Gothika is not a bad movie. The problem is that it's not a really good movie either. Its just another "thriller/mystery/ghost story" in a long line of nearly identical films.  
 
The acting is well done, and the cast is made almost entirely of top-notch actors. Halle Berry, one of the best high-profile actors in Hollywood, is able to take any role and make it work, and Penelope Cruz is outstanding in this movie. Robert Downey, Jr., a man whose body of work I hold in much higher regard than his "brat pack" peers, remains consistently believable in Gothika as well.  
 
The problem is more the plot than anything else. It's all so overdone that it wasn't hard to nab every aspect of it long before they were revealed.  
 
I had a few problems with believability, and by that I don;t mean suspended disbelief. I will accept the supernatural within the context of nearly any film, and this is no exception. I simply can't buy the idea that Berry would be put into the very institution she worked for and placed under the care of not only her peers, but one of her closest friends.  
 
The effects and mood were done rather well. The entire theater gasped and jumped at one particular scene - which is always a good sign for this kind of movie.  
 
But the plot inconsistencies coupled with the fact that this movie beats a dead horse is enough to take away a few stars.  
