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Fragile (AKA: Fragiles) is directed by Juame Balaguero who also co- writes the screenplay with Jordi Galceran. It stars Calista Flockhart, Elena Anaya, Yasmin Murphy, Richard Roxburgh and Colin McFarlane. Music is by Roque Banos and cinematography by Xavi Gimenez.

Mercy Falls Children's Hospital, Isle of White, soon to be closed down and currently only housing the last few child patients and a skeleton crew of staff.. It is also home to something else, something sinister up on the second floor…apparently.

Supernatural spooker involving kids in peril, Fragile is quintessentially a ghost story movie for the undemanding like minded film fan looking for chills, jumps and atmosphere abound. Those in search of something new thrown on to the haunted building table are advised to steer clear, for in spite of a somewhat bonkers finale, where hospital apocalypse is the order of the day, this stays safely on the well trodden path.

Yet when done well enough clichés are not a problem, such is the case here. Flockhart's nurse has mental anguish in her past which she inevitably has to exorcise, and naturally she's going to be the heroine in some shape or form, we know this as she's the American come to the Isle of White to work, a new start. However, it's a nicely drawn characterisation that engages when the bond between nurse and one particularly troubled child is fully born.

With the back drop that of a Gothic hospital (exteriors really Bearwood College in Berkshire, England), complete with a closed ward straight out of Session 9, atmosphere is well maintained by Balaguero, and of course whenever there are sick and dying kids involved there's always a deep sadness dripped into film. The scares range from standard things that go clang in the night, lifts and beds that come to life, and edge of the seat inducing walks around dead silent parts of the hospital. Then there's that ending…

The story involving the reason for the haunting is a neat one, unfortunately the entity in its realisation is not. We are introduced to something monstrous, but it belongs in a different movie, perhaps a Clive Barker inspired one in fact. Some will (and already do) find it very freaky, but I feel it goes a bit away from the traditional ghost movie flavours previously sprinkled throughout the picture. However, there's a genuine surprise at film's closure, where not reverting to formula type is a major bonus.

Derivative? Yes more often than not. Good time assured for fans of haunted house like mysteries? Absolutely! 7/10

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? PS:Please I Want to know the name of the soundtrack in the end(or Where i can download It) it's very good and i can't find it anywhere pls help me:]

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 .

In Wight Island, Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) arrives in the old Mercy Falls Children Hospital to work as night nurse as replacement of the former nurse Susan. The hospital is in a deactivation process, with the patients being transferred to Saint James Hospital; however, due to a train crash, the closing process has been postponed. Amy is introduced to eight children with lung cases by the nurse Helen Perez (Elena Anaya), and she feels a sort of attraction for the terminal girl Maggie (Yasmin Murphy). Maggie likes to play with some letter blocks to talk with the "mechanical girl" called Charlotte that would live upstairs, in an abandoned floor. Amy asks about Charlotte to her coworkers and they explain that she is an urban legend and the Maggie is making up her existence. But sooner they find that the children can not be transferred to Saint James since there is something evil that wants to keep them near.

"Frágiles" has a good ghost story based on the existence of lost souls that would stay in the world of the living, close to what they love. The old women explain to Amy that "it is not where they died or lived; they simply stay near what they loved, and that is what keeps them here but nothing else." The viewer needs "to buy" this concept to enjoy and understand this scary and dramatic film, the same way for example in "The Grudge" ("the curse that is born from someone dying in a powerful rage") or "The Ring" ("the viewer will die seven days after watching a videotape"), just to mention two recent successful Asian movies. This movie is well directed, the cast has great performances, and there are frightening moments along the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Terror em Mercy Falls" ("Terror in Mercy Falls")

I have just finished this film and I have specially made an account to warn people away from this dishevelled mess of a film. Frankly I am astonished by the many positive reviews this film has received. Horror is my favourite genre and normally I am more than willing to sit through a film even if it is not that great, but I have to say that this is without a doubt one of the worst horror films I have ever seen. The story line is dull and incredibly unoriginal, the characters are bland and completely devoid of personality. If I save just one person from watching this drivel I will be happy. Please, please do yourself a favour and save yourself the time and effort, watch something else.

I first saw this in 2007 on a dvd which I own.

Revisited it recently.

I liked the movie cos it has plenty of atmosphere, few spooky scenes n a decent twist.

The movie's settings will remind us of The Shining, The Woman in Black, etc.

The performances are good but the end is a bit convenient.

I have enjoyed Jaume Balagueró's Rec series n Sleep Tight.

