The Broken

2008
Sean Ellis

There are some things about most horror dramas that take us in and keep us interested.  It can vary from the pacing and structure to attraction to an actor/a face on the screen that holds mystery, or music.  In this case, it was definitely the music as the story started.  There was NOTHING, and I do mean that, spectacular about any of the shots, or unusual, or otherwise, that would have kept me interested at all if it were not for the excellently timed music, and the great editing that knew when to cut.

To use the word slow, or "evenly paced" would be understatements.  Nothing was given away early here in this thriller, and so therefore, along with the musical buildup, there was an intense and increasing amount of conjecture called for upon the audience.  At first I thought this might be a political thriller, because the Richard Jenkins character was in an official office with a US flag.  I thought maybe they were going to hijack his daughter's personhood, literally, so they could get inside the government.  Then when the Jenkins character seemed to be under attack, because we surreptitiously meet his doppelganger, the plot expanded, and a political plot still seemed right.  It was not until the Michelle Duncan character meets....well, ok so I'm not doing a spoiler, let's just say it's an intense Bates Hotel shower scene (and here I thought I had gotten over that a long time ago).  Well, after that, it was different, I'll put it that way.

All of that to say that this film did not disappoint when it came to the suspense.  It had me in its grip, very intense, wondering, waiting, wondering some more, trying to puzzle it out.  It was indeed intense almost right up to the very end.  Problem with this film is that the story in the end did not deliver.  Not believable.  I didn't buy it, and truly did not piece together what the official plot line says it was supposed to be (which I did not read until after viewing). And I'm smart darn it!  So there's that.

This film was fun to watch if you like suspense and mystery.  Great stuff, especially in the cinematography and editing, and add the great music.  I don't think it paid off in the end, but it was till fun.  And it was not overly fraught with unnecessary gore or violence.  Those moments that had it were appropriately placed, and well done.  There was only one question that stands out: How does someone scream repeatedly for several seconds when they have a hand shoved down their throat?

Alludes to: Eyes of Laura Mars comes to mind, along with Psycho.  Also, when it started, it felt a bit like Manchurian Candidate.

6 stars of 10