Lleno, Ma. Trishia P.

Reaction Paper #: 2

12 STEM – A July 17, 2017

Movie Review: A Cure For Wellness

“A Cure For Wellness” is a psycho-thrilling and extremely peculiar movie released on 10th day of
December 2016 directed by an american auter, Gore Verbinski. The storyline of the movie is
mindboggingly eccentric with a touch of eels. I was engrossed with the inscrutability of the mysterious
whims of the plot which stand against the banality of the conventional film industry’s standards.

In terms of the overall cinematography of the film, it is undeniably superb. The consisteny of the
sinisterly gothic ambiance of the castle-like wellness center will bring you back at 19th century. The sound
effects and musicality are indeed overwhelmingly exquisite. I can say that the director made a good
choice of actors and actresses for they convincingly executed their characters.

However, it is strictly not suitable for the young innocent ones since it is a R-rated movie which
depicts obscene and explicit contents. Keywords recapitulate its theme includes violence, graphic nudity,
sexual content with sexual assault, and disturbing language. Although it is a demented movie, I still find it
outstanding for it captured the standards of my inner psycho-thriller-cinephile. Furthermore, the essence
of it doesn’t only dwell with the minor variables and elements, hence to the metaphorical significance of it.

If it is scrutinized in a perspective quite eradicating the R-rated elements of the movie, it portrays
an exceptional sociatal elucidation of life. The first quarter portion of the movie depicts how aquisitive
humanity is; scraping everything in sight just to be on top. This statement is evident on the personality of
the young hotshot protagnist, Mr. Lockhart. He is a personified paradigm of the smugness in each one of
us. Mr. Lockhart was sent to a sanatorium in the mountains of Swiss Alps to retrieve an executive for their
business merger. This served as his punishment after his employers discovered his decieving scheme to
be promoted. To cut things short, the melodramatic movie gradually revealed that the entire clinic is an
establishment of hell wherein wealthy aged individuals who seek for the cure turns out to be the cure
itself. The clinic director, Dr. Volmer used seemingly immortal eels residing on their ancient aquifier well to
extract the essence of his subjects. The essence of their victims is their elixir to become immortal.
However, he isn’t only a 200-plus-old mad scientist who seeks for immorality. He is actually a quasi-facist
who tied up with his barren sister to preserve the purity and superiority of their race. Although, Volmer
cured the infertility of her sister and managed to raised their child; which he tried to violate for the sake of
his quest; He is still unsuccessful in finding the cure – which is to create a superior human race. In this
understanding, the movie accentuates how man becomes a devoted slave of his own earthly obssession.

Stimulating hydrophobia is not the objective of the movie, neither promoting incentuos
pornography with piscatorical allegory. Nevertheless, the moral intention of the movie is to endeavor soul
penetration to be enlightened in a idiosyncratic way. The film serves as a reminder for us to bear in mind
the fact that the only thing we acquire in satisfying one’s rapaciousness is nothing but nothing.