Fragile was a tough sell: It's taken 5 years for this dark drama to see the light of day. But thanks to Fangoria's new FrightFest featuring 8 films , it'll either get a limited release in theaters this month (based on votes) or just go straight to DVD in September.
Starring Calista Flockhart and Richard Roxburgh as medical professionals based in the lonely and soon-to-be shutdown Mercy Falls Children's Hospital, this spooky, slow story follows the angry machinations of a ghostly former patient who likes to snap the childrens' leg-bones as if they were twigs and also enjoys long walks in the corridors. Drearily directed by Jaume Balaguero (who fortunately would rally with subsequent films REC and REC2 ) Fragile goes pretty much nowhere for at least an hour.
However, if you can make it through that first molasses hour (actually, go ahead and fast-forward here and there — you won't miss much), the haunting bits are pretty good. The first and second acts set the story up in the most monotonous manner imaginable: New night nurse Amy Nicholls (Flockhart) arrives at the hospital one stormy night, where she meets Dr. Marcus (Roxburgh), orderly Roy (Colin McFarlane), and scared little patient Maggie (Yasmin Murphy). Soon afterward, a kid's leg gets broken during a routine x-ray, things start going bump in the night, and Nurse Nicholls quite easily uncovers evidence of bad goings-on from years ago hidden in the hospital's walls. Turns out, "The Mechanical Girl" Maggie speak of is quite real...
The cinematography is competent, but falls into cliché with too many muted colors, draped shadows and long, long POV shots of anemically neon-lit hallways. The acting is competent, but falls into cliché as the actors are given fewer and fewer layers to work with. The special effects are competent, but fall into cliché when it's revealed the scariest spirit turns out to be a dead ringer for Marilyn Manson circa 1996.
Fragile is all right for the price of a DVD rental, but when it comes to which of the FrightFest films should win theatrical release — I'm voting for Dark House and Grimm Love .
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson