Broken, The (2008)

Wednesday, 15 April 2009 00:00

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Horror, Thriller
ON DVD: March 31, 2009
Rating: R for some violence, brief sexuality/nudity and language

Director: Sean Ellis
Starring: Lena Headey, Richard Jenkins, Asier Newman, Michelle Duncan, Melvil Poupaud
Studio: Gaumont

Buy It Now || View Less

Face your Fears...

I must say that, so far, this years batch of After Dark's - 8 Films to Die For have been a real horror-lover's treat. I do believe this group will soon be joining my growing DVD collection; it's at 1500 and counting, folks. I know; I'm incurable.

Lately, I'd been hearing mumblings about The Broken being a pretty good flick, so I rented it, my hopes high...and I was not disappointed. Beautifully filmed and deliciously creepy; this movie may just turn out to be my favorite...

The movie begins as pretty radiologist, Gina (Lena Headey, TV's Terminator Series) sees her doppleganger on a busy London street. Frightened, Gina follows this woman, who is driving the exact same Jeep and wearing the exact same clothes and hair style...everything identical to hers. (Thanks to the fabulous musical score by Guy Farley, the viewer instantly knows that there is something evil about Gina's 'twin'.)

Wondering if she is crazy and who on earth she should tell about her encounter, a distracted Gina gets in a violent head-on collision on her drive home. After a brief hospital stay, Gina returns home, but things are different. Her hunky French beau Stephen, (Melvil Poupaud) and other family members are not acting like themselves. We get lost in Gina's panic and fear as she discovers that the unthinkable is waiting, just below the surface...

Just writing the above paragraphs brought this movie back for me... And sent a shiver up my spine. As I watched The Broken, its tense and moody atmosphere had me pressing deeper and deeper into my couch; knowing something scary was coming, only not from where.

I noticed that there are quite a few shower/bath scenes in this film and it dawned on me later as to why these scenes gave me the heebie-jeebies. With the shower curtain hiding sights and the flow of water hiding sounds; we feel the most vulnerable while we are bathing, right? We are as helpless as a new-born pup.

Nicely written and directed by Sean Ellis, this eerie film packs a talented cast; making every scene powerful and scary as hell. While The Broken is not a slasher, its BOO moments are violent and frightening and caused me to jump every single time.

So dim the lights, turn up the sound and get lost in this terrific movie...

Definitely recommended as a rental and/or purchase.

Overall Rating: 4

MORE | Trailer | 8 Films To Die For III Film Info

< Prev		Next >

Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 September 2010 10:43 )