British filmmaker Iain Softley, whose diverse body of work includes "Backbeat," "The Wings of the Dove" and "K-PAX," continues to show his versatility with "The Skeleton Key," an elegantly mounted ghost story that's steeped plenty of dank Louisiana atmosphere. Like Walter Salles' recently released "Dark Water" and Alejandro Amenabar's "The Others," the emphasis is on class over crass, with a nicely sustained, slowly building sense of dread draping the entire production like a clammy shroud. Given the saturation of horror product flooding the market these days, the Universal Pictures release will likely open moderately at best, with potential bigger thrills situated further down the ancillary bayou.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.