viewed at dead by dawn horror festival, Edinburgh- Simon Boyes and Adam Mason's BROKEN is a dark and unsettling horror film that leaves you feeling like its title once the end credits role. The story concerns a man (eric colvin) who kidnaps Hope (nadja brand) and her daughter, forcing the women into a series of painful and humiliating trials to test her strength. We gather that the man is a survivalist, living out in the barren woods, and that he is looking for a partner who can share his vision, and join him. Hope on the other hand takes on these trials, though in a bid to find out the fate of her daughter, and to escape the clutches of the psychotic survivalist. BROKEN presents a vision of a psychopaths psyche, whose survivalist mentality is contrasted with Hope's secure and comforting suburban reality, though these two worlds collide and they collide in violent fashion. There were scenes of such stark brutality that will test even the strongest of stomachs and nerves, though at the same time this is a horror film that does not want to gain shock value or comfort its audience, it wants to leave you feeling uneasy, and leave the audience with questions not answers. It is horror to test raw nerves and it does so in excellent style. Heres hoping it gets a wider release as it deserves to do so!
