It’s just that some filmmakers create them better than others.

In this dismal thriller, Berry plays Dr. Miranda Grey, a criminal
psychologist who works in the psych ward of a penitentiary. There she
tries to help female patients such as Chloe (Penelope Cruz), who
claims to be molested by Satan.

Although the movie never specifies, one can assume the institution is
located in Seattle, because that would explain why outside it’s
always gloomy and rainy. But it doesn’t explain why this is the type
of place where one room is impeccably sterile, then another is dirty
and rat-infested, depending on the “spooky” demands of the script.

The building is also in need of a good electrician. The lights in
every hallway and cell are constantly flickering. This can’t be
healthy for the patients who have epilepsy.

One night while driving home, Miranda has a close encounter with
something otherworldly on an isolated bridge. When she wakes up days
later, she is now a patient in her own hospital. It seems her
husband/employer (Charles S. Dutton) has been brutally murdered – and
all evidence points to her.
From there it’s a race to unlock the secrets of her ordeal before the
ghostly images plaguing the doctor really do claim her sanity.

French filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Crimson Rivers”) relies on
two types of scare tactics in “Gothika,” both of which stem from the
perspective of his lead character. First, he utilizes the old
“Twilight Zone” favorite of a person at war with the loss of his/her
identity. The talented Berry is best in scenes opposite a fellow
coworker (a squirrelly Robert Downey Jr.) when trying to piece
together her brittle memories.

Second, the director (and screenwriter Sebastian Gutierrez) falls
back on the “crazy person who is seeing and hearing things.” But the
heroine’s frequent apparitions are dominated by a wet, undead waif
with stringy hair. As if this effigy weren’t already thoroughly
exploited in “The Ring.”

The only excitement to be found in “Gothika” – a title that is never
once explained or even referenced, by the way – are those times when
the imprisoned doctor orchestrates an escape. Even these are more
action-oriented scenes than horror-related.

Other than that, the movie never elicits much of anything: no
thrills, chills, sighs or highs. It even manages to make a shower
scene involving both Berry and Cruz completely boring.

“The ability to suppress is a vital survival tool,” Dutton tells
Berry when discussing the psychology of a patient.

That’s also good career advice for an elegant, Oscar-winning actress
who needs to forget this dud and proceed on to projects that will do
her justice.