Amber Heard makes mental patients sexy in John Carpenter’s latest, “The Ward,” a sometimes campy, sometimes scary, but mostly soporific new horror flick. And while Carpenter isn’t merely rehashing his own bag of tricks, for once, he does appear to be pickpocketing other directors instead.
Remember those surprise twists in “Shutter Island”? Get ready for them not to shock you this time.
Heard stars as Kristen, an orphan found by police standing in front of a flaming farmhouse. She is admitted into the local mental hospital where she meets Emily, the sad-clowny patient (Mamie Gummer); Sarah, the sassy brunette (Danielle Panabaker); Iris, the regressive child-like one (Lyndsy Fonseca); and regressive, scared, child-like Zoey (Laura-Leigh).