Down a Dark Hall

An agreeably creepy ambience combines with an increasingly silly plot in Rodrigo Cortés’s supernatural thriller, adapted from a 1974 YA horror novel by Lois Duncan. The setting is a sinister school called Blackwood, where troubled Kit (AnnaSophia Robb) is sent by her mother and stepfather. Kit is one of only five girls in residence—all problem kids—including fragile Sierra (Rosie Day), nervous Izzy (Isabelle Fuhrman), submissive Ashley (Taylor Russell), and belligerent Veronica (Victoria Moroles). All will be taught painting by the imperious headmistress Madame Duret (Uma Thurman, camping it up outlandishly), music by her son Jules (Noah Silver), writing by Professor Sinclair (Jodhi May), and math by Professor Farley (Pip Torrens), while fearsome Miss Olonsky (Rebecca Front) enforces discipline. The instruction appears to be hugely successful: soon Sierra is painting lush canvases, Ashley is producing impressive poetry, Izzy is solving impenetrable math problems, and Kit is demonstrating hitherto unknown talent at the piano, even composing challenging works. But their productivity is marked by a manic, frenzied quality, and the girls are spooked by ghostly apparitions. How the girls are managing such extraordinary feats is finally revealed in a fiery conclusion. Down a Dark Hall happily depends more on style than gore, but it also grows more absurd along the way. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)