Amongst the many films I saw on the second day of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, BROKEN definitely struck a nerve and was darkly impactful.  This film is very unique and slowly burns into your subconscious throughout its entirety.  It is a great psychological horror film containing incredibly realistic elements – elements that many can relate to.

Directed by Shaun Robert Smith, BROKEN tells the tale of Evie (Marjana Alaoui), a live-in nurse for an ill-mannered rock star (Mel Raido) turned quadriplegic.  Evie desperately wants out, due to John’s unbearable demands and attitude.  Each day gets longer and more grueling, having to deal with his continuous drug parties, crude communication skills, and nursing obligations that will make your stomach churn.  Her sanity begins to slip as demons from her past are brought forth from this obligatory hell, leading up to its very explosive finale.

BROKEN was made incredibly well; you as the viewer become immersed in these character’s lives, and into their mindsets.  As the story progresses, it becomes clear that both John and Evie are broken; fractured from physical experiences that evolve into hallucinations, despair, and mental breakdowns.  They both desperately crave relief from themselves and their situations, while continuing to spiral deeper into discouragement.  The acting was also on point, as I feel both lead roles gave great performances.  Tapping into roles such as these cannot be an easy task.

As a whole, I’d say that BROKEN is a great movie and definitely one worth watching.  You will feel real emotions while partaking in this film, ranging from helplessness to concern, from sadness to despair for the characters and their situations.  Life is very circumstantial, and can take one shattering instance to completely tear your world, and everything in it, apart.

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Abigail Braman

Abigail is a macabre and horror artist, primarily working in oil paints and found objects, and does freelance writing for both Nightmarish Conjurings and Pophorror. She loves all-things horror, animation, and art history, and is currently working on her first dark stop-motion animated horror short film, Cadillac Dust. Abigail is also very passionate about music, having used to play the banjo, guitar, and sing in a band called The Killer Pines. When she's not either painting, writing, working, or watching movies while doing all of these things, she's probably sleeping, or cuddling with Claude the cat (or both).

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