The Skeleton Key (2005)

For anyone zombified by creaky thriller clichés, Skeleton is a fine little shot in the head.

An elegantly mounted ghost story that's steeped plenty of dank Louisiana atmosphere.

Delivers its share of cheap scares but never unlocks the door to the creepiness that would have made this is memorable movie-going experience.

One of those movies that explains too much while it is explaining too little, and leaves us with a surprise at the end that makes more sense the less we think about it. But the movie's mastery of technique makes up for a lot.

Stirring up a humid Gothic mood and amassing a gifted roster of actors, The Skeleton Key is unable to ward off the nasty spirits of formula screenwriting.