The Broken

Released - 2008
Genre - Horror, Drama, Fantasy
Director - Sean Ellis
Starring - Lena Headey, Richard Jenkins, Ulrich Thomsen, Melvil Poupaud, Michelle Duncan

Gina is a radiologist in London and the film begins with her and her brother throwing a surprise party for their father. An enjoyable evening has one sour note when a mirror on the wall spontaneously falls and smashes. Moving on, Gina spots a doppelganger and then has a car crash. When she gets out of hospital, still suffering from memory loss, she begins to suspect her boyfriend is not the same person. Her suspicions soon take form and everyone she knows is in terrible danger. This is well directed and atmospheric; it builds tension slowly and then fails to go anywhere. The writing really lets it down and it feels more like an excuse of a premise that allows the director to set up scenes he wants (Ellis wrote and directed) rather than a fully formed coherent story. The description I read before watching compared it to Mirrors and Invasion of the Body Snatchers and it definitely borrows liberally from both without being as good as either.

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