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Hello everyone, DeBaser users!!! I haven't been on this site for very long, and for my first review, I've decided to talk to you about "Fragile," the 2005 horror film directed by Jaume Balaguerò, director of the much more well-known [REC] and its sequel. But let's not digress too much and start discussing the said film.
Presented out of competition at the Venice Biennale, it was subject to controversial reviews, but in the end, most of the critics unjustly panned it, in my opinion, calling it banal and embarrassing. I can absolutely assure you that it is not so, and I say this as someone who devours horror films as if they were chocolates: so far, "Fragile" is the only film that has scared me simply at the sight of the monster, which is very important for a film of this type. Sure, in the end, the plot doesn't embody originality, but it is intriguing enough to compel you to watch. Briefly summarized, the story follows nurse Amy Nichols, with a troubled past, who takes care of the children at Mercy Falls Hospital, who must be transferred as the facility, now dilapidated, needs to close. However, a train accident forces the last few young patients to wait a few more days before being transferred. Here comes Amy, who, believing herself responsible for the death of a child she worked with, becomes very attached to Maggie, one of the children. However, they exhibit strange behaviors, and one of them breaks bones without even getting out of bed. Moreover, at night, strange noises come from the second floor of the building, closed following dark events. Maggie attributes these facts to Charlotte, the "mechanical girl," an eerie presence that only some can see and seems to haunt right the second floor of the building. It will be up to Amy to investigate the past of Mercy Falls and try to resolve the situation. As already mentioned, the plot doesn't shine for originality, but it has potential, which in my opinion, has been fully exploited.
The film indeed manages to create an excellent horrific atmosphere thanks to excellent set designs and good sound effects, which create a symbolic parallelism between breaking bones and shattering beams. The icing on the cake, Charlotte's ghost is one of the few truly capable of frightening: when you first hear about her, your first thought is, "What a crappy monster!!!" yet, when you finally see her, you can barely keep from wetting your pants. The cast also performs more than respectably: Callista Flockhart plays her role well; what doesn't entirely convince are the children, who, aside from Maggie, don't seem very scared in some sequences. Another advantage of the film is the complete absence of unnecessarily gory scenes and "jump scare from Boo!" scenes, with few exceptions. The only flaw, in my opinion, worth pointing out is the fact that, as in practically every horror movie, despite Charlotte's ability to break bones with just the power of thought, when she meets the protagonist, she "merely" uses telekinesis to throw objects at her without even hitting her and without the least thought of breaking her bones too. Otherwise, it's generally a good horror film, and four stars are more than well-deserved (it should have been 3.5, but I round up).
I hope this review has been exhaustive and to your liking, but if there are any flaws, please point them out so that I can improve for my future reviews.
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