Room 6 (2006) Reviews

• Room 6

  Scarecrow-882009-03-14

  Amy Roberts(Christine Taylor)is having recurring nightmares where a surgeon and staff are about to make an incision while she's still awake, and the faces and event are so real. Boyfriend Nick(Shane Brolly)finally pops the big question but she's late for work, and this unresolved answer(..if she'll marry him)will have to wait until after school(..she's a school teacher). Amy is incredibly afraid of hospitals and this fear derives from a tragic incident when she was a child regarding the death of her pops. A child plagued with terrifying nightmares, Melissa Norman(Chloe Moretz), in her class might have the answer to halt the dreams tormenting Amy..Melissa's artistic renderings of those nightmarish faces troubles Amy, demonic and grotesque. After school, Amy and Nick are driving home when a truck smashes into their SUV causing a massive collision..left with a broken leg, Nick is taken away by rude, inhospitable paramedics and Amy left concerned about which hospital he would be going. Lucas Dylan(Jerry O'Connell), the other driver, whose sister is also hurt and taken to a hospital of unknown origin, will accompany Amy as they search for the whereabouts of their loved ones. Meanwhile, Amy begins seeing demonic faces of her own, many carrying an exact likeness to those horrifying drawings painted by Melissa. We also follow Nick, who is trapped in a hospital with a weird, intimidating staff, and nervous, frightened patients who are reluctant to answer his probing questions about the mysterious behavior of those in charge of their well being. I'm in the minority regarding this movie, because I thought it was an unsettling, rather creepy little demonic thriller, with terrific make-up effects from Robert Hall and his Almost Human team. I thought the demons were genuinely frightening, and provide a real sense of dread as Amy confronts opposing forces who want her soul. The Rosemary's Hospital is quite a spooky setting and it's back story heightens the terror, while also providing answers to what Amy is up against..a battle, or test, facing a past decision regarding her father's death that has lingered over the years, and overcoming this by confronting it will be the only way of escaping those who desire for her to "join them." The theme is really traditional "good vs evil" subject matter with Amy's soul hanging in the balance. Renowned camera operator Raymond Stella learned a lot from working with Dean Cundy, as cinematographer really creating a disquieting atmosphere within the hospital(..the way the lights flicker on and off; how disconcerting, empty, and dark the halls are). Within the film, Amy does have help(..ambiguously presented by certain characters who somehow know her name, like the taxi driver)in discovering the history of Rosemary's hospital in pursuit of saving Nick, while the evil forces always try to thwart her mission. Nick also finds himself pitted against the forces of darkness, trying to uncover the mystery behind the hospital he's stuck in, while also attempting to understand the aggressive and off-putting nature of the staff. Why do they take so much blood, and where are they when he needs them? Director Michael Hurst creates a state of unease for Amy and from the moment she leaves the wreck, the film remains surreal and strange, a world in purgatory as she attempts to find Nick, a spiritual struggle to the very end. Flashy role for Ellie Cornell(Halloween IV)as a disgruntled, acid-tongued white trash mother of Melissa who doesn't appreciate Amy's attempts at "headshrinking" her daughter. Kane Hodder has a terrific cameo as a bum who attempts to attack Amy, and gets into a violent scuffle with Lucas. O'Connel, as Lucas, is able to create an air of mystery despite conveying a very comforting and supportive friend to Amy, who certainly needs one. The climax in the hospital is a doozy, particularly when Amy must face the spirits of burn victims and killer nurses after her as she searches for Nick. The computer effects aren't as effective as the make-up prosthetic work, but I felt they aren't a really heavy burden on the movie overall. Cool factoid..the boiler scene where Amy squares off with a demon harassing her was in fact the very room where NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was shot. The film does seem reminiscent to JACOB'S LADDER in it's spiritual theme and discomforting nightmarish scenario(..though, this film doesn't quite reach it in overall quality).

