Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

An Exercise In Nonsense

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Saw the trailer and explored the website a long while back...looked very, very cool. Then saw several mentions of "over XX visual effects shots!!" repeated over and over in various comments and descriptions. Got a bit suspicious...Saw the whole film this weekend. DVD menu: looks awesome! Credit sequence: looks awesome, builds excitement and expectation! The actual film: not good. Very disappointing. So many missteps and "tin ear" moments that it was one of the biggest, "What were they thinking?!?" moments at the whole film festival.The story is convoluted and barely served by the acting and editing (though actress Polay does a good job with the very,very little she is given). The Duncan character (main villain) is straight out of the overwrought "look at me! I'm a craaazzyyy bad, bad man!" style of writing and acting.Above all, the film shows a very immature, shallow sensibility informing most of the major decisions. The ending is just plain camp - so much like the end of the "Thriller" video that I expected to hear Vincent Price laughing in the background.That said - - the "on message" buzz presented on review sites speaks volumes about how well these indie filmmakers have promoted their stuff. They clearly got the most they could out of their budget (whether or not it really was $8,000) and are riding this horse as far as it will take them. And, as I said, they do create a pretty cool look in many places.As a fellow indie filmmaker, I understand and respect the work and determination that goes into that. However, if they truly have been given funding to do a feature (clearly their goal in making the short), I hope they focus less on the glitz and the positive press it has earned them from people with bad taste or low standards and more on telling an actual story with interesting characters (within your world of high action-adventure production values).

I eagerly awaiting the DVD availability of Broken after viewing the trailer. The trailer was awesome and the editor made the most of the high production value of the film. However, I was someone disappointed with the "other" aspects of the film. The acting was decent on all sides as was the direction, but the story itself was lacking, too conventional and sometimes longwinded. N one can deny the high production value of the short. The filmmakers undoubtedly spent a lot of time, energy and effort to take the production value out of the low altitude budget range low budget film-making and into the stratosphere. they succeeded on all levels. And with the inclusion of over three hours of behind the scenes, how they did it footage, the DVD is worth a buy.

"Broken" is a great "how to" disc. While the short film is cool, it really works better in conjunction with the DVD that offers great insight into how to make your own action/thriller on a small budget. Made for reportedly $8,000.00, director Alex Ferrari has crammed in some 100 special visual effects shots. And it looks terrific leaving you wanting more.The story involves Bonnie who wakes up in her darkened apartment to be abducted by strange and dangerous folks. Skip forward to a warehouse or secret facility of some sort where Bonnie is strapped to an antique wheelchair surrounded by even more dangerous killers all of whom want a piece of her. But she doesn't know why. And neither do we. In time, she will be killed but the sadistic bastards want to have fun with her first.More of a teaching film, "Broken" serves as the platform for special effects talent, director, and co-writer Ferrari to educate us on how everything is done. The amazingly power packed DVD is extremely instructive and even fascinating. Use of split screen showing the rehearsal and the finished scene is interesting and Ferrari humbly provides insight into the workings of making a action/thriller with little money.I especially liked the recipe offered for making your own "guacamole gun." For those of you not familiar with this gun, it's a device that simulates what happens when a person is shot by a gun. It's gross and funny to see the experimentation process for the creation of this useful device.Anyone who is thinking about making an action/thriller ought to have the "Broken" DVD in their library.The Disc A must for anyone intending to make their own low budget action/thriller or anyone whose just curious about the subject.Picture Quality: 10/10 The transfer is crisp and the picture lush. There is a portion of the DVD devoted to making DV look like film.Sound Quality: 10/10 Sound was even good on extras shot during rehearsals. Of course, there is a portion of the disc devoted to sound and syncing.Extra Features: 10/10 A teaching disc that includes fantastic extras.The Final Word:I liked the short movie fine, but when combined with a dynamite DVD loaded with extras that are content rich, this should be a essential part of any independent filmmaker's library.Jonathan W. Hickman - http://www.einsiders.com

Alex Ferrari had been a production assistant in television before he decided to become a director. But Ferrari is not that typical dreamer who "wants to be a director", he is one already. His debut short film Broken is a big movie with a sitcom running time, and no less than one hundred visual effects shots before its nineteen minutes have elapsed. Might I say that's pretty impressive? Might I add, do bears bear, do bees be? Somewhere out there a young woman named Bonnie (Samantha Jane Polay) finds that she's not alone in her little apartment and that she's got a few more things to worry about than just whether to watch Survivor and tape Friends or the other way around. Nope, Bonnie soon finds herself in a mess that makes The Matrix look like Smurf Village! Her apartment has gone bye-bye, her boyfriend Christian (Derek Evans) is one MIA BMF, and she finds herself duct taped into one of those Francis Dolarhyde wheelchairs surrounded by people who want to kill her.The ring leader is a scarred, silk suited psychopath with the attitude of Bruce Campbell and a penchant for harmonica tunes and bullets, but looking around at the rest of his too, too motley crew, our boy Duncan (Paul Gordon) just might be the most normal one of the bunch. Scarier prospects have rarely been pondered.But what is this place, and why was Bonnie brought there? Why can't she remember who these people are and why they want to either kill her, or just find out what's... well... Broken? Ferrari and co-writer Jorge F. Rodriguez (who also produced) leave the answer truly ambiguous and clearly in the eyes of the viewer. Yep, this just might be the best surreal mystery of 2005 that you never saw! Under one hell of a microscope Broken shows the flaws that a nitpicker who misses the point might focus on. The occasional line sounds like it must have looked better on the page than coming out of the actors' mouths. At least one surprise could be seen ahead of time by the watchful eye and there are one or two moments left so ambiguous one might wonder what the hell the true intention was here (to be fair... that might just have been the point, boyos).Let me tell you, the special effects are almost universally fantastic, and never used as an actual crutch to prop up poor writing (because there ain't any, kids). However, there is the occasional moment that feels slightly over-post-produced. It feels almost as if Ferrari has decided that because he can throw in a visual effect here and there, he should in order to show what a good film maker he is.But he does that anyway, and while the visual effects are a beautiful part of a strong whole, it's clear that Ferrari as writer and director could pull off a great short with or without the computer assistance. His talent with the camera, daring camera angles, and lack of mimicry to the current trends show what a different kind artist he is. Hell, he could probably pop a tape in a camcorder, film a square dance documentary and actually make it watchable! And, let's be fair, this is a good director breaking out of the television production and commercial directing niche he's in, and by God he's going to put in everything he can to show he's got it. He does. As a student flick, a short, an indie... it doesn't matter, Broken is a quality film! It's up there with the best of The Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt in its quality (and run time), but taken for the indie short that it is, and judging it most fairly, Broken gets Four Stars out of Five! Yep, this is one ambitious production, but Ferrari and company actually deliver on their promise. From the grabbing beginning to the twist ending Broken has the feel of that good book you can't put down, and if anything, I only wish it had been longer. If I might be allowed just one more of my many bad, bad clichés: "If it's Broken, don't fix it!" Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take my Welbutrin and Adderall right quick. My neighbor keeps playing his harmonica, and it's starting to creep me out, man! I'll see you in the next reel, ya lunatic ya!