Shelter (2009 film)
Encyclopedia
Shelter is a supernatural horror-thriller directed by Måns Mårlind
and Björn Stein, written by Michael Cooney, and starring Julianne Moore
and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The movie is straight-to-video in the U.S. possibly in 2011.
) is at an airport planning to go home. A little after she calls her daughter Sam (Brooklynn Proulx
) from the airport, who is being looked after by her brother Stephen (Nathan Corddry) she receives an intriguing call from her own father Dr. Harding (Jeffrey DeMunn
), also a psychiatrist. He tells her about an interesting new patient he has found and persuades her to come and with him and see the patient and she agrees out of career-spurred curiosity though she is annoyed that he thinks she "should just change her schedule because he's dug out some patient from the archives."
Cara meets the patient (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who is wheeled into the room and introduces himself as David Bernburg. "David" as the patient is known at this time speaks in an accent that seems to vary minutely with each sentence and its length; Cara does some standard visual 'psyche revealing' test including ones with multiples small circles in a pattern where the numbers 16 and 73 are clearly visible to normally sighted people. "David" answers in a seemingly ordinary way and talks to Cara civilly. Not long into her assessment, Cara's dad, Dr Harding- who has been watching everything through special glass makes a call to a telephone that is one the table where Cara and "David" are sitting. It rings for an uncomfortable period before "David" picks it up. Dr Harding states his name into the receiver "This is Doctor Harding. I am looking for Adam Saber." A confused "David" tells him Adam is not there and then strange noises are heard shortly thereafter. "David" has an unseen transformation into "Adam" and Cara is visibly disturbed by what she sees, which the viewer can only hear at this time. Adam Saber is 31 with a New Yorker accent, compared to David's more Southern variant. Cara greets "Adam" again as if he were a different person and proceeds to do the same tests she had previously done on "David". Adam stands up - he can walk despite being immobilized by a wheelchair moments earlier as "David". Adam's behaviour and answers are different, he is not as complacent and shows no interest in fully participating but in the circle pattern visual test he says he cannot see the visible 16 and 73. Cara accepts and takes out a different test, just a pattern of olive green circles varying slightly in size with nothing visible. Adams professes to see a 7 and Cara nods and places red film over the card, making a 7 clear. She asks him if he is colour blind and he admits to red deficiency since birth. Adam asks Cara about her faith, seeing a small gold crucifix necklace around her neck...She tells him that she sees herself as a doctor of science, but a woman of God. He also takes an interest in the death of Cara's husband upon discovering he was murdered through Dr Harding who states that as the reason he doesn't believe in God anymore, "the murder of a good man".
Cara thinks she has Adam figured out, since he can actually walk she believes that Adam must be the 'host' (real person) and David is the 'alter'. Going to the hospital to check up on Adam's medical records, she discovers that when Adam is 'Adam' and when Adam is 'David', his skeletal structure alters, so that when he is 'David', his vertebrate is fused. As well, she visits a doctor in the hospital, an old friend of hers and who took care of Adam after he was found in the streets. Cara researches on David's history and finds that David is a different person than Adam's alter ego. She then visits his house to find that the real David Bernberg died years ago. Through his mother she finds out that he had accident that left him paralyzed. Three years later he turns toward science in order to fix his legs and goes to the city but he comes back soon, doubting his religion and god. After that he disappeared, only to be found weeks later tortured and dead. Once Cara hears this, she believes Adam created 'David' in order to have someone who he can take pity on, someone who had it worse than him. To test this theory, she has 'David' and the real David's mother meet up. 'David' recognized her immediately and tells her things that only the real David would know. In anger Ms. Bernberg rejects him, calling him an evil thing. Cara pushes the testing further and takes David to the spot he was killed. David starts reacting badly and Cara calls for help. She soon finds that Adam has another personality: Westly. Cara complains to her Dad for not giving her real warning about his other split personalities. Cara uses this other personality to back up her original theory, as Westly died in a car accident the same time he was in jail. Wondering what Adam's home life was originally like, Cara goes into his house to find a dead body. After the police come Cara rushes to pick up Sammy, where she sees that Adam, now taken the personality of her doctor friend, is speaking to Sammy. Panicked, Cara calls her father who tells her that the doctor was found dead.
did to mostly stellar effect, Shelter is instead a whole lot of stupid wrapped in moody packaging.' Mark Harrison from Den of Geek gave a more positive review, calling it 'horror by numbers, but it's at least sparing with whatever felt tip pen denotes ‘jump scares.
Måns Mårlind
Måns Magnus Mårlind is a Swedish director and screenwriter.-Movie career:Mårlind has practiced moviemaking in Sweden and USA, his most notable work being the 2005 film Storm. He co-directed the thriller Shelter with Bjorn Stein; the film stars Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and based on a...
and Björn Stein, written by Michael Cooney, and starring Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The movie is straight-to-video in the U.S. possibly in 2011.
Plot
Widowed psychiatrist Cara (Julianne MooreJulianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
) is at an airport planning to go home. A little after she calls her daughter Sam (Brooklynn Proulx
Brooklynn Proulx
Brooklynn Marie Proulx is a Canadian child actress. she was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada and currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. Her first film was playing Paris Jackson in a film about popstar Michael Jackson....
) from the airport, who is being looked after by her brother Stephen (Nathan Corddry) she receives an intriguing call from her own father Dr. Harding (Jeffrey DeMunn
Jeffrey DeMunn
Jeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.-Life and career:DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn...
), also a psychiatrist. He tells her about an interesting new patient he has found and persuades her to come and with him and see the patient and she agrees out of career-spurred curiosity though she is annoyed that he thinks she "should just change her schedule because he's dug out some patient from the archives."
