The Skeleton Key

(Herald rating: * *)

A supernatural thriller set in the eerie south outside New Orleans, The Skeleton Key has a great cast, fleeting moments of arresting images, and every cliche from the bayou you could imagine.

But, if its frights and twists you are after, then The Skeleton Key from Ehren Kruger, rewriter of The Ring, is disappointingly lacking in both.

Considering I jump at the smallest fright, I thought I coped with this superbly, then realised the person next to me had fallen asleep. This may have been caused by the storyline unfolding with mostly predictable twists.

Director Ian Softley (K-Pax) emphasises the creepy setting nicely, and presents pretty and at times interesting images, but he never really sets the screen alight.

Kate Hudson takes on the spunky girl role in this flick, playing a hospice caregiver called Caroline.

The first thing that fascinates you about Goldie Hawn's daughter is not that there isn't an ounce of pregnancy fat left on her, but that her ears stick out. That this caught my attention was the first sign The Skeleton Key might not be as engrossing as I'd hoped.

Caroline, who used to be a groupie (no, not the one she played in Almost Famous), is trying to do something worthwhile with her life, and takes a job as a live-in caregiver for Ben (Hurt) the terrified husband of an elderly woman, Violet Devereaux (Rowlands), who lives in a creepy old house in a swamp.

Soon enough Caroline discovers hoodoo (a folk religion which originated in the South) is being practised in the house.

Cue rain, hanging dried bones, an old blind woman, an empty chair rocking on the balcony, faded sepia photos of past souls, and other Southern voodoo-like cliches, and suddenly life on the bayou is a little more sinister than Caroline was expecting.

Now, Caroline is a smart cookie, and although it's honourable that she wants to be a nurse, you do wonder why an earth she sticks at this job.

Hudson tries hard to make us believe she's committed to helping poor Ben, but she just comes across as nosey, and you don't really care whether she makes it out alive or not.

It's not quite the sleep-inducing experience my neighbour found, but The Skeleton Key does lack the originality and direction to bring it to life.

CAST: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands, Peter Sarsgaard, John Hurt
DIRECTOR: Ian Softley
RUNNING TIME: 105 mins
RATING: R13 (horror scenes)
SCREENING: Village, Hoyts and Berkeley cinemas