia. (It got a very limited release in America, btw) John Carpenter fans will eat this film up! The Ward is currently available on Amazon Instant Video and on DVD. I encourage every horror fan to go buy or rent the film this Halloween season. It makes the perfect addition to your Halloween viewing list and you will not be disappointed.
