Kate Hudson's fine work makes a winner out of scary 'Skeleton Key'

There used to be a big stigma against name actors appearing in horror pictures -- especially the lower-budget kind that tends to get released in the dog days of August. Stars would only appear in them on the way down, when they couldn't get anything else.

MOVIE REVIEW

THE SKELETON KEY

DIRECTOR: Iain Softley

CAST: Kate Hudson, Gena Rowlands,

Peter Sarsgaard,

RUNNING TIME: 99 minutes

RATING: PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, some partial nudity and thematic material

GRADE: B-

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But these days horror is the only genre that regularly works at the box office, actors actually compete to be in them and -- as Bruce Willis and Nicole Kidman proved in "The Sixth Sense" and "The Others," respectively -- it can be a great place to re-establish a sliding career.

"The Skeleton Key" seems designed to add some luster to the faded stardom of Kate Hudson, a young actress who's been playing leads since her break-out in 2000's "Almost Famous," but has been in so many flops that the bad buzz on her is that she's box-office poison.

She desperately needs a hit, and, as it turns out, this movie could be it. It's far from strikingly original, but it's well-acted, skillfully plotted and moderately chilling, and it's something slightly different in the haunted-house genre.

Hudson plays a young hospice worker and aspiring nurse, recently moved to Louisiana, who's hired by a cantankerous woman (Gena Rowlands) to take care of her paralyzed husband (John Hurt) in their rundown mansion in some backwater parish of the bayou.

Via a series of Nancy Drew adventures, she gradually discovers that nothing is as it first seemed, the old man is being held prisoner against his will, the house is possessed by voodoo spirits and she herself may be trapped by their evil spell.

The script is by Ehren Kruger ("Scream 3," "The Ring"), and much of it is conventional. But it relies more on atmosphere and character than the rest of this summer's crowded field of spooky movies, and it pays off nicely with a genuinely surprising twist ending.

Director Iain Softley, a classy British filmmaker ("Wings of the Dove," "Backbeat") with no previous experience in the genre, tries hard to avoid the cliches and is clearly aiming more toward a "Rosemary's Baby" than an "Amityville Horror."

Consequently, his movie gets its scariest moments less from its jarring effects, Southern Gothic ambience and frenzied conclusion than from Hudson's loaded dialogue exchanges and creepy encounters with Rowlands. In its best moments, it's a character piece.

As the imperiled heroine, Hudson does well enough. Hardly a riveting personality, she nonetheless exudes intelligence, resourcefulness and a likable vulnerability, and -- once again -- she's smart enough not to go anywhere near the mannerisms of her famous mother, Goldie Hawn.

P-I movie critic William Arnold can be reached at 206-448-8185 or williamarnold@seattlepi.com.