FRAGILE (Fràgiles) is a terrific dark scary creepy atmospheric intelligent ghost story. Made in 2005 and released as an episode film in the Fangoria Frightfest, this decent film was overlooked in the theaters but deserves more attention now that it is available on DVD - allowing it to be viewed in the safety of the home! The story is written by Jordi Galceran and writer/director Jaume Balagueró who demonstrate a rather sophisticated knowledge of a little known malady called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic disorder that makes the bones very brittle and easily (and frequently) broken.

The story begins on a foggy dark night as temp nurse Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) steps off the ferry onto an island to fill in for a children's hospital that has been condemned but must keep one floor open until the island's other hospital recovers form over crowding following a significant accident. She is met by the kindly Roy (Colin McFarlane) who escorts her to the dilapidated hospital where the administrator Mrs. Folder (Gemma Jones) takes her on a tour, explaining that the second floor is sealed and has been for some years, and introduces her to the day nurse Helen Perez (Elena Anaya) who in turn introduces Amy to the eight children, all with significant illnesses, who will be under her care. There is one child - Maggie (Yasmin Murphy) who keeps to herself and is obviously terrified, her closest friend had been the nurse Amy is replacing. Amy and Maggie bond and this bond serves as the thread that opens the doors to the terrifying mysteries of the hospital. Noises are heard after lights out and Amy gradually learns form Maggie about the 'mechanical girl' who somehow influences the activities of the hospital. There is a doctor assigned to Amy's ward - Dr. Robert Marcus (Richard Roxburgh) - who assists Amy and the children. But Amy must find out if the fears Maggie has are founded and so she visits two old ladies (Freda Dowie and Matyelek Gibbs) who inform Amy of the story of one child and nurse who could be the connection tot he terror: the child had osteogenesis imperfecta and her ghost remains present in the hospital. Once Amy discovers this information she shares it with Dr. Marcus and the two face the decision as to how to manage the increasingly terrifying events at the hospital.

Calista Lockhart, the fine Australian actor Richard Roxburgh, the always excellent Gema Jones, and the surprising debut of young Yasmin Murphy make this film work. Their performances are top notch, and the cinematography by Xavi Giménez and the musical score by Roque Baños maintain an atmosphere of terror that is credible and keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. Give this little film a chance- it is much better than the other films in this series!

Grady Harp

It's just too darn slow. The first 60 minutes bump along with just a vague notion that 'something's up at the hospital'.

The film borrows heavily from some basic themes in Japanese horror stories and, as a result, does alright: even going so far as presenting children in serious distress which is pretty bold for a non-Japanese movie.

Flockhart is adequate but it's always a bit cringeworthy when an American is crowbarred into a British/European cast for commercial reasons.

All in all, not brilliant but a few decent chills.

On an island off the coast of the British mainland, a remote children's hospital is preparing to close its doors for the last time. Short of staff, the hospital employs an agency nurse Amy Nicholls to work the night shift for the hospitals last few days. Her job is to care for the 8 remaining children. She immediately senses things are not right with the children, they seem to be in fear of something and its not long before odd things begin to happen and unearthly noises from the boarded up second floor begin to send shivers down her spine. She forms a bond with one young girl Maggie, who tells her the strange goings on are down to Charlotte, a mechanical girl. Amy also questions why her predecessor left the job, knowing full well the answer must be these terrifying events that seem to be being ignored by the other staff and management. Not getting the answers she wants, Amy then decides to contact her predecessor Susan herself but finds out she has just died, Susan's parish priest points her in the way of two old clairvoyants to whom Susan had been her conveying her fears. They tell her that only those close to death can see this spectral Charlotte. Amy returns to the hospital and tries to dig up the hospitals dark hidden secrets.

I was a little apprehensive going into this one, after the disappointment of Balaguero's Darkness and also being neither a fan of Calista Flockhart or the always overblown Richard Roxburgh, but they were both fine here and Balaguero succeeds in providing some decent scares, even if he again gives away too much too early. Fragile to me felt more like an Asian Horror than a Spanish one, the ghostly apparition especially. Still though, a good atmosphere is created, especially in the lonely darkened hospital corridors and one expects something to happen at any moment.

American nurse Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) arrives at a British hospital that is in the process of closing down. Escaping from her past, Amy hopes that she will find some sort of peace supervising the remaining children during the night shift. Amongst the children, Amy finds herself bonding with a young girl named Maggie (Yasmin Murphy) who tells her about 'Charlotte'. When Amy asks about Charlotte, Maggie replies 'She's different'. Following this, Amy begins to sense something is wrong with the hospital. There are strange noises in the walls and mysterious messages appearing in the children's building blocks....

