[8][9] In rural Oregon, at the North Bend Psychiatric Hospital in 1966, a young patient named Tammy is killed by an unseen force at night.

The local police take her to North Bend, where she meets the other patients in the ward: artistic Iris, seductive Sarah, wild Emily, and child-like Zoey.

She is attacked by a horribly deformed figure that had been staring at her earlier, but upon telling the nurse this, she is drugged and put through intense electroshock therapy.

The site's consensus states: "Lacking the hallmarks of his best work, The Ward proves to be a disappointingly mundane swan song for director John Carpenter.

[24] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote, "As usual Carpenter uses the widescreen frame with aplomb, but pic suffers from too little character detailing (even if a late twist explains that), rote scares, and emphasis on a hectic pace over atmosphere.

[26] Tim Grierson of Screen International wrote, "Tight as a drum and plenty of fun, John Carpenter's first film in nine years is hardly a groundbreaker, but when the execution is this expert, why complain?

"[27] Film Journal International wrote, "Genre veteran John Carpenter's sleekly professional ghost story is well-acted and directed but sadly derivative.

[29] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote that the film "continues the painful decline of a director who seems more nostalgic for past glories than excited about new ideas".

[9] Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "feels like a foot-wetting exercise rather than a full-bodied romp in familiar waters".

[30] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it B− and wrote, "While he does bring his trademark craftsmanship to this snake-pit mental-asylum thriller, the picture has too many old-movie bits rattling around in it.

"[31] Adam Nayman of Fangoria wrote, "The problem with The Ward is not so much its lack of style as the fact that the director doesn't seem to have much interest in the material".

[32] David Harley of Bloody Disgusting rated it 1/5 stars and wrote, "If someone other than Carpenter had been at the helm of The Ward, then no one would be talking about it.

"[33] Serena Whitney of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "John Carpenter's The Ward is a mediocre thriller that lacks any true original scares and blatantly rips off a twist ending from a far better film.