Episode 642 - "Fractured" (2019)

Hi everyone!

It’s Friday, so that means another Fantastic Fest feature from Andrew Campbell, the third of the Netflix films that featured at Fantastic Fest this year. He’ll have his thoughts on this film, and the likelihood of ten years of “Avatar” sequels in a little bit, but for the previous two Netflix films to feature at Fantastic Fest this year, check out Andrew’s review for “In the Tall Grass” (Episode #607), as part of Reign of Terror 2019, and “In The Shadow Of The Moon” (Episode #635), the part two of two for his Films Beginning With Prepositions series! 

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from the Pop! Pour! Review Podcast! Every week, the PPR crew review a movie, then craft a cocktail based upon the movie. While I may not be a drinker, I have it on good authority that the recipes are absolutely excellent. Also, don’t miss their guest review on One Movie Punch for “Paranormal Activity” (Episode #620), along with their extensive meditation on the many meanings of spoopiness. 

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go! 

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<< POP POUR REVIEW PROMO >> 

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Hello film fans! 

Andrew here. Back this week with a Netflix-produced psychological thriller that just hit the service in October. Like most of the mid-budget Netflix films, this is the kind of movie that tends to appear in your list of suggested movies for a day or two before getting pushed out by the next wave of films. Netflix wants to keep you watching as much as possible and they don’t necessarily care what you choose so long as you keep coming back for that fix. Let’s find out if this one is worth a watch. 

Today’s movie is “Fractured”, the 2019 psychological thriller written by Alan McElroy and directed by Brad Anderson. McElroy wrote the screenplay for all six slasher films in the “Wrong Turn” franchise, while Anderson has directed a couple decent thrillers, including “The Machinist” and “Transsiberian”. “Fractured” made its world premiere at the 2019 Fantastic Fest with director Anderson on hand.

“Fractured” stars Sam Worthington, doing his best to suppress his Australian accent, as Ray Monroe. Ray is roadtripping home from a rough Thanksgiving with his wife Joanne (Lily Rabe) and daughter Peri (Lucy Capri). A snowy pit-stop along a rural highway takes a nasty turn as Ray and his daughter are injured after falling into a nearby construction pit. They rush to a nearby hospital where Ray becomes separated from his wife and daughter as she is taken away for a CAT Scan. Upon waking in the waiting room and nursing a possible concussion, Ray goes looking for his family who have been swept away in the bureaucracy of the hospital. Not only does that staff not know the whereabouts of his family, they don’t recall ever seeing them. Ray will do whatever it takes to find them... or were they never there all along? 

The film gives actor Sam Worthington plenty of room to show off his range. The story takes place entirely from his perspective, with everyone else (his family, the ominous hospital staff, and the doubting police officers) dipping in and out of his narrative. He’s an actor I have always been a little lukewarm on as he comes off a bit bland. I thought it strange that James Cameron would anchor the supposed next 10-years of “Avatar” sequels around Worthington’s limited star-power. He does good work here, whether it’s being a little combative arguing with his wife in the car, fighting to get treatment for his daughter or dealing with his own self-doubt regarding the presence of his family. Without a likeable lead, this film would have been dead in the water. Worthington gets it done.

Now I never got past the first “Wrong Turn” film and I don’t want to take anything away from a screenwriter who puts out scripts and pays the bills, but McElroy’s pedigree gave me a little pause. As it turns out, the script is decent and the dialogue is delivered well by the main cast and a host of side characters. This includes veteran character actor and personal favorite of mine, Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson of “Groundhog Day”) who portrays a doctor with a patient bedside manner... at least for a while. The overall plot is nothing you haven’t seen before, borrowing thematic elements from every other psychological thriller where the audience is asked to decide if the protagonist is out of his mind or if there is some dark conspiracy against him. The film is adept at vacillating between the two possible truths and throws out some decent feints along the way before landing on a rewarding conclusion. 

What makes “Fractured” fantastic? Well, I don’t know if I would deem it fantastic, but I would call it serviceable so far as being a decent thriller that doesn’t require any heavy lifting from the viewer. It’s not a film that would have performed at the box office, but is a complete and entertaining work that helps to justify Netflix’s stronghold in the streaming wars that have just gone nuclear with the launch of Apple TV+ and Disney+. (When do we get Netflix+?) If you enjoy films of this vein, you won’t be disappointed, but if this sort of tale is not your usual cup of tea, there are much better places to start.

“Fractured” is a satisfying trifle of a mystery and a subtle impeachment of American emergency room and mental health care. Fans of psychological thrillers such as “Shutter Island” and “The Cure For Wellness” (Episode #354) will enjoy this film. 

Rotten Tomatoes: 58%

Metacritic: 36

One Movie Punch: 6.6/10

“Fractured” (2019) is rated TV-MA and is currently playing on Netflix.

Come back next Friday and we will wrap up with the last of four Netflix-produced films that debuted at Fantastic Fest. “Dolemite Is My Name” is wildly different than the three other horror-thrillers, a comedic account of Rudy Ray Moore’s journey from stand-up comedian to producer and star of the 1975 blaxploitation classic “Dolemite”. Get ready for the triumphant return of Eddie Murphy. I’ll see you then.

