Review: A Cure for Wellness

With A Cure for Wellness, director Gore Verbinski returns to the glossy horror of his meandering 2002 remake of The Ring. An ambitious whiz kid executive, Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) is tasked with travelling to an unorthodox “wellness centre” in the Swiss Alps in search of the company CEO who seems to have permanently left his business pursuits behind. Lockhart’s pressing need to bring his boss back to New York – so that he can sign off on a company merger among other things – seems lost on the centre employees, especially Dr. Volmer (Jason Isaacs) who stresses the importance of “the cure” and his distaste for the complexities of modern life. “The cure” it seems, involves frequently drinking, swimming and being submerged in the water that runs through the Alps; careerist ideals are the illness.