Cara meets the patient (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who is wheeled into the room and introduces himself as David Bernburg. "David" as the patient is known at this time speaks in an accent that seems to vary minutely with each sentence and its length; Cara does some standard visual 'psyche revealing' test including ones with multiples small circles in a pattern where the numbers 16 and 73 are clearly visible to normally sighted people. "David" answers in a seemingly ordinary way and talks to Cara civilly. Not long into her assessment, Cara's dad, Dr Harding- who has been watching everything through special glass makes a call to a telephone that is one the table where Cara and "David" are sitting. It rings for an uncomfortable period before "David" picks it up. Dr Harding states his name into the receiver "This is Doctor Harding. I am looking for Adam Saber." A confused "David" tells him Adam is not there and then strange noises are heard shortly thereafter. "David" has an unseen transformation into "Adam" and Cara is visibly disturbed by what she sees, which the viewer can only hear at this time. Adam Saber is 31 with a New Yorker accent, compared to David's more Southern variant. Cara greets "Adam" again as if he were a different person and proceeds to do the same tests she had previously done on "David". Adam stands up - he can walk despite being immobilized by a wheelchair moments earlier as "David". Adam's behaviour and answers are different, he is not as complacent and shows no interest in fully participating but in the circle pattern visual test he says he cannot see the visible 16 and 73. Cara accepts and takes out a different test, just a pattern of olive green circles varying slightly in size with nothing visible. Adams professes to see a 7 and Cara nods and places red film over the card, making a 7 clear. She asks him if he is colour blind and he admits to red deficiency since birth. Adam asks Cara about her faith, seeing a small gold crucifix necklace around her neck...She tells him that she sees herself as a doctor of science, but a woman of God. He also takes an interest in the death of Cara's husband upon discovering he was murdered through Dr Harding who states that as the reason he doesn't believe in God anymore, "the murder of a good man".
Cara thinks she has Adam figured out, since he can actually walk she believes that Adam must be the 'host' (real person) and David is the 'alter'. Going to the hospital to check up on Adam's medical records, she discovers that when Adam is 'Adam' and when Adam is 'David', his skeletal structure alters, so that when he is 'David', his vertebrate is fused. As well, she visits a doctor in the hospital, an old friend of hers and who took care of Adam after he was found in the streets. Cara researches on David's history and finds that David is a different person than Adam's alter ego. She then visits his house to find that the real David Bernberg died years ago. Through his mother she finds out that he had accident that left him paralyzed. Three years later he turns toward science in order to fix his legs and goes to the city but he comes back soon, doubting his religion and god. After that he disappeared, only to be found weeks later tortured and dead. Once Cara hears this, she believes Adam created 'David' in order to have someone who he can take pity on, someone who had it worse than him. To test this theory, she has 'David' and the real David's mother meet up. 'David' recognized her immediately and tells her things that only the real David would know. In anger Ms. Bernberg rejects him, calling him an evil thing. Cara pushes the testing further and takes David to the spot he was killed. David starts reacting badly and Cara calls for help. She soon finds that Adam has another personality: Westly. Cara complains to her Dad for not giving her real warning about his other split personalities. Cara uses this other personality to back up her original theory, as Westly died in a car accident the same time he was in jail. Wondering what Adam's home life was originally like, Cara goes into his house to find a dead body. After the police come Cara rushes to pick up Sammy, where she sees that Adam, now taken the personality of her doctor friend, is speaking to Sammy. Panicked, Cara calls her father who tells her that the doctor was found dead.
Cast
- Julianne MooreJulianne MooreJulianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
as Cara - Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Adam
- Jeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunnJeffrey DeMunn is an American theatre, film and television actor.-Life and career:DeMunn was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Violet and James DeMunn. Stepson of noted actress Betty Lutes DeMunn...
as Dr. Harding - Frances ConroyFrances ConroyFrances Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth, the matriarch of the Fisher family, on Six Feet Under, which earned her a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.-Early life:...
as Mrs. Bernburg - Nathan Corddry as Stephen
- KatiAna Davis as The Familiar
- Michael Graves as Holler Man
- Rick Applegate as Warden Collins
- Nicole Leigh Belle as Random Street Walker
- Aaron Bernard as 1982 State Trooper
- Jim Brough as Holler Man
- Jeffrey JonesJeffrey JonesJeffrey Duncan Jones is an American actor. He has appeared in many films and television series, but may be best known for his roles as Emperor Joseph II in Miloš Forman’s Amadeus, Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice, and Dean of Students Edward R...
as Police Officer - Drew Levinson as Governor's Attorney
- Brooklynn ProulxBrooklynn ProulxBrooklynn Marie Proulx is a Canadian child actress. she was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada and currently lives in Calgary, Alberta. Her first film was playing Paris Jackson in a film about popstar Michael Jackson....
as Sammy
Reception
Mike Sheridan from Entertainment.ie gave the film two stars out of five stating Shelter is 'A thriller desperately trying to throw the audience off at every corner, just as writer Michael Cooney's previous screenplay effort IdentityIdentity (film)
Identity is a 2003 American thriller-mystery film, directed by James Mangold and written by Michael Cooney. The film stars John Cusack, Ray Liotta, John C. McGinley and Amanda Peet. The plot was inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None.-Plot:Malcolm Rivers is awaiting...
did to mostly stellar effect, Shelter is instead a whole lot of stupid wrapped in moody packaging.' Mark Harrison from Den of Geek gave a more positive review, calling it 'horror by numbers, but it's at least sparing with whatever felt tip pen denotes ‘jump scares.