10 MORE Great Horror Movies (Nobody Ever Talks About)
3. The Skeleton Key
In The Skeleton Key, hospice worker, Caroline, is hired by a woman to care for her husband, Ben, who's recently suffered a stroke. When Caroline notices strange occurrences in the house, Ben's wife assures her nothing is out of the ordinary. But when Caroline discovers a secret room in the attic, she worries it contains a dark and horrible secret.
On the surface, The Skeleton Key feels like a hodge-podge of horror stereotypes. It's got voodoo, mysterious rooms, paranormal forces, and a silent character who may know more than he's letting on. Although these tropes have been done to death, The Skeleton Key makes them all work together to form a compelling and original supernatural horror.
It may seem sacrilegious to relegate John Hurt to a non-speaking role, but the visionary performer is so talented, he conveys everything he needs to with his facial expressions alone.
The Skeleton Key may come across as a tad formulaic for the most part, but it pulls the rug out from under you in the third act, leaving you sideswiped from a genuinely upsetting twist.