Frágiles

What could I say about "Fragile"? Well... it was a rainy evening in my town (totally true, not to give effects), and instead of going to the town party I decided to go to the cinema. I had a good idea because I've always admired Balagueró (Los Sin Nombre... great), and I love horror films too, but, like I've said, I had seen three horror movies before and none of them really frightened me. So I got to the cinema and waited for it to start. The atmosphere is very good, it seems they worked a lot to make it, but not only the atmosphere was right like in other films, the story is convincing too, not just "killing-screaming-the end". It starts about a nurse who goes to work in a hospital in an English island. The hospital is about to be closed and the few children who are still there are supposed to be out of there soon. But it's not as easy as it seems, strange things happen in that hospital, one of the girls see somebody who lived and died there, and that "somebody" hurts the kids, by breaking their bones most of the times. The real interest is in what is behind that story, who is that somebody, and why he or she behaves like that. The acting is correct, Elena Anaya, Richard Roxburgh (finally a good role for him!), Calista Flockhart and the kids work efficiently. And most... I'd never been so frightened for a long time. I think that good stories are that which scare me. The same happened with "The Changeling" (somehow similar, somehow different). But worth seeing both of them. I recommend it.

I found the film Fragile to be quite a scary horror film. It is about a new night nurse called Amy Nicholls, who arrives in the old Mercy Falls Children Hospital to work as night nurse as replacement of the former nurse who worked there called Susan. It is a soon to be abandoned children's hospital it becomes clear that these are not normal children. There is something living in the hospital, which the children call the "mechanical girl," the patients are being transferred to Saint James Hospital but due to a train crash, the closing of the hospital has been postponed. Amy is introduced to eight children with lung cases by the nurse Helen Perez, and she feels attracted to one of the girls called Maggie. Maggie likes to play with some letter blocks to talk with the "mechanical girl" called Charlotte that lives upstairs, on an abandoned floor. This seemed to be quite a strange and scary film to me. Recommended

The reviews coming out of Venice were not kind. Indeed some reviews on this site in the message boards were not kind.....OK we are not talking about Oscar material but this film is scary in a non-gory, blood-on-walls, way and is entertaining. If cinema should be fun and a time to suspend belief then this film is OK. If you want challenging subject matter or top drawer acting look elsewhere....if you want to be scared and entertained then go for it. Flockhart is fine, the kids are good, Roxborugh is good, Anaya is good.....just don't expect too much. The sound and cinematography are very good and Jaume Balagueró holds it all together well enough....the story ticks along and builds to the final showdown and you begin to feel some empathy and understanding of the characters but we never dwell long enough on any one character....and we don't really care how or why they are in the hospital all we want to know is well they ever leave?

An American woman (Calista Flockhart ) gets work in a rundown hospital where there are ill children which are suffering creepy events . She become clear that these are not normal kids . They're unsettling with a weird ghost is living in the hospital and the kids call the mechanical girl who has imperfect Osteogenesis . The nurse desperately tries to keep the children safe of mysterious spectres . A little girl (Ivana Baquero) begins afraid of the darkness and is terrorized asking for help but the nurse becomes threatened by vicious being that embarks upon a killing spree .

This thrilling picture displays mystery , suspense , restless terror including decent scares with tense horror sequences . It provides horrifying and hair raising images with a bit of blood and gore . The movie takes accent as the suspense as well as the terror with eerie scenes when the horrible ghost makes apparition . The narration is correctly developed with an imaginative , well-knit screenplay and striking , exciting ending . There are some scenes of an animated clip "Sleeping Beauty" it is not an excerpt from an animated film , but was created specifically for this movie . Filmmaker Jaume Balaguero is borrowing inspiration from the ghosts of ¨The sixth sense¨, demonic possession with poltergeist phenomenon with high grade FX as crack walls , rare sounds etc of ¨Amytiville¨ until his anterior films as ¨The nameless¨ and ¨Darkness¨.

The actors are top-notch , such as the little girl played by Ivana Baquero, (future star in Pan's labyrinth) as well as the adults , Calista Flockhart , Gemma Jones . Richard Roxburgh and Elena Anaya are pretty well , both of whom previously worked in ¨Van Helsing¨ as Dracula and his bride . Sinister and mysterious atmosphere is made by Balaguero's , usual cameraman : Xavi Gimenez . Shot on location in Bearwood College , Reading , England was used as the exterior location for the Mercy Falls Children's Hospital and Union Street in Ryde on the Isle of Wight . Musical Score adjusted to horror film , being magnificently composed by Roque Baños (The machinist , 800 bullets) . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Jaume Balaguero who came up with the idea for the plot after learning this rare illness : Osteogenesis . Slick movie aimed to terror fans and is one of the highest earning horror movie of the last years .

I like horror movies. "Fragile" is like nowadays "japanese-horror" movies, but with a bit of European soul added. Everything's set to get you some goosebumps. An old children's hospital that is about to being closed, moody soundtrack, great set decorations and props and makeup, and sound effects that make you jump out of your skin sometimes. The movie hit a bullseye for me. Hospitals and abandoned places scare the hell out of me so watching this movie was like my worst nightmare came true. It was definitively scarier than The Ring. If you get the creep from hospitals, abandoned places and stuff like that, I do recommend this movie.