Hi everyone!

It’s Friday, so that means another Fantastic Fest feature from Andrew Campbell, the third of the Netflix films that featured at Fantastic Fest this year. He’ll have his thoughts on this film, and the likelihood of ten years of “Avatar” sequels in a little bit, but for the previous two Netflix films to feature at Fantastic Fest this year, check out Andrew’s review for “In the Tall Grass” (Episode #607), as part of Reign of Terror 2019, and “In The Shadow Of The Moon” (Episode #635), the part two of two for his Films Beginning With Prepositions series! 

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from the Pop! Pour! Review Podcast! Every week, the PPR crew review a movie, then craft a cocktail based upon the movie. While I may not be a drinker, I have it on good authority that the recipes are absolutely excellent. Also, don’t miss their guest review on One Movie Punch for “Paranormal Activity” (Episode #620), along with their extensive meditation on the many meanings of spoopiness. 

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go! 

///// 

> 

///// 

Hello film fans! 

Andrew here. Back this week with a Netflix-produced psychological thriller that just hit the service in October. Like most of the mid-budget Netflix films, this is the kind of movie that tends to appear in your list of suggested movies for a day or two before getting pushed out by the next wave of films. Netflix wants to keep you watching as much as possible and they don’t necessarily care what you choose so long as you keep coming back for that fix. Let’s find out if this one is worth a watch. 

Today’s movie is “Fractured”, the 2019 psychological thriller written by Alan McElroy and directed by Brad Anderson. McElroy wrote the screenplay for all six slasher films in the “Wrong Turn” franchise, while Anderson has directed a couple decent thrillers, including “The Machinist” and “Transsiberian”. “Fractured” made its world premiere at the 2019 Fantastic Fest with director Anderson on hand.

“Fractured” stars Sam Worthington, doing his best to suppress his Australian accent, as Ray Monroe. Ray is roadtripping home from a rough Thanksgiving with his wife Joanne (Lily Rabe) and daughter Peri (Lucy Capri). A snowy pit-stop along a rural highway takes a nasty turn as Ray and his daughter are injured after falling into a nearby construction pit. They rush to a nearby hospital where Ray becomes separated from his wife and daughter as she is taken away for a CAT Scan. Upon waking in the waiting room and nursing a possible concussion, Ray goes looking for his family who have been swept away in the bureaucracy of the hospital. Not only does that staff not know the whereabouts of his family, they don’t recall ever seeing them. Ray will do whatever it takes to find them... or were they never there all along? 

The film gives actor Sam Worthington plenty of room to show off his range. The story takes place entirely from his perspective, with everyone else (his family, the ominous hospital staff, and the doubting police officers) dipping in and out of his narrative. He’s an actor I have always been a little lukewarm on as he comes off a bit bland. I thought it strange that James Cameron would anchor the supposed next 10-years of “Avatar” sequels around Worthington’s limited star-power. He does good work here, whether it’s being a little combative arguing with his wife in the car, fighting to get treatment for his daughter or dealing with his own self-doubt regarding the presence of his family. Without a likeable lead, this film would have been dead in the water. Worthington gets it done.

Now I never got past the first “Wrong Turn” film and I don’t want to take anything away from a screenwriter who puts out scripts and pays the bills, but McElroy’s pedigree gave me a little pause. As it turns out, the script is decent and the dialogue is delivered well by the main cast and a host of side characters. This includes veteran character actor and personal favorite of mine, Stephen Tobolowsky (Ned Ryerson of “Groundhog Day”) who portrays a doctor with a patient bedside manner... at least for a while. The overall plot is nothing you haven’t seen before, borrowing thematic elements from every other psychological thriller where the audience is asked to decide if the protagonist is out of his mind or if there is some dark conspiracy against him. The film is adept at vacillating between the two possible truths and throws out some decent feints along the way before landing on a rewarding conclusion. 

What makes “Fractured” fantastic? Well, I don’t know if I would deem it fantastic, but I would call it serviceable so far as being a decent thriller that doesn’t require any heavy lifting from the viewer. It’s not a film that would have performed at the box office, but is a complete and entertaining work that helps to justify Netflix’s stronghold in the streaming wars that have just gone nuclear with the launch of Apple TV+ and Disney+. (When do we get Netflix+?) If you enjoy films of this vein, you won’t be disappointed, but if this sort of tale is not your usual cup of tea, there are much better places to start.

“Fractured” is a satisfying trifle of a mystery and a subtle impeachment of American emergency room and mental health care. Fans of psychological thrillers such as “Shutter Island” and “The Cure For Wellness” (Episode #354) will enjoy this film. 

Rotten Tomatoes: 58%

Metacritic: 36

One Movie Punch: 6.6/10

“Fractured” (2019) is rated TV-MA and is currently playing on Netflix.

Come back next Friday and we will wrap up with the last of four Netflix-produced films that debuted at Fantastic Fest. “Dolemite Is My Name” is wildly different than the three other horror-thrillers, a comedic account of Rudy Ray Moore’s journey from stand-up comedian to producer and star of the 1975 blaxploitation classic “Dolemite”. Get ready for the triumphant return of Eddie Murphy. I’ll see you then.