Although Fragile isn't really that terrifying, it certainly is a classy looking movie. Every camera shot is beautifully framed and the soundtrack is absolutely gorgeous. Calista Flockhart isn't given a lot to do but she manages admirably with her character's few dramatic scenes. Richard Roxburgh provides solid support in the form of a doctor at the hospital and possible love interest.

Be warned that this is a very slow moving movie. If you're looking for the appearance of horrific monsters every few minutes or pools of blood then this isn't really the movie for you. The plot takes its time to create an atmosphere and it's only in the final third of the movie that Fragile lays all of its cards upon the table. I should mention that the spirit haunting the hospital is impressive and its design was quite unique. I also enjoyed learning about its backstory when it was finally revealed.

Some here on IMDb have compared Fragile to Japanese horror movies but I think that The Devil's Backbone is a much better comparison (and probably a better movie altogether). However, if you've seen and enjoyed that movie or are looking for a horror movie written for adults rather than teens then I'd certainly recommend taking a look at Fragile. It'll be time well spent.

It was not bad as far as ghost stories goes. Not exceptionally scary although Charlotte is pretty grotesque looking. The atmosphere in and around the hospital was sufficiently spooky and the leading characters were engaging enough. I wasn't keen on the scene when Calista was on the second floor running down the hallway with Maggie and the corridor was crumbling around her. It was a bit overdone, and almost felt like the director was trying for a cheap thrill. I think in ghost movies you can get maximum scare out of much less. There aren't a lot of great ghost story movies out there so beggars can't be choosers. It was watchable and much better than I thought it was going to be. It is considerably better than the Darkness.

There is so much wrong with this one,I almost have no idea where to start...First of all, nice to see Calsista put on some weight again, and made the incredible transformation from a 35 kg bag of bones to a 50 kg bag of bones... Her acting is as weak as her figure; In this movie she switches between severely underacted scenes, to a panicky sort of over-acting. Her screams and fear come across as totally unrealistic. I simply do not believe her when she does the panicky-thing... The story is weak, and takes enormous leaps and leaves gaps that gave me the feeling they were either in a hurry to write the script or just could n't care less. Well writing good horror is not easy, and believe me, this one defeinately fall into that category. The moments that were supposed to be scary, I could see them coming from miles away, and I think the major flaw was in the delivery. No tension was built up anywhere, and when they made kind of a half-baked attempt, they just couldn't deliver. What they did succeed in though, was in delivering a constant stream of cliché after cliché. Another waste of my time...

Scary? Hahahah don't make me laugh...

"Fragile" is not like other films in the 'ghost' sub-genre of horror films. To begin with, it is much quieter than other ghost films, with the pacing rather slow, even plodding at some points, which is quite unfortunate, because it becomes boring at times. And like many other ghost films, the subject of the past is a major focus point.

Set in a children's hospital that is about to be closed down, Callista Flockhart plays Amy who accepts a job at the hospital in its final days, where she cares for the remaining eight children, and bonds with one of them in particular. Amy's past also becomes a focus point during the film, though unfortunately it is not delved into enough, as she is a rather interesting character.

Strange things begin happening at the hospital as the children prepare to be transfered to their new hospital, so Amy and the other staff must uncover the hospital's deadly secret - which the children all seem to be aware of.

"Fragile" brings an interesting cast together. Callista Flockhart does a good job of playing the troubled Amy, though as mentioned before, a little more delving into her past would have been nice. Gemma Jones plays Mrs. Folder, a senior staff member of the hospital, and gives a terrific performance. Richard Roxburgh is wasted as Robert, one of the remaining Doctors, and Elena Anaya gives a very eager performance of Helen, another of the Nurses. Yasmin Murphy plays the girl that Amy bonds with, Maggie, and she gives a rather decent performance.

However, the characters themselves are not that well developed. We are given glimpses of their motivations, but that's about it, which is rather disappointing. Another let down is the terrible lighting which plagues almost the entire movie, and the rather vague ending. But there are far worse ways of spending 90-odd minutes than watching the aptly-named "Fragile".

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 just hope God gives me an extra 100 minutes to live. Because this was by far the worst movie I've ever seen. In one word: terrible. I just wonder what the writer of the story was thinking when he was finished. Did he think: "Good job????" I'm having troubles believing that. I also wonder why in gods name one would agree to play part in something like this after reading the script. If you liked Calista Flockheart as Ally McBeal don't go see this movie, cause your opinion of her will change for the worse. If you didn't like her as Ally, don't go see this movie, it'll make you feel even worse 'bout her. The story makes no sense, acting is bad and the special effect were very low-budget. PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID, WHEN YOU SEE THIS