The Skeleton Key

Play trailer

The Skeleton Key

PG-13

Released Aug 12, 2005

1h 44m

Mystery & Thriller

Horror

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

37%

Tomatometer

154 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a good-natured nurse living in New Orleans, quits her job at a hospice to work for Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands), an elderly woman whose husband, Ben (John Hurt), is in poor health following a stroke. When Caroline begins to explore the couple's rundown Bayou mansion, she discovers strange artifacts and learns the house has a mysterious past. As she continues to investigate, she realizes that Violet is keeping a sinister secret about the cause of Ben's illness.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

Thanks to its creaky and formulaic script, The Skeleton Key is more mumbo-jumbo than hoodoo and more dull than scary.

Read Critics Reviews

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

A blundering New Orleans-set thriller under the spell of archaic stereotypes about Southern Bayou blacks.

Rated: C

Aug 26, 2005

Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Blame screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Arlington Road). I can't tell if this hit-and-miss scribe is a remarkably talented guy who's unfortunately had a few misfires or if his few good scripts were just the result of a large amount of blind luck.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 20, 2005

Full Review

Richard Roeper

Ebert & Roeper

This is a moody, creepy thriller with some genuinely scary moments and a couple of twists that took me completely by surprise.

Aug 15, 2005

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The supernatural element extends beyond what's taking place on the screen, as it appears that Rowlands, delivering a performance of high camp, has been possessed by What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?-era Bette Davis.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 17, 2021

Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

It is much more difficult to decide whether The Skeleton Key is mildly offensive or nicely provocative - or for that matter if it is dreadfully silly or actually quite smart.

Rated: 6/10

May 8, 2021

Full Review

Mark H. Harris

Black Horror Movies

Ever since The Sixth Sense, thriller "twists" have become increasingly lame and pointless, but in The Skeleton Key, it actually works quite well.

Rated: 3.8/5

Jan 6, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Mark C

Pretty entertaining and pretty twisted. There are obvious tropes like house being pitch black outside of a couple candles. The casting choice of Peter Sarsgaard somewhat tips the hand a little bit.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/16/25

Full Review

Kat L

Totally underrated horror movie that is basically copied by Jordan Peele's Get Out

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/13/25

Full Review

Jenesis J

This movie deserves more credit than it gets. It’s an entertaining psychological thriller that keeps you asking questions. I had hoped for a different ending, but honestly, it didn’t ruin the whole movie like many horror/thriller movies do. It kept to the story and actually made sense.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

06/03/25

Full Review

Chief B

I can't believe how the ratings of a good movie can have it so wrong. I don't want to use the word underrated BUT this movie is very underrated and I know quite some folk that do love it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

Full Review

Silent N

Very bad ending 👎👎

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/17/25

Full Review

Horror fan 4

Kate Hudson gives a swell performance and some decent jump scares make this a worthy watch. Tim Treakle

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/02/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Iain Softley

Director

Kate Hudson

Caroline Ellis

Gena Rowlands

Violet Devereaux

John Hurt

Ben Devereaux

Peter Sarsgaard

Luke

Joy Bryant

Jill

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - It Doesn't Work If You Don't Believe

2:02

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Ghost in the Mirror

1:41

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Get Me Out of Here!

2:47

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Crawling Away

2:47

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - The Body Stealers

2:15

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Chased by Conjurers

2:18

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Performing the Ritual

1:47

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Dark Magic History

3:20

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Escaping the House

3:30

The Skeleton Key: Official Clip - Hoodoo Attic

2:52

View more videos

Dark Water

47%

28%

Dark Water

Watchlist

The Grudge

40%

46%

The Grudge

Watchlist

Darkness Falls

10%

34%

Darkness Falls

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Darkness Falls

The Grudge 2

12%

40%

The Grudge 2

Watchlist

The Uninvited

31%

49%

The Uninvited

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Uninvited

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Box Office Guru Preview: Make Way for McLovin

New Line Signs Bettany & Fraser for "Inkheart"

Box Office Preview: "Snakes" Prepares For Takeoff

View more photos

Synopsis

Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a good-natured nurse living in New Orleans, quits her job at a hospice to work for Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands), an elderly woman whose husband, Ben (John Hurt), is in poor health following a stroke. When Caroline begins to explore the couple's rundown Bayou mansion, she discovers strange artifacts and learns the house has a mysterious past. As she continues to investigate, she realizes that Violet is keeping a sinister secret about the cause of Ben's illness.

Director: Iain Softley
Producer: Daniel Bobker, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher
Screenwriter: Ehren Kruger
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Double Feature Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Partial Nudity|Disturbing Images|Thematic Material|Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 12, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 7, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $47.8M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now