Today’s Prayer Focus
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MOVIE REVIEW

A Cure for Wellness

also known as “A Cure for Life,” “A Cura,” “Az Egészség ellenszere,” “La Cura Dal Benessere,” See more »
MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for disturbing violent content and images, sexual content including an assault, graphic nudity, and language.

Reviewed by: Pamela Karpelenia
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Psychological-Horror Thriller
Length: 2 hr. 26 min.
Year of Release: 2016
USA Release: February 17, 2017 (wide—2,704 theaters)
DVD: June 6, 2017
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Relevant Issues

Sin and man’s fall to depravity

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Murder in the Bible

Death

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rape victims’ stories

shame and rape

Click here to watch THE HOPE on-line!
Discover God’s promise for all people—told beautifully and clearly from the beginning. Discover The HOPE! Watch it on Christian Answers—full-length motion picture.
Copyright, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Copyright, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Featuring Dane DeHaan … Lockhart
Jason IsaacsDr. Heinreich Volmer
Mia Goth … Hannah
Celia Imrie … Victoria Watkins
Adrian Schiller … Deputy Director
Lisa Banes … Hollis
Carl Lumbly … Mr. Wilson
Magnus Krepper … Pieter The Vet
Natalia Bobrich … Nurse
Eric Todd … Josh
Ivo Nandi … Enrico
Harry Groener … Pembroke
See all »
Director Gore Verbinski — “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “The Lone Ranger” (2013), “The Ring” (2002)
Producer Regency Enterprises
New Regency Productions
See all »
Distributor Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Trademark logo.20th Century Studios, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company

Don’t drink the water

“A Cure for Wellness” opens with a man drinking water and dying instantly of a heart attack. We then see Mr. Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) on a plane. He has closed a major deal with acts of unspecified fraudulent activity. He works for a large financial services company and is called to meet with the executive board, where he learns that the CEO, Roland Pembroke, has written an odd letter saying that he has a sickness, and he is going to a sanitarium (the Volmer Institute) in Switzerland to be cared for and cured. He requested not to be contacted. The board members blackmail Lockhart to go to Switzerland and bring Pembroke back to New York City.

Upon arrival, Lockhart gets an uneasy feeling about the sanitarium staff. They are unwilling to cooperate and provide Pembroke to him. He is told to come back several hours later. Lockhart leaves, and, on his departure, has a horrible car crash where he breaks his leg. He wakes up in the sanitarium, where they implore him to drink the water and get rest. When Lockhart drinks the liquid, he discovers a small parasitic creature in the glass. Now Lockhart is on a mission to discover what’s really going on at this sanitarium.

The acting is pretty spot-on with Lockhart’s character. He seems believable, and I felt some sympathy for him, especially because of personal issues that we discover have plagued him. Jason Isaacs plays Dr. Heinreich Volmer, his acting is quite impressive as the main antagonist. The film is actually filmed in Switzerland in a beautiful castle setting, but is set against a very dark, depressing and uneasy storyline. The plot is difficult to follow, but can be figured out by watching very closely.

Unfortunately, there is far too much objectionable content. The film delves into the depravity of man and shows it vividly on screen. It deals with incest and graphically shows a brutal attempted rape. The swearing and blasphemy is frequent, gratuitous and graphic. There is nudity throughout, full frontal female—and male.

This film deals with a sickness that is not really defined, as rich men and women are desperate for a cure. They do not feel fulfilled by success. They feel bogged down by the everyday grind of business. Success and wealth leave them feeling terribly empty. This is paramount to what Christians understand when it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ. Nothing on this Earth will bring you happiness, except a right relationship with your Creator. You can have all the money in the world. You can have success, fame and fortune, but, without Christ, you’re truly unwell. The sickness is sin—our inner evil thoughts and sinful words and deeds. The only cure is the bloodshed of Christ Jesus, a free, undeserved gift, paying the penalty for our evil. There is only one way for a person to be saved and be made whole, and that is through Jesus Christ—repentance, reading God’s Word, following what it says and telling others about the forgiveness available in redemption through Christ.

Stay far away from this very unpleasant movie. There is so much vivid, gratuitous content that you will likely leave the theater feeling ill. Although there are beautiful cinematic views of the Swiss Alps and a castle, most of the content is sickening—going above and beyond in depicting depraved characters. Nothing can salvage this film for Christian viewing.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Very Heavy—Jesus Christ, My G*d, Oh J*sus, For Chr*sts sakes, h*ll (4), f-words (10+), a** (2), p*ssy, d*ck, t*ts / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

Paradise or Pain? Why is the world the way it is?Why is the world the way it is? If God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and loving, would He really create a world like this? (filled with oppression, suffering, death and cruelty) Answer

Click here to watch THE HOPE on-line! Discover God’s promise for all people—told beautifully and clearly from the beginning. Discover The HOPE! Watch it on Christian Answers—full-length motion picture.

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Negative
Negative—I could only watch about 40 minutes of this film. I found it offensive, with inappropriate sexual conduct, its focus on extreme animal suffering and deviant character development. I read the synopsis and did not expect a horror genre. I felt it was misrepresented. I could not collect my things fast enough to head toward the exit.
Linda Maus, age 66 (USA)
Negative—OK, so you want to make a “Scary” movie. The only thing frightening about this film is the colossal waste of time, talent, energy and money. For the evil main character to pull off all he is doing to his “patients” requires a suspension of logic. ***SPOILER*** Even if the main protagonist is a few hundred years old, where does he get all the fantastic scientific equipment to fill his castle on the mountaintop? ***END SPOILER*** Silly stuff. Save your money. And being a Hollywood film, of course, God is nowhere to be seen.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Leonardo, age 75 (USA)
Negative—“A Cure For Wellness” is a confusing, disjointed, and lack luster attempt at recreating “Shutter Island,” with a scientific twist. I don’t care for either movie, but instead wonder [about] the purpose for “A Cure For Wellness” (pun intended). The film follows a young up-and-coming corporate exec on his journey to retrieve an important board member, who has gone missing from a foreign health facility. The protagonist himself becomes an unwilling resident at this health facility, and chaos ensues while he tries to uncover exactly what is happening to its residents.

The only reason I sat through this film was because it starred Dane Dehann (“Spider-Man,” “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets”). The acting from most of the cast is somewhat off kilter. This, paired with overly ambitious visual elements ultimately lead to a film that isn’t noteworthy.

I would say avoid this movie if you are looking for a nice moral story, one that is rooted in Christianity. There are a few recurring themes in the film such as the use of water (Noah) and it’s ability to give/take life that could be somewhat moral. But they are buried too deep in the overarching message of:

-Secret Societies
-Occultic Practices (fountain of youth)
-Ritual sacrifice
-Incest
-Mocking of the Virgin Birth

All in all, I would say this is a movie to avoid.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 3
Melissa, age 29 (USA)

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