A Cure for Wellness
2017 · Directed by Gore Verbinski
Original language: English
- horror
- mystery
- science fiction
The story
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
What it’s like
Cold, saturated Alpine light and a sterile, gleaming spa interior give this film its look: wide, symmetrical compositions of white corridors, pale stone and dark pine, with deliberate, unsettling framing that lingers on reflections, mirrors and sunlit water. Gore Verbinski pairs images that are visually lush with an undercurrent of decay, using grainy, slightly washed-out texture and a score of dissonant strings and low, creeping tones that swell at odd moments. The mood is clammy and uneasy, a slow-building dread with bursts of grotesque body horror, including a few brief but graphic images of injury and surgery, and some sexual content and drug-influenced disturbance. Pacing is unhurried and often hypnotic, with long stretches of eerie calm broken by sudden shocks. Its emotional arc follows a driven, self-assured man whose certainty slowly erodes as he is drawn into a community that feels both caring and menacing. It suits a late-night watch alone or a dark, rainy evening, and is best for viewers who enjoy atmospheric, gothic-tinged horror with a strong visual style and are comfortable with graphic, unsettling content.
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