''The Ward'' (titled onscreen as ''John Carpenter's The Ward'') is a 2010 American
supernatural psychological horror
Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subge ...
film directed by
John Carpenter
John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
and starring
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...
,
Mamie Gummer
Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983) is an American actress. She starred in the title role of The CW series ''Emily Owens, M.D.'' (2012–2013), and played the recurring role of Nancy Crozier on '' The Good Wife'' (2010–2015) and its ...
,
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney films ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), ''Sky High (2005 film), ...
,
Laura-Leigh
Laura-Leigh Moser (born January 9, 1991) known professionally as simply Laura-Leigh, is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' The Ward'' and ''We're the Millers'' and as a series regular on the TV series ''The Client ...
,
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca (born January 7, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career by appearing as Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', on which she starred between 2001 and 2005. Thereafter, she ...
and
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
. Set in 1966, the film chronicles a young woman who is institutionalized after setting fire to a house, and who finds herself haunted by the
ghost of a former inmate at the
psychiatric ward
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
. As of 2022, this is Carpenter's most recent film as a director.
The film was shot on location at the
Eastern State Hospital in
Medical Lake, Washington
Medical Lake is a small city in Spokane County, eastern Washington, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 5,060. The city is the site of a psychiatric hospital, Eastern State Hospital, and of Fairchild Air Force Base, two major e ...
.
Plot
In rural
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, at the Coos Bay Psychiatric Hospital in 1966, a young patient named Tammy is killed by an unseen force at night.
Kristen (
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...
), a troubled young woman, sets fire to an abandoned farmhouse and is arrested. The local police take her to Coos Bay, where she meets the other patients in the ward: artistic Iris (
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca (born January 7, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career by appearing as Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', on which she starred between 2001 and 2005. Thereafter, she ...
), seductive Sarah (
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney films ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), ''Sky High (2005 film), ...
), wild Emily (
Mamie Gummer
Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983) is an American actress. She starred in the title role of The CW series ''Emily Owens, M.D.'' (2012–2013), and played the recurring role of Nancy Crozier on '' The Good Wife'' (2010–2015) and its ...
), and child-like Zoey (
Laura-Leigh
Laura-Leigh Moser (born January 9, 1991) known professionally as simply Laura-Leigh, is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' The Ward'' and ''We're the Millers'' and as a series regular on the TV series ''The Client ...
). Kristen is taken to a room previously occupied by their friend, Tammy, and meets therapist, Dr. Stringer (
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
). She reveals that she is unable to recall anything about her past. She is attacked by a horribly deformed figure that had been staring at her earlier, but upon telling the nurse this, she is drugged and put through intense
electroshock therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...
.
Dr. Stringer uses
hypnotherapy to unlock Iris's hidden memories. After the session, Iris is killed by
transorbital lobotomy by the deformed figure. Kristen finds Iris' sketch of her attacker with the name 'Alice Hudson', a former patient at the hospital. That night, Kristen and Emily attempt to find Iris and escape. However, Kristen is thwarted by Alice, and loses consciousness while Emily is caught.
Sarah is killed by Alice. Kristen discovers that all of the girls had killed Alice together because Alice constantly hurt them. Now she is after the girls for revenge. Kristen tries to talk Emily down from attempting suicide but Alice kills her by slitting her throat with a scalpel. Kristen plans to escape again by holding Zoey as a pretend hostage but is drugged and placed in a
straitjacket. She escapes it and she and Zoey try to get out. Zoey is killed by Alice off-screen. After a lengthy chase, Kristen seemingly manages to destroy Alice. She finds Alice's file in Dr. Stringer's office, which has each of the girls' names, including Kristen herself.
Dr. Stringer, catching her in his office, reveals that Kristen is actually one of many personalities of the real Alice Hudson, who was kidnapped at age eleven, eight years earlier, and left chained for two months in the basement of the same farmhouse Kristen burned down. In order to survive the trauma, she developed
multiple personality disorder
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states.
The di ...
, creating each one of the girls from the ward as a different personality. Over time, Alice's own personality became so overwhelmed by the others that she became lost. Dr. Stringer attempted experimental techniques to bring Alice's own personality back, resulting in the manifestation of Ghost Alice, who destroyed the individual personalities one by one. Her treatments were working until 'Kristen' appeared, as an attempt of Alice's mind to protect the other personalities so she wouldn't need to face her trauma.