• And yet another new horror movie ruined by the ending

  Milo-Jeeder2007-05-24

  I usually don't mind playing the devil's advocate and be the only one who doesn't have anything nasty to say about a movie that was already extremely criticized. However, while I intend to keep standing up for a few misunderstood gems, there's nothing I can say to save or defend "Room 6". It's a real shame actually, because the movie had some fairly meritorious deal of potential and I was even willing to leave aside the unintentional funny moments and the occasional bad acting. Unfortunately, the ending undeniably ruined the whole thing and that's just something that I can't tolerate in horror movies nowadays. I don't understand why there are tons of movies out there that even though they're not exactly masterpieces, they're okay and all of a sudden, through the last minutes, something extremely stupid happens and ruins the film entirely. This is the case of "Room 6", along with many other films that came out lately. In "Room 6", a young schoolteacher named Amy, finds herself struggling with very unpleasant circumstances, after a tragic car accident she suffers with her boyfriend, Nick. After this unpleasant event, Amy, who has a strange aversion to hospitals, decides to confront her phobia and looks for her boyfriend. Unconveniently, right after the accident, Nick is mysteriously taken by two strecher bearers who refuse to give Amy any information about where they would leave him. Desperate and with no one else to turn to, the young school teacher, hopelessly tries to find her boyfriend in a world gone mad, full of people who seem to be hiding something from her and some weird demons on the loose. Simoultaneously, another young man named Lucas, who was involved in the same car accident, finds himself in a similar situation and decides to team up with Amy in a search that makes them experience some of the most bizarre and fearful circumstances. If I have to be honest, I actually believe the story is not all that bad. Perhaps it was somehow inspired by some previous stories, but the idea itself wasn't terrible. The problem is that the execution was terribly done. First of all, there are things that simply don't have and explanation and they only add confussion to a simple story that doesn't need all these "comes and goes" that lead to nowhere itself. The background story about Amy and her late father somehow appears out of place and the typical little girl who knows too much seems extremely far-fetched. Also, even though the two leading actors are fairly popular (Christine Taylor and Jerry O'Conell), the acting was beyond laughable. I don't know if they both went backwards to the early days of their career or if they were simply badly directed. All I know is that Ms. Taylor and Mr O'Conell were disappointing and I didn't expected two familiar faces in such a silly project that was somehow doomed from the get-go. Ellie Cornell was by far the best thing about this film and not only regarding the acting. Her character, a low-class and foul-mouthed trailer-trash woman, works as some kind of comedy relief to the story and while the results are modest, I myself found this character in particular as one of the highest points of the film. Ms. Cornell definitely is a magnificent actress and it was nice to see her leaving the sweet Rachel she once played in "Halloween 4", behind. Perhaps she is the only reason why this big mess is enjoyable in the end.

• Promising Story, Bad Acting, Disappointing Conclusion

  claudio_carvalho2008-01-26

  The school teacher Amy (Christine Taylor) has been proposed by her boyfriend Nick (Shane Brolly) early in the morning and she promises her answer later in the afternoon. After her class, while coming back home, Nick has a car accident in a crossroad with a truck driven by Lucas Dylan (Jerry O'Connell). He breaks his leg and an ambulance takes him to the hospital. Amy has phobia with hospitals, but she gets a taxi and goes to the nearest hospital. However, Nick is not there, and she meets Lucas, who is also looking for his sister that has disappeared in the same weird circumstance. They decide to team up and search together where the victims might have been interned, while Amy experiences the most bizarre and scary situations. "Room 6" is a movie with a promising story, bad acting and a very disappointing conclusion. The idea is not totally bad, in spite of using a rip-off of "Jacob's Ladder", with a troubled woman having to confront with her innermost fears to resolve her traumas and phobias to go peacefully to another life. I have startled many times, reason why I did not totally dislike this flick. However, the screenplay uses lots of unexplained and unnecessary situations just to mislead the viewer, like for example, the girl Melissa Norman, the nurses drinking blood or even the nightmare of Amy with the mysterious St. Rosemary's Hospital in the very beginning. The performances of Christine Taylor, Shane Brolly and Jerry O'Connell are terrible, and the lead actress spends a great part of the film with the most dreadful and annoying screams. Consequently the direction is not good. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Quarto Seis" ("Room Six")

