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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Lions Gate
Salesrank: 31625
Released: March 31, 2009 |
| Our Price: $5.48 |
| Used Price: $2.08 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The life of a successful radiologist spirals out of control when she sees the spitting image of herself driving down a London street. While attempting to uncover who the imposter could be, she stumbles into a terrifying mystery that her family and closest friends are somehow involved in, leaving her with no one to trust.
The Broken Reviews:
Great setup, leaves questions 
2009-11-28 - My reaction to the After Dark series has been typical of most viewers posting here: a few intriguing installments and a number of ho-hum offerings. My approach to horror leans towards the cerebral and The Broken, along with The Deaths of Ian Stone, have been the most satisfying for my eyes and taste. Viewers who want to snuggle up to a chain saw or feast with cannibals won't be attracted to this one at all.
Having said this, here's what we have. A cozy family living in London begins to experience a series of unfortunate events characterized by mirrors breaking and the appearance (around town) of chilly, aloof replicas of themselves. It's Lena Headey's 'other half' that is the focus of the movie. Shot in steely bluish tones on overcast days, the film is an atmospheric ride highlighting the interaction of the good and evil twins. There are few moments of gore, but the directors set up some good surprises along the way. As a viewer, you'll be waiting for the next shoe to drop, and it you're willing to be patient, The Broken has its rewards.
The downside is a feeling of incompleteness. The film does come to a reasonable conclusion in the form of a watershed in the characters' interactions, but it's one of those moments that has you anticipating the "to be continued....' frame. There's obviously more for a good story .... who knows, perhaps a followup is planned. We might learn why this family was targeted for these visitations, and whether every human has an unpleasant companion: if so, what triggers a visit from the creepy side of the mirror?
A major disappointment is the lack of any extras relevant to the film. The cast and directors have talent and I would have liked to see more in the form of a 'making of' or interviews. Had there been some more beef in this department, I might have pushed this up to 4 stars.
Solid Cast helps slow Story
2009-11-19 - In The Broken Gina McVey's (Lena Headey) life is turned upside down one day as she is walking down a busy London street and sees herself drive by in an SUV. Was she imagining it? Was it just a look-alike? Her curiosity gets the better of her as she follows the SUV to a nearby apartment complex. Trailing the woman, she is stunned to see a framed picture of her and her father inside the mystery woman's apartment. She flees, not paying attention to her surroundings and ends up crashing her car. When Gina tells people what she's seen, her doctors think she is suffering the effects of a head injury and refer her to a psychiatrist.
Gina desperately attempts to piece together her fragmented memory of the events leading up to the crash. Broken mirrors in her home, and that of her family portend something much more sinister than merely the stress of an accident. Gina finds that her boyfriend Stephan seems changed. He's cold and distant towards her and a drip from the bathroom ceiling causes Gina to search the attic where she makes a horrifying discovery.
The Broken straddles the fence between psychological and supernatural horror. Writer/Director Shawn Ellis wants to perhaps use the broken mirrors as a mere metaphor symbolizing the shattered relationships of this family. This was all set-up by an uncomfortable surprise birthday party for Gina's father, John, in which the family's sentiments seemed strained. The party was, in fact, drawn to an abrupt close by a mirror that crashed to the floor.
Ellis drags out the pretense far longer than he should have, however before revealing The Broken's true plot twist. It is derivative of 2008's Mirrors with Keifer Sutherland, and in some respects does a better job than that bigger budgeted film. Unfortunately what Ellis doesn't give us is any sense of payoff. We finally know what's going on but we don't know why. Mirrors gave viewers a reason and a motivation for its supernatural threat, but Ellis doesn't want to make the leap here. He seems to think it's witty to leave us guessing but I suspect he simply wasn't sure which direction he wanted to go with the plot. In the end it's like waiting in a long line for a roller coaster which has no thrills. It's kind of a shame because had he stuck to either the psychological or supernatural completely It would have been a better film. The attempt to go for both, especially in such a short film (92 minutes) leaves both elements wanting.
On the plus side, the cast in The Broken is the best of any of this year's After Dark Horrorfest films. We have Lena Headey from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Richard Jenkins who was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor this year, and veteran French actor Melvil Poupaud. In fact the quality of the cast is surprising considering the generally low-budgets of the Horrorfest films.
Another positive is the score by Guy Farley which sets a brooding and suspenseful tone and peaks at just the right moments without trying to tease the viewer with false threats. The Broken is one of the better of this year's After Dark Horrorfest films but you can't help but think it could have been so much better.
