The Skeleton Key

I just got back from The Skeleton Key. That's the one nice thing I learned in NYC, how to just go to the movies whether or not you feel like going with anyone. Still, it's the kind of movie that's a little better than it has a right to be and so as much as I was glad to go by myself, I'm a little frustrated that I don't have anyone to talk it over with. So, the movie. It's fine. It has a twist that, if you don't see it coming a mile away, I'm guessing this is your first movie. Really, if Hollywood wants us to be surprised by a surprise ending, they need to stop saying "The biggest twist since The Sixth Sense." I still liked it though. Like I said, it's a little better than it has a right to be and the religious statues that are both themselves and perhaps voudou gods, the blues and jazz listened to by white folks, the folk magic born out of African, European, and Native American traditions, and the "shocking" revelation at the end of the movie makes me think that the movie is actually a lot about cultural appropriation. Yes, a cheesy summer thriller that seems to casually dwell on the kind of creepy energy that comes from us all stealing our precious things from each other.