• Room 6? More Like Room Sucks...

  gavin69422006-12-07

  A woman and her boyfriend get into a car accident. After the man is taken by ambulance to an unknown location, the woman (Christine Taylor) goes on a hunt to find him along with her new friend (Jerry O'Connell) -- along the way encountering demons for some reason. I am sad to report that Christine Taylor makes for a very weak leading lady. I loved her in "Dodgeball" and "My Name is Earl", but for some reason she comes across as very flighty here (more in the first half than in the second). Is she not capable of drama? Is acting scared just not something she can do? I don't know, but I was let down. (I'm still jealous of Ben Stiller for having such a hot wife, though.) The early parts of the film are very tedious. There is lots of empty, repetitive dialogue (both in the opening hospital scene, and shortly after when Amy is getting picked up from school). The less each person says, the better the scenes are in this movie. Unfortunately, in the first ten minutes no one will shut up long enough to let the movie have a solid start. (The phrase "I'm awake" probably is said no less than twenty-five times in the first five minutes.) What I found also odd was that although the makeup was decent (the demons looked like demons), the special effects were not very impressive. Rather than use a trick syringe for an injection, for example, they slid the syringe under the sleeve of a patient. Maybe I'm picky and the average viewer wouldn't notice, but I felt cheated. Now, the scenery was nice. The abandoned hospital, the ambulances, the demons. There is a scene with vampire lesbians (or something like that) which I thought was quite alright, although it was more of a tease than anything. Somebody decided to cast Jerry O'Connell, and I'd like to know whom that was. In all fairness, Jerry was a better actor in this film than Christine Taylor. But he just calls to mind crappy films like "Tom Cats" and the show "Sliders". I like Sliders, but this guy is a cheesy actor. He's right up there with Brendan Fraser. His very presence makes a movie's suck factor increase. This one was no exception. Horror icon Kane Hodder (better known as Jason Voorhees) shows up to be a demon bum. I enjoyed seeing Kane Hodder, but the part was not important and could have been played by pretty much anyone. (And really, if you're casting for a bum, get someone who's bum-looking, not a weightlifter.) I will give the Best Actress award in this film to the little girl named Melissa (played by Chloe Moretz). She actually had my full attention when she was on the screen, like everything she said or did was crucial. Excellent. Moretz is becoming what I would call "the Dakota Fanning of horror", because she seems to be the person you call when you need a little girl. (Moretz has so far also appeared in "Wicked Little Things" and "Amityville Horror".) My biggest problem with this movie, besides the poor acting and weak production value, was I was constantly asking myself: did any of this add up? Demons, lesbian vampires, a hospital that doesn't exist, ambulances that steal loved ones. The film makes some attempt to explain this, but that attempt is incredibly weak and I was left trying to piece things together. But I felt like I opened a 500-piece puzzle and 700 pieces fell out. What the heck? 2006 has offered some quality horror films. "Slither", "Feast" and "Saw 3" just to name some off the top of my head. "Room 6" is not one of them, so unless you spend most of your free time watching really crappy movies (like I obviously do), don't pick this one up.

• A decent yet unmemorable film

  charlene_boyle2006-06-20

  Overall this wasn't a horrible film, but wasn't overly impressive either. This film had some interesting parts and ideas to it. The demons were done quite nicely. It kinda reminded me of a badly made Stephen King made for TV movie. I enjoyed the actors in this film, though not real sure what Jerry O'Connell was thinking when he signed on to this movie, he's much better as a comic actor such as in "Kangaroo Jack". There was several scenes where i'm not quite sure what the director was thinking when he added them other then he just wanted to get some T&A included in the film. It wasn't overly scary, my 4 year old son watched it and didn't blink an eye if that tells you anything. It is however worth watching if your bored and have nothing else to do or watch, just don't have high expectations for the film and you'll enjoy it.