At the end of the movie, Alice packs a suitcase with her belonging as she prepares to leave the hospital. When she opens the medicine cabinet above her sink, Kristen lunges out at her.
Cast
*
Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and '' Drive Angry'' (2011). S ...
as Kristen, the main protagonist. A girl with no memories of her life but the strong belief that she is not crazy. She feels the constant need to escape the ward no matter the cost. She is the first in noticing the other girls are disappearing and that a
vengeful ghost
In mythology and folklore, a vengeful ghost or vengeful spirit is said to be the spirit of a dead person who returns from the afterlife to seek revenge for a cruel, unnatural or unjust death. In certain cultures where funeral and burial or crem ...
might be the one behind it.
*
Mamie Gummer
Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983) is an American actress. She starred in the title role of The CW series ''Emily Owens, M.D.'' (2012–2013), and played the recurring role of Nancy Crozier on '' The Good Wife'' (2010–2015) and its ...
as Emily. She is tough and free-spirited but also the one who mostly acts in wild, insane manner, annoys the other patients, and calls everyone crazy, which often starts conflict among girls especially between her and Sarah. Initially, she tries to intimidate and scare Kristen, but eventually, Kristen's strength makes her admire her. She hides a guilty feeling inside her though it seems unlikely she will open to it.
*
Danielle Panabaker
Danielle Nicole Panabaker (born September 19, 1987) is an American actress. She began acting as a teenager and came to prominence for her roles in the The Walt Disney Company, Disney films ''Stuck in the Suburbs'' (2004), ''Sky High (2005 film), ...
as Sarah, a vain, beautiful redhead and the flirtatious one of the group. She flirts with a male nurse but is turned down because she is a mental patient. She often puts down the other girls through her snobbish and snooty disposition.
*
Laura-Leigh
Laura-Leigh Moser (born January 9, 1991) known professionally as simply Laura-Leigh, is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the films '' The Ward'' and ''We're the Millers'' and as a series regular on the TV series ''The Client ...
as Zoey, a girl who has suffered emotional trauma so severe that she keeps acting and dressing like a little girl. She carries around a stuffed rabbit everywhere she goes. She seems oppressed by the others due to her instant trust in Kristen.
*
Lyndsy Fonseca
Lyndsy Marie Fonseca (born January 7, 1987) is an American actress. She began her career by appearing as Colleen Carlton on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', on which she starred between 2001 and 2005. Thereafter, she ...
as Iris, artistically talented and prim and proper, she is the first of the girls in befriending Kristen. She is nice and kind to everyone. She also carries a sketchbook where she likes to draw. She seems to be the most aware of their situation in the ward since she explains to Kristen everything about their seclusion.
*
Mika Boorem
Mika is a given name, a nickname and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People known just as Mika
* Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr.
* Mika (footbal ...
as Alice, a girl who used to be a patient at the ward but is nowhere to be found anymore. Kristen tries to find out what happened to her during her time at the Ward.
*
Jared Harris
Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...
as Dr. Stringer, the girls' psychiatrist. He seems hopeful in curing Kristen, though his real intentions seem mysterious the whole time.
*
Sydney Sweeney as Young Alice, a young girl who Kristen sees in flashbacks, both hands chained in a cellar. Nothing is really explained about her in the beginning.
*Dan Anderson as Roy, the chief orderly at the ward. Serious and unpredictable, tries to maintain order inside the ward. He is the main target of Sarah's flirting.
*Susanna Burney as Nurse Lundt, the chief nurse at the ward. Tends to consider Kristen a loose end, and constantly tries to act without the authority of Dr. Stringer.
*Sali Sayler as Tammy, a girl who disappears from the ward unexpectedly. Her disappearance upsets the other girls. Her empty room is later occupied by Kristen. She is the mastermind behind Alice's "death" at the hands of the girls.
*
Mark Chamberlin as Mr. Hudson, the sad man (as Emily describes him and his wife). They constantly visit the ward and are often seen watching the girls from a window.
*Jillian Kramer as Monster Alice, the ghost responsible for the disappearances. Using surgical tools as torture means on her victims. Not much is clear about her other than the fact that she is getting rid of the girls one by one.
