The Ward

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The Ward

R

2011

1h 28m

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

34%

Tomatometer

73 Reviews

26%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

No one believes the claims of a young woman (Amber Heard) that a dead patient is stalking the residents of the psychiatric facility.

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Critics Consensus

Lacking the hallmarks of his best work, The Ward proves to be a disappointingly mundane swan song for director John Carpenter.

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William Goss

Film.com

07/11/2011

An aggressively plain spook story that favors jump moments over sustained tension and winds up falling back on a particularly tired twist.

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Scott Tobias

NPR

07/08/2011

Carpenter has made his approximation of a cheap, twisty, shock-filled modern horror movie, and he has lost all but faint sighs of his minimalist swagger in the process.

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Joe Neumaier

New York Daily News

07/08/2011

1/5

Carpenter's economical but mundane chiller is possessed more by previous ghoul-friend flicks than it is by his better work.

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Patrick Cavanaugh

The Wolfman Cometh

Sep 9

3/5

Proof that John Carpenter can elevate even the most mundane experience.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/11/2023

2/4

A far cry from Carpenter’s glory days.

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Shelagh Rowan-Legg

That Shelf

05/15/2018

The problem with Carpenter is that...he is too good for this kind of material. No one has mastered it better than he has, and while he certainly doesn't "phone it in," so to speak, this kind of film doesn't present enough of a challenge for him.

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Walter K

@RT43715815 Sep 24

Plain and simple - - i didn't care about any of the characters and there were, simply, too many jump scares, which, to me, is the killer of tension and suspense.

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Erik B

@Atma-X Aug 5

Mr. Carpenter...why? Why are you attached to this awful movie? Horrible acting on display for the most part and a very predictable storyline and ending. Did not enjoy, would not buy again.

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Odessa B.

@odessasnow22 Jul 1

It was okay. The beginning was good but towards the end got confusing and left you thinking something, then had a terrible ending. It was fun to watch but probably never watch it again.

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Dallas H

@RT53171010 Jun 17

They are gaslighting Amber Heard.

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Denise K

@RT94576439 02/12/2025

I liked it a lot! The end was a nice twist!

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Mobi C

@RT74453101 02/02/2025

Look, if they cant get out, how are they always getting out? A knife in a lock gets them out of a locked ward? Toilet paper in the latches and the staff cant tell the doors not locked? The story doesn't add up to whats happening. But hey, pretty girls makes it watchable. Definitely not worth 3 stars.

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Synopsis

No one believes the claims of a young woman (Amber Heard) that a dead patient is stalking the residents of the psychiatric facility.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Peter Block, Doug Mankoff, Mike Marcus, Andrew Spaulding
Screenwriter: Michael Rasmussen, Shawn Rasmussen
Distributor: ARC Entertainment
Production Co: Premiere Picture, Echo Lake Productions, FilmNation Entertainment, Bigger Boat
Rating: R (Violence|Disturbing Images)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 8, 2011, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 18, 2016
Runtime: 1h 28m