The Prequel Would Tell Mary Hobbes' Story
Anyone who remembers Session 9 will remember Mary Hobbes.
She isn’t a conventional on-screen character in the 2001 movie. Instead, the asbestos-removal crew working inside Danvers discovers recordings of psychiatric sessions involving Mary and her different personalities.
Those increasingly disturbing tapes gradually become one of the film’s central mysteries.
Session 1 would turn the focus directly onto Mary.
Anderson says the proposed movie would explore her life growing up around Boston and reveal what happened to her, including the circumstances surrounding her possession and the killing of her family.
Brad Anderson Still Wants to Make It
This isn’t the first time Anderson and Gevedon have discussed Session 1.
Back in 2021, while celebrating Session 9’s 20th anniversary, the filmmakers revealed they had developed a treatment for a prequel centred on Mary.
Their concept would begin with Mary as a young girl, then lead toward the psychiatric sessions heard in the original film. The proposed ending would essentially bring the story to the beginning of those recordings — hence the title Session 1.
Five years later, Anderson clearly hasn’t abandoned the idea.
During the latest anniversary Q&A, he again discussed the project with an audience and said he believes people want to see Mary’s story explored.
Session 1 Still Has a Major Hurdle to Clear
As exciting as the news may be for Session 9 fans, there’s an important distinction here.
Session 1 is not currently a greenlit movie.
No cast, production date, or release date has been announced.
Previous attempts to move the project forward have also run into a rights issue. Anderson and Gevedon previously said that Focus Features held the relevant rights and had declined their earlier proposal for the prequel. It’s currently unclear whether that situation has changed.
For now, Anderson and Gevedon have a title, a developed concept, and a filmmaker who clearly still wants to make it.
Session 9 Found Its Audience After Leaving Cinemas
Released in 2001, Session 9 follows an asbestos-removal crew working inside an abandoned psychiatric hospital as tensions between the men begin to deteriorate.
Peter Mullan, David Caruso, Josh Lucas, Brendan Sexton III and Gevedon starred in the film.
Much of its atmosphere came from its extraordinary location: the production filmed inside the real, then-abandoned Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. The historic complex was later redeveloped, meaning the location that gave Session 9 its distinctive atmosphere no longer exists in the same form.
The movie wasn’t a major theatrical success, but its reputation grew considerably after release, becoming a cult favourite among psychological-horror fans.
And perhaps that’s why Session 1 remains alive after all these years.
There may be no production start or release date to circle on the calendar yet, but Anderson and Gevedon clearly aren’t finished with Session 9.
Twenty-five years later, they’re still trying to press play on the first tape.