Plot: Gina (Lena Headey) is a radiologist with a good life, one that centers on her beloved family, including her father John (Richard Jenkins), who is soon to retire. She throws a surprise birthday party to celebrate her father, only to have the night interrupted by a strange event. A mirror just shatters for no reason, perhaps just bad luck, but it stuck in Gina’s mind. But while the mirror explosion was bizarre, things get a whole lot weirder when Gina sees an unexpected face on the road, her own. She is stunned to see her car being driven by a woman who looks just like her, so she chases down the vehicle and winds up at a strange apartment. Her stress and distracted mindset contribute to a car accident not long after, which lands Gina in the hospital with some injuries, not to mention an unsure mental state. Did she just imagine her doppelganger or is there some kind of mysterious phenomena at work?

Entertainment Value: The premise of The Broken is one we’ve seen before, but I like the supernatural mirror concept, so I kept an open mind. In the end however, despite some passable atmosphere at times, the movie fails to spark much interest and winds up as a mediocre, often dull experience. The narrative is one we’ve seen before, so there’s not much new to be uncovered here and other films have tackled this premise with much better results. I was curious about how the finale would unfold, but that proved to be one of the weaker elements here, as the writers drop the ball. An effective twist or reveal could have worked wonders on such a bland movie, but the writers opted for a generic, unsatisfying conclusion instead. I think The Broken has some interesting visuals, which help keep you at least a little invested, but the overall horror vibes are low, as the atmosphere is inconsistent and the scares are nonexistent. The cast has some bright spots, as Lena Headey turns in a sincere, if forgettable lead performance and Richard Jenkins is quite solid in a smaller role. I’ve seen much worse horror movies than The Broken, but its tough to recommend.

The movie has a couple of quick topless scenes, including Lena Headey, of course, while both scenes also involve bare asses. Not much nakedness or sleaze to be had in The Broken, but a little skin is better than none, right? The bloodshed here is limited to a couple of scenes, outside of some mild violence that doesn’t add up to much. A kill that involves a plastic bag isn’t graphic, but has a little of the red stuff and a corpse reveals some makeup work. The highlight of the violence is a wild shower kill that has a messy oral obstruction at its center. Again not super graphic, but it is a cool scene and in this movie, that’s a win. The dialogue is bland and forgettable, with no quotable or overly wild lines. That carries over to the general craziness, as the movie never pushes the envelope or tries to do much outside of the basic formula. The shower fist scene gets a point, but that’s all that’s here.

Nudity: 1/10

Blood: 2/10

Dialogue: 0/10

Overall Insanity: 1/10

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