‘Fractured’ Review
Stars: Louisa Lytton, April Pearson, Karl Davies, Calvin A. Dean, Jordan Metcalfe | Written by Christian Hearn, Jamie Patterson | Directed by Jamie Patterson
First off if, like me, you saw the title of this movie and was a little put off, rest assured that Fractured is much better than the generic title…
After looking up director Jamie Patterson it should have been no surprise that he has directed quite a few films (although not any I have actually seen), because Fractured looks very much like a movie made by an experienced filmmaker. It looks great and I loved some of the camera work. There’s some expert use of lighting and several really interesting and simply fantastic-looking shots. Things that might sound simple but on screen are so much more. Like an almost black and white shot of a house with one character in light (and therefore colour) seen through a window. There’s also just some interesting angles and shots that you don’t normally see. The camera work is not something I usually notice in such a positive way, so it’s telling how good it is here.
The other big plus for Fractured is its script – the film is just very well written and clever. Unfortunately for writing a review it is the type of film that you don’t want to give away too much but it goes in plenty of surprising directions. Even though the first half of the film run at a kind of slow pace, I was totally engrossed. So even though not too much of note happens, the time flew by and at about the forty minute mark, a film I was enjoying, takes a complete u-turn and suddenly gets even more interesting. And then from that point I was glued to the screen just watching everything unfold.
If you are from the U.K. and I told you the three lead actors in Fractured are: a guy best known for Emmerdale, a woman best known for Skins, and a woman whose major career role was Ruby in Eastenders, then I would forgive for not having much hope in the performances. But you would be very wrong. April Pearson (Tormented, Tank 432, Skins) and Karl Davies (Game of Thrones, Emmerdale) play the lead couple Rebecca and Michael. After driving to a house ‘in the middle of nowhere’, they think they are being watched or stalked by someone or something. Both are a very good in their roles as a believable couple and they have good chemistry together. Davies has this slight cockiness that just about remains likeable, while Pearson seems to like playing characters that are mostly nice but you just get that feeling are up to something. They’re both great choices for the leads here. There’s also a link to British zombie movie Tormented as Calvin A. Dean also has a small role. I’ve mentioned before that British TV, especially soaps, has a whole lot of great actors and it’s a shame more don’t get to do other things. Whether it’s their choice to work in a soap for years or whether it’s because they get typecast I’m not sure. But only a few seem to go on to bigger things.
Fractured isn’t all about gore and deaths, it’s as much, if not more, about the atmosphere (which it succeeds in well) but that said there are some great practical effects, especially in one close-up injury scene. The director makes sure each moment of horror is there for a reason and it makes them all seem important.
A slightly disappointing final fight scene (surprisingly enough in part because of the way it is shot) cannot take away from what is an excellent horror thriller. Such well written and intriguing horror doesn’t come along very often, so if you get a chance to see Fractured grab it with both hands because this will probably be on one of those ‘10 great horror movies you probably haven’t seen’ lists by the end of next year!
