Fractured (2016) (4 Stars)

You're probably wondering what this film has to do with the 2019 version of "Fractured" that I watched two days ago. The answer is Nothing. It's not a remake, a reboot, an adaptation or anything at all. It's just a film that happens to have the same name. Film names aren't copyrighted, so duplication is possible. In general the names aren't copyrighted. I can imagine Marvel Studios would cry foul if someone made a film called "Guardians of the Galaxy", but even then the copyright would rest on the comic book characters, not on the film title.

The 2016 film was made in England and the 2019 film in America, but in this case it's more than a duplication of the film title. "Fractured" seems to be a popular generic film title. I've found another seven films with the same title, none of which are in any way related to one another. It starts with an Australian family drama made in 2009. Then there's an American psychological thriller in 2013 about a man who wakes from a coma and finds people trying to kill him. That plot sounds familiar. In 2014 there's a British thriller about a woman injured in a car accident who wants revenge on the other driver. In 2015 there's an American psychological thriller about a woman suffering from a mental breakdown after the death of her partner. In 2017 there's a Korean drama about a boy suffering from mental illness. In 2019 there's a second film, an American film about a mystery surrounding an old journal. Finally there's an American detective film which is still in production, probably waiting for the Coronavirus to clear.

If a film's title is so popular, why does this film (the 2016 version) have to be called "Fractured"? I don't see any reason at all. The title isn't relevant to the plot.

Michael Duncan and Rebecca Wallace are travelling in an old VW Beetle to spend the weekend in a remote house in southern England. They stop at a petrol station with a creepy attendant who's in such a hurry to close that he doesn't want their money. In the house there are noises, as if someone's in the house, but they can't find anyone. In the middle of the night Michael goes to the toilet, but doesn't return. Rebecca gets up and finds him dead in the bathtub with stab wounds in his chest.

It's a low budget film with only five actors. It all takes place in one night. The film has a similar structure to "One cut of the dead", but without the single cut gimmick. After the first 40 minutes the film returns to the beginning of the story, and we're given background information about what happened. Things weren't what they seemed.

The film won a series of awards at horror festivals, but that wasn't enough to get it into the cinemas. It didn't even go straight-to-video, it went straight-to-streaming. It's available on Amazon Prime in America and Britain. It's a well made film, with a tight running time of only 73 minutes. I was a bit annoyed by the dark picture throughout. Even though the film takes place at night, the backgrounds could have been brightened up. It's an interesting film that I might return to one day.