The Skeleton Key: Voodoo or Poo Poo?

Caroline (Kate Hudson) is a 25-year-old hospice worker who cares for the ailing and the elderly, a job designed to atone for her own mistake for ignoring her dying father in the past, when she had been a rock 'n' roll manager. After her latest charge passes away, Caroline takes a job in Louisiana, caring for Ben (John Hurt), a stroke-victim who is bed-ridden and cannot speak.

But Caroline becomes suspicious of the house, and Luke's cold wife, Violet (Gena Rowlands) only adds to the creepy atmosphere. After acquiring a skeleton key, Caroline makes her way into a secret room within the attic where she discovers hair, blood, bones, spells, and other instruments for practicing voodoo.

Violet says she has never been in the secret room, but that the items probably belonged to the original owners' two houseworkers, who practiced black magic and were lynched as a result. In hearing this Caroline is determined to unlock the secrets of the house.

Oh man what can I say? It stars Kate Hudson! I know I shouldn't judge a movie just cause Kate Hudson is in it. But she did play Penny Lane, the starter of the band aides in my favorite Cameron Crowe movie. (Almost Famous) So anyways I think that Kate Hudson's perfromance was exellent in this flick.

Oh and damn she looks good for having a baby a few months ago with her rocker husband. (Damn you Russell Robinson! Damn you to hell!) but yes this movie has a shot of Kate topless, but you can't really see much but it's nice. Oh then you have, who I think is a very underated actor, Peter Sarsgaard. Who's southern accent was dead on in my opinon and who also did a extreamely good job in this film.

There is only two things I can say about this film that I didn't like. 1) I hated Gena Rowlands ("Violet Devereaux"), I really wish that they would have got someone else for this role. It just didn't seem like a right fit to me anyways. 2) I don't like how they publisized this movie to be a horror movie. So if you are expecting to be scared, don't be other then the few easy scares they get you with.

This movie is just a fun movie to go see with your friends. So if you see this movie don't expect the 2005 Movie of the year, but do expect to have a good time at the movies.

Overall Movie Rating- C+