6/30/2014
Not to be confused with the other film called "Broken" I reviewed back in April of this year. This "Broken" was released by Dimension Extreme back in 2006 at the height of the torture porn craze. Riding the coattails of the "Saw" and "Hostel" Movies, this low budget British import is all kinds of nasty, but in the end is not all that interesting. The film is also supposedly based on a true story.
Like a lot of horror movies were given a gruesome opening scene that gives you a taste of what's to come. We are then introduced to Hope (quite the metaphorical name), a young woman out on a date having a good time. She returns home to say goodnight to her 6-year-old daughter and goes to sleep only to wake up buried underground. The story is then structured into days she is held captive by a mysterious psychopath. After Day 2 she is dug up and tied to a tree, similar to another victim from the opening scene. A razor blade has been sewn up in her abdomen leaving her no choice but to dig it out and cut her self free from the tree. The make-up and effects are supremely disgusting all through the film and are the main reason to watch it in the first place. Unfortunately, like a lot of horror movies, the story and characters are weak and poorly drawn. The plot is very thin and predictable with only the final scenes being somewhat original.
The unnamed male psychopath takes his victims into the woods and sets up camp. He chains Hope to a tree and trains her to be his slave but not in any sexual way. After a few days, he tests her loyalty and another few times she tries to escape but all things lead back to the camp and Hope being physically and mentally beaten and abused. About 10 days in the Man brings back another girl, a teenager who won't stop whining and crying, she really tests the viewer's patience. This is kind of strange in that you really want the girl to die just so she would shut the hell up. The man does get fed up with her and cuts her tongue out. It's only a matter of time before the women hatch a plan to escape and the Man's reign of terror come to an end. Like I mentioned before the ending is a little different than what you'd expect, as it takes an extremely cruel twist in the spirit an extremely cruel movie.