What’s it about?
When the CEO of a financial giant becomes ensconced inside an Alpine health spa, corporate executive Lockhart is dispatched to retrieve him.
But what he thinks is a simple babysitting mission soon turns sinister. “Nobody ever leaves,” he is told by Hannah, an apparently permanent resident of the retreat and, when he tries to maintain his independence, he is involved in a freak road accident and wakes up back at what sells itself as a utopian facility.
It’s from there that the true horrors of the wellness center begin to reveal themselves: Lockhart discovers the extent to which its supposedly convalescent population have been made the subject of terrible and sadistic experimentation.
Who’s in it?
Dane DeHaan of “In Treatment,” “Chronicle,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” comes in as an increasingly unnerved Lockhart, with BIFA nominee Mia Goth (“The Survivalist,” “Everest”) as Hannah.
Jason Isaacs, now best known as Lucius Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” films, is the silky-voiced medical director Volmer who subjects Lockhart and the rest of the spa’s inmates to a scheme of mental manipulation and, at times, outright physical assault.
Who’s behind it?
The track record of Gore Verbinski, director, includes horror adaptation “The Ring,” the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, and animated feature “Rango.”
Less well received were comedy drama “The Weather Man” and radio play update “The Lone Ranger.”
He wrote the “Cure for Wellness” story with scriptwriter Justin Haythe of “The Lone Ranger,” “Revolutionary Road” and “Snitch.”
Is it any good?
Sumptuous production design, some truly skin-crawling scenes that merit a well-deserved R-rating, and an intriguing opening half don’t necessarily hold up in terms of story, leading to a mixed batch of reviews — some high, some low, some in between — on both Metacritic (49/100) and Rotten Tomatoes (50% approval from a 5.9/10 average.)
Some 280 IMDb users have combined to give it a 7.3/10 score based on early screenings.
When’s it out?
The week of February 17 sees “A Cure for Wellness” start slithering into cinemas the world over: territories include France and the Philippines on February 15, Brazil, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia and Singapore the next day, and the USA, South Africa, Taiwan, and additional northern and eastern European locations open on the 17th; one week later and it spreads to the UK and Ireland, Germany and Denmark.