It's Like Watching Really Scary Paint Dry
2009-10-18 - Well, maybe it wasn't that bad, but that was the longest -90 minutes that I've had to sit through for a long time. Others here have waxed on about the atmospheric tension and symbolic imagery, and a few have happily given the ending away. Go ahead and read them, since it will save you precious time you will never get back. I did thoroughly enjoy the poignant ending, and the movie gets an extra star for actually surprising me since I didn't quite see that ending coming. I'm not bothered by the "why" aspect of the film; there's no need for that to be answered when murderous dopplegangers are out to get you, but I would like to know just where do they expect to put those bodies. Hmm? Eventually someone in the lower levels of government is going to get vexed over piles of rotting corpses.
I did find two scenes to be particularly scary, and rewound them and forced the Significant Other to watch them, since he appears to be plagued with, among other things, a mirror phobia. The dark moving shadow on the "other side" of the mirror reminds me of that wonderful episode of "Lost in Space" where Penny ends up finding a boy who lives on the other side of mirrors and she tries to rescue him from that world. Ahem. Anyway. This really wasn't as good as an episode of "Lost in Space," since it draaaaaaaagggged on and on and on with these long scenes of nothing that continually prompted the S.O. to enquire, "Is it over? I don't hear anything...is the movie over? That wasn't long. Oh, it's not over! It looks like it's over. Is this another movie?"
No, it's not another movie, although comparisons to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" pretty much nail it. While munching a cheap pizza on the couch (since nothing will ever pull me away from even a bad horror film) I decided that this would have made an excellent 30 minute "Twilight Zone" episode, and I'll bet it would have been a favorite episode, too. But it's not a 30 minute episode, and unless you can see it for free, you shouldn't spend your time or money on this film.
A stand-out from the 2009 "8 Films To Die For" series - with a faster pace, it might have been the best. 
2009-10-10 - Gina McVey is beside herself, literally! In this slow-paced creeper, Lena Headey plays a woman who one day sees another woman who looks exactly like her driving her car. Shortly after confronting her, Gina is involved in a car wreck, and afterwards cannot remember if what she saw was real, or simply a result of a mental lapse from the wreck. Soon, she cannot even be sure if the people around her are who they say they are.
THE BROKEN is one of the very few high end movies of this year's 8 Films To Die For. The presence of recognizable actors such as Richard Jenkins and 300's Lena Headey add definite polish in the performance category. The cinematography is excellent, expertly creating a moody and eerie atmosphere. The style and pace of the film bring to mind M. Night Shyamalan, and the creeping under-the-surface paranoia of J-horror films such as PULSE.
Pacing, however, does prove to be the film's one weakness. At first, the slow momentum seems to be building to something great - lots of slow camera moves, long shots of characters looking forlornly in those spooky mirrors. This creates a very unnerving feeling . . . for awhile. Unfortunately, after about 30 minutes, I started losing patience and wanted to start getting somewhere! The film has an interesting story to tell, but it isn't a very complicated one. As such, it is pretty clear to see where things are headed, and unless you are pretty slow, there isn't really much of a twist to it. As such, I think this would have worked much better as a short film. The action could easily have been confined to a 30-minute running time.
Another issue that some people may have is there is no explanation for the events of the film. You will have a clear understanding of WHAT happened, but not WHY it happens. As I thought about it later, I think an explanation would have only weakened the overall film - too many movies force-feed the audience an explanation that generally weakens the impact. Here, something awful happens, and we don't know why, and that in itself becomes part of the horror. Personally, I don't have a problem with it, but some viewers might.
All told, this one ranks near the top of the pack, even with it's threadbare story. Some of the moments, particularly near the end, will really crawl under your skin. Very few of the films in this year's festival had any impact at all (other than annoyance) - but this one got to me. I wish it had been fleshed out just a little more with better character development. But I think most people will enjoy it - just have something lighthearted planned for afterward!!
Soundtrack ???
2009-10-06 - can anyone provide a Song Listing of the soundtrack?
thanks so much in advance! thanks!! i can't find it anywhere on the net! and some of the
tracks were amazing. i didn't even see the whole movie -- it was just
on in the background of a hotel room i was hanging out in -- it sounds
kinda techno-ey. i am surprised with all of the reviews here that no
one has posted it to the imdb soundtrack section. i keep looking for it to
replay - but they speed the credits by on a half screen and i cannot
see them. the songs seemed very moody - and i would think on that basis
a alone i would try and see the movie next time it's on. thanks again.
i am a huge music buff -- and i am really interested in hearing some of
these tracks without having to buy the DVD.
