A CURE FOR WELLNESS

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.

The only way I can describe this is to call it a contemporary gothic horror. It’s a long movie at around 2hr 26m. It’s superbly photographed with an eerie story that becomes more bizarre as it progresses. Acting is very good. There are some very dark themes and disturbing themes so it’s not for the fainthearted. At the heart of the story is a criticism of how we, in the 21st century, are working ourselves to death, looking for wellness at the same time as we are denying the very thing that is making us “sick”. It’s a good message, although it is overtaken by the horror. There is so much packed into this movie that it needs to be watched without distraction. This is the sort of movie you need to just sit back and go for the ride.