The Broken

[Stark]

Pretty, some solid performance and some nice little touches... but the story just didn't grab me, which meant the whole experience felt slow and tedious. Plus I guessed the ending pretty much from the get go so I was left waiting for the inevitable reveal.

[narcan]

I think the announcement that the reason the director was not appearing at Frightfest was because he was busy promoting the film in Japan speaks volumes as The Broken really felt like a J-Horror movie in all but it's cast & setting, in particular it struck me as heavily influenced by Kiyoshi Kurosawa - it's resemblance to Pulse (Kairo) was even more pronounced than the obvious 'Body Snatchers' comparisons.

I agree with what's been said; that the story was a bit slight to sustain feature length but I found it visually very impressive.

[dangerous_jamie]

Did you notice that she never once asked if the taxi driver was ok?

Bitch!

[odishon]

2. Doctor: 'Its not uncommon, but its rare' WHAT?!

I know, I actually did an out loud 'Huh?' after that line

[MaxRenn]

Did you notice that she never once asked if the taxi driver was ok?

Bitch!

I picked up on that too, but thought I might have missed some dialogue cos I kept falling asleep.

[The Soapmaker]

Did you notice that she never once asked if the taxi driver was ok?

Bitch!

I picked up on that too, but thought I might have missed some dialogue cos I kept falling asleep.

Ah, but don't forget she was an evil emotionless doppelganger. Even if she didn't know it.

[streetrw]

Um. Really, that's it. There's not a vast amount I can say about it. It looks good, though a little too dark and moody (then again, so was I), there's only one big moment of shock/horror/gore (the shower attack) and the rest of it is mostly buildup with either an underwhelming payoff or no payoff at all.

[Khouri]

I thought this film looked very nice on screen but the story didn't grab me and I think I had guessed the ending about five minutes in
I can't work out why the doppelgangers were so miserable? Surely they were happy to be out of the mirror?!

[mamawaldi]

Made me chuckle that her dad kept going into the toilets at his embassy. Once he washed his hands and walked out, the second time he got spooked because someone was in one of the cubicles ! Err...what did he expect ?

The whole thing didn't make any sense and it all seemed padded out by repeated flashbacks of the saaamme sequences.

Yeah and I agree, she killed a cabbie and deserves locking up.

Thumbs down from me.

[Stephen with ph]

A good looking film that didn't really amount to much - my sense of disappointment appeared to be shared matched by those around me.

But, thinking about it the following morning, it did occur to me that my verdict would probably have been very different if, say, the cast were Korean and the lovingly-shot cityscapes had been Seoul. I'm fairly sure I would have attributed the apparent lack of logic, plot and motivation to the cultural differences which, in my case, help make such films so interesting.

So: I still don't like this film, but I now feel a bit of a hypocrite...

(PS - this isn't an invitation for anyone to express their profound sense of ennui towards J-horror. I know how you feel. We all do.)

[The Soapmaker]

But, thinking about it the following morning, it did occur to me that my verdict would probably have been very different if, say, the cast were Korean and the lovingly-shot cityscapes had been Seoul. I'm fairly sure I would have attributed the apparent lack of logic, plot and motivation to the cultural differences which, in my case, help make such films so interesting.

I think you're right, but those subtle cultural differences do make the, er, difference. It might've worked as a Korean movie... but it didn't as a British one.

[Reanimator]

The worst film of the festival for me - I kept thinking either something please happen or just end - eventually it ended!

[maxmum]

...basically Phil Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers remake wasn't it?

I agree with the bodysnatchers comparison. It wasn't bad.

The bath scene with the jaw... eeek! Or was that Mirrors... hmmmmm.

[Gungrave]

I rarely get angry watching a fiction film...but this one had me spitting feathers.

A criminal waste of funding and talent, this had the air of a botched job polished up to try and save it.

The story and interview in the dialies summed it up...a half cocked idea that wasn't allowed to develop and a tightly produced film with no soul.

Yuck...get it away from me and bring me the pills.

[BabyJaneHudson]

Yes, I was so bored, I did a remarkable impression of Bagpuss on more than several occassions during "The Broken". I tried so hard to stay interested, but it just wasn't happening. The story was poorly put together, the script was dull, the acting was lame, it terms of cinematography it was bland, there were no surprises, there was no spark.

What really annoyed me was that during the film the music would indicate that something was going to happen and in my mind I was thinking yeah, Im gonna get a scare, but then............. nothing, then more creepy music and I was thinking ok double bluff, now something is gonna happen .................. nothing.................... more creepy music now something is definitely going to happen................................................. nothing, then more music...................................AHHHHHHHH!

I was so bored I went to the toilet and organised my make-up bag as well as brushing my hair for the sheer thrill of it. Then I went upstairs and bought some ice-cream for my boyfriend counting the steps as I walked up them, thinking that would be more exciting than the film. It was. I even started taking in the foyer decor on the way to the Ben & Jerrys counter to lengthen the time away from Screen 2 as much as possible without my boyfriend wondering if I had deserted him.

Also the short film they showed before is almost identical to a short film I saw years ago as a child. In the good old days they would usually show a short film before the main feature. If you are in my age range (37) you'll remember. Im talking late 70's early 80's. It was a short film called "Don't Panic". The lady on stage did not mention this original film as far as I can remember, which is pretty out of order seeing as it was totally plagiarised and nicked to make the short film we saw on Sunday. At least make a mention of "Don't Panic" if you going to use someone elses stuff like that.

Sorry to be so negative, but it was total Pants. Loved Trailer Park of Terror, Martyrs, The Chaser and others and had a great FrightFest !! See you on Halloween and next August.