Production
The film marks a return for Carpenter after a ten-year hiatus of not making any films; his last was the 2001 film ''
Ghosts of Mars
''Ghosts of Mars'' (titled onscreen as ''John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars'') is a 2001 American science fiction action horror film written, directed and scored by John Carpenter. It was produced by Screen Gems and distributed by Sony Pictures Re ...
''.
According to Carpenter, "I was burned out...I had fallen out of love with cinematic storytelling".
Despite this, in the meantime he had done two episodes for the anthology TV show ''
Masters of Horror
''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.
Origin
In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, ...
''. Carpenter said that the series reminded him of why he fell in love with the craft in the first place.
Carpenter said that the script "came along at the right time for me",
and he was particularly fascinated by how the film took place within a single location.
The film was shot on location in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...
, and at the
Eastern State Hospital in
Medical Lake
Medical Lake is a small city in Spokane County, eastern Washington, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 5,060. The city is the site of a psychiatric hospital, Eastern State Hospital, and of Fairchild Air Force Base, two major ...
, Washington.
The film was shot at a real operating
mental hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
, and the crew was caged in to prevent patients from intervening.
Release
The first footage revealed from the film was on French channel
Canal+
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
. The film premiered on September 13 at the
2010 Toronto International Film Festival
The 35th annual Toronto International Film Festival, (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 9 and September 19, 2010. The opening night gala presented '' Score: A Hockey Musical'', a Canadian comedy-drama musical film. '' La ...
. ''The Ward'' was released in the UK on January 21, 2011. After its debut in a handful of film festivals in late 2010, ''The Ward'' was released in a few US theatres on July 8, 2011, where it grossed $7,760. The worldwide gross was $5.3 million.
[ It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the US on August 16, 2011, and in the UK on October 17, 2011.
]
Reception
''The Ward'' received generally negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, a review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
, reports that 33% of 72 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4.50/10. The site's consensus states: "Lacking the hallmarks of his best work, ''The Ward'' proves to be a disappointingly mundane swan song for director John Carpenter." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
rated it 38/100 based on 18 reviews.
Dennis Harvey of ''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "As usual Carpenter uses the widescreen frame with aplomb, but pic suffers from too little character detailing (even if a late twist explains that), rote scares, and emphasis on a hectic pace over atmosphere." Michael Rechtshaffen of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' called it "an atmospheric supernatural thriller that has been stripped of the filmmaker's later excesses". Tim Grierson of '' Screen International'' wrote, "Tight as a drum and plenty of fun, John Carpenter's first film in nine years is hardly a groundbreaker, but when the execution is this expert, why complain?" ''Film Journal International
''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', ''Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals.
H ...
'' wrote, "Genre veteran John Carpenter's sleekly professional ghost story is well-acted and directed but sadly derivative. Horror fans have seen it all before."'' The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s Phelim O'Neill also considered the film to be unoriginal, but nevertheless "a well-made film, with some finely crafted shocks"
Jeannette Catsoulis of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote that the film "continues the painful decline of a director who seems more nostalgic for past glories than excited about new ideas". Robert Abele of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' wrote that the film "feels like a foot-wetting exercise rather than a full-bodied romp in familiar waters". Owen Gleiberman of ''Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' rated it B− and wrote, "While he does bring his trademark craftsmanship to this snake-pit mental-asylum thriller, the picture has too many old-movie bits rattling around in it." Adam Nayman of '' Fangoria'' wrote, "The problem with ''The Ward'' is not so much its lack of style as the fact that the director doesn't seem to have much interest in the material". David Harley of Bloody Disgusting rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "If someone other than Carpenter had been at the helm of ''The Ward'', then no one would be talking about it." Serena Whitney of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "''John Carpenter's The Ward'' is a mediocre thriller that lacks any true original scares and blatantly rips off a twist ending from a far better film."
References
Further reading
Interviews:
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, The
2010 films
2010 horror films
2010 independent films
2010 psychological thriller films
American psychological thriller films
American supernatural horror films
American independent films
Films about dissociative identity disorder
Films shot in Washington (state)
Films set in 1966
Films set in Oregon
Films set in psychiatric hospitals
Films directed by John Carpenter
2010s English-language films
2010s American films