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Fragile: A Ghost Story
SCREENER/APPROX. 97 MINS/2005/USA M
SCREENER/APPROX. 97 MINS/2005/USA M
5
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Mercy Falls*. A remote children's hospital on the Isle of White, a large Island off the coast of England, is closing down. A skeleton staff remain to
care for the last few children who have yet to be moved, and when the night nurse leaves suddenly, Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) travels from
the mainland to take over the task. Horror movie rules state that Hospitals are creepy, with scary films being so preoccupied with death, this is no
surprise. What better place to haunt with the unquiet spirits of the deceased than a place that everyone already has at least a mild aversion to.
This particular place is a large, grand looking, gothic old building with a second floor that has been off limits since the late 50s. I wonder if it
harbors some sort of dreadful secret?
Fragile: The Ghost Story is a Spanish production that uses British and American actors. It's director, Jaume Balagueró, created the terrible
'Darkness' starring Anna Paquin but also directed the sensational investigative horror, 'The Nameless'. Obviously a fan of the snappy one world
title, Balagueró is an extremely competent filmmaker who has crafted something interesting out of a standard pulp plot about vengeful ghosts.
Amy settles into her new job and everyone shows her kindness. The hospital manager is a little cold but apart from that the remaining staff are
friendly and helpful. Amy soon bonds with a young Cystic Fibrosis sufferer who she finds out is a fellow orphan. Maggie seems distant and isolated
in comparison with the other students and she is convinced that a spirit called Charlotte is haunting the building. A child has already suffered an
horrific, bone breaking attack that has left the hospital authorities baffled and now, as the lifespan of the hospital draws to a close, more and more
angry, limb cracking assaults are occurring.
An old fashioned ghost yarn, Fragile relies on atmosphere and characters to make the hairs on your neck stand up, rather than a raft of flashy CGI
effects. The result is a lot classier and certainly far more spooky than the average studio horror film. The creepy hospital is filmed expertly in order
to ring every last drop of menace from the long, dimly lit corridors. The haunting mood of the film switches up a gear in the last half, as some
decent special effects are utilized when Charlottes ghostly anger causes the whole building to start collapsing and when the spirit manifests itself
on camera, it turns out to be one of the more repulsive creatures to grace a screen in quite a while.
Fragile: A Ghost Story is a traditional spooky story with a few gory flourishes and some stomach flipping moments when people have their bones
snapped without warning. I love it when I get horror films that don't feature a principle cast of party hardy college kids ready to sacrifice
themselves to a masked killer so they can get laid and smoke weed. Fragile builds it's atmosphere slowly, with little reliance on special effects until
it's gripping climax. This approach makes for a far more memorable experience than a dozen run of the mill program fillers. Apart from some
unnecessary back story about Amy's tragic past that is never fully explained and seems to have been included so we could all hear Ally McBeal say
the word 'Fuck', thus proving her acting chops and a slightly mawkish moment that alludes guardian angels near the end, this is a well honed,
efficient chiller for anyone looking for a mainstream fright flick with a bit more class.
care for the last few children who have yet to be moved, and when the night nurse leaves suddenly, Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) travels from
the mainland to take over the task. Horror movie rules state that Hospitals are creepy, with scary films being so preoccupied with death, this is no
surprise. What better place to haunt with the unquiet spirits of the deceased than a place that everyone already has at least a mild aversion to.
This particular place is a large, grand looking, gothic old building with a second floor that has been off limits since the late 50s. I wonder if it
harbors some sort of dreadful secret?
Fragile: The Ghost Story is a Spanish production that uses British and American actors. It's director, Jaume Balagueró, created the terrible
'Darkness' starring Anna Paquin but also directed the sensational investigative horror, 'The Nameless'. Obviously a fan of the snappy one world
title, Balagueró is an extremely competent filmmaker who has crafted something interesting out of a standard pulp plot about vengeful ghosts.
Amy settles into her new job and everyone shows her kindness. The hospital manager is a little cold but apart from that the remaining staff are
friendly and helpful. Amy soon bonds with a young Cystic Fibrosis sufferer who she finds out is a fellow orphan. Maggie seems distant and isolated
in comparison with the other students and she is convinced that a spirit called Charlotte is haunting the building. A child has already suffered an
horrific, bone breaking attack that has left the hospital authorities baffled and now, as the lifespan of the hospital draws to a close, more and more
angry, limb cracking assaults are occurring.
An old fashioned ghost yarn, Fragile relies on atmosphere and characters to make the hairs on your neck stand up, rather than a raft of flashy CGI
effects. The result is a lot classier and certainly far more spooky than the average studio horror film. The creepy hospital is filmed expertly in order
to ring every last drop of menace from the long, dimly lit corridors. The haunting mood of the film switches up a gear in the last half, as some
decent special effects are utilized when Charlottes ghostly anger causes the whole building to start collapsing and when the spirit manifests itself
on camera, it turns out to be one of the more repulsive creatures to grace a screen in quite a while.
Fragile: A Ghost Story is a traditional spooky story with a few gory flourishes and some stomach flipping moments when people have their bones
snapped without warning. I love it when I get horror films that don't feature a principle cast of party hardy college kids ready to sacrifice
themselves to a masked killer so they can get laid and smoke weed. Fragile builds it's atmosphere slowly, with little reliance on special effects until
it's gripping climax. This approach makes for a far more memorable experience than a dozen run of the mill program fillers. Apart from some
unnecessary back story about Amy's tragic past that is never fully explained and seems to have been included so we could all hear Ally McBeal say
the word 'Fuck', thus proving her acting chops and a slightly mawkish moment that alludes guardian angels near the end, this is a well honed,
efficient chiller for anyone looking for a mainstream fright flick with a bit more class.
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