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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Jaume Balagueró
Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal (TV) )
Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing)
Elena Anaya (Van Helsing)
Gemma Jones (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
Supplied By : Phase 4 Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : July. 19, 2010
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| PLOT As the new night nurse at a soon to be abandoned children's hospital readies the last group of orphans to leave, it becomes increasingly clear that these are not normal children. Something living in the hospital, something the children call the mechanical girl; has a terrifying hold over them and will stop at nothing to keep them in the hospital with her forever. |
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| THE REVIEW The setting for the film FRAGILE, is an old rundown children's hospital called Mercy Falls, located of the coast of the Isle of Wight. Mercy Falls, an older establishment, is in bad shape, on the verge of being closed down, and with that, the patients are being transferred to a new hospital. But before the move can be made, the hospital is met with a problem. A bad train wreck on the island has left many injured, thus keeping the hospital which was their destination, packed to the brim, so the staff along with the children must stay put. Sarah a new temporary nurse arrives to help out, soon after her predecessor left under mysterious circumstances. Putting in the hours at night, Sarah almost immediately bonds with the children, especially with a little girl named Maggie. Maggie is a seemingly quiet child, but seen is one whom comes with a warning from staff for being, what they consider to be "overly imaginative. Soon Sarah finds out what they meant when Maggie along with a few of the other children begin to talk about a mechanical girl whom lives on the second floor of the hospital. It is from then on that, almost like clockwork that strange occurrences such as rooms shaking and the ceilings cracking, occur at the same time every night - nor only do these things happen, whatever it is seems to target only the children by hurting them. These occurrences predictably and seemingly do unnoticed by the staff, who are quick to write Sarah off, due to her traumatized past. With everyone believing that it's all in her head and that the children are just creative, Sarah more or less blows it off as well - but it's not until the woman whom she was hired to replace dies, that she begins to believe that something else is at work. After the mysterious death of a co-worker, Sarah begins to add things up and soon believes that the two recent deaths, the fractures found on a young patient, as well as Mercy Falls' long history of patient death are all linked together. The further that she digs she is more convinced that Charlotte is is indeed real and living on the next floor, and for whatever reason, she does not want anyone to leave Mercy Falls. Honestly from the beginning since receiving the 8 film's that make up FANGORIA and LIGHTNING MEDIA's FANGORIA FRIGHTFEST for review, FRAGILE was one that I wasn't too excited about. I mean, a new ghost story? How many of those have we been treated to now? So with the feeling that all of these ghost stories(especially foreign ones), are essentially the same ideas told and retold, I went into Director Jaume Balagueró's FRAGILE expecting the same old thing. Instead, although FRAGILE isn't a film that will win awards for being the best of it's type, it's a film that is more interesting as it progresses. When the film opens up with a child on an X-Ray table having his bones broken by an unseen entity, the film seems to be off to your typical ghost story beginning, but it isn't long before Balagueró wipes your slate clean, if you will. From the children hearing a strange scream, accompanied with rooms shaking and such at night, and Maggie making mention of a "mechanical girl" upstairs, you can't help but to utter in your mind, "WTF?" Who is this "girl" and how or why is she "mechanical", with these questions, as well as what occurred in the beginning with the patient, the film does a great job of getting the viewer guessing from very early on. Instead of taking the typical ghost story route of having a ton of things happen in the "is this really happening" sort of way, it's pretty straight forward in it's revelations pertaining to what the film is about, in fact it's big setup leading up to the revelation as to who "Charlotte" is reminiscent of De Palma's SISTERS and a film such as DEAD SILENCE, it's edgy and fun rather than long at exhaustive. Jaume Balagueró, who is best known as one of the creators of REC(which inspired the remake, QUARANTINE), and his only American directed film, DARKNESS(which from what I heard, was heavily cut by the studio), shows her that not only can he write atmospheric pieces, he can also capture them behind the camera. For FRAGILE, the film's atmosphere is as big a character than any actor in the film, it's eeriness really makes this story of a haunting, that much more potent. I am ensure if the hospital featured in the film is indeed a full location, as opposed to some soundstange nicely dressed up, but whatever the case maybe, the hospital proved to be a fantastic setting. From it's decrepit look, to it's long and dark hallways, at times, the location just clouds the story with lots of useful, gloomy atmosphere. Along with the story being far better than I had expected, also better was the acting especially from star Calista Flockhart. I have to admit to not being a huge fan of Flockhart, and when I saw her name in the cast of this Horror movie, I was a bit puzzled. I just couldn't see her in a role that could be as charismatic, as a role in a Horror movie could be. Much to my surprise however, it is indeed Flockhart that delivers the films top performance. The supporting cast that includes VAN HELSING alum, Richard Roxburg and Elena Anya are some of the most least likable characters, but it is Calista Flockhart's Sarah and Yasmin Murphy's Maggie, with whom the viewer ultimately care about in the end, all due to a pair of strong and dedicated performances. FRAGILE is a film that reels you into it'd mysterious story, keeping you interested until the very end. Although it does have a few minor dry areas, for the most part it progresses it's story while being able to maintain a rather interesting level of mysterious and then tops it off with a pay off that is ultimately satisfying. |
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| GORE
METER 1.5/10 Not really gory, as the story relies more on it's atmosphere more than anything else. There are a few broken bones, as well as some graphic surgery footage shown. |
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MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 The film's score is mostly piano driven, with a gloomy vibe. | ||||
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM Going into this film, yes I did expect not to like it much, but FRAGILE ended up being one of those movies that is a bit of a surprise. While FRAGILE won't necessarily blow you away, it's a film that overall I found to be pretty entertaining, especially in the film's latter acts. FRAGILE is a film that deserved to be seen at least once. Be sure to check out FangoriaFrightfest.com you have until July 19th to vote for your favorite to win a theatrical run! Each FANGORIA FRIGHTFEST film will be available through Blockbuster stores and Blockbuster By Mail, as well as digitally via Blockbuster On Demand for a full 45 days before they are available for purchase or rental through other national home entertainment providers.They then will be released on DVD, September 28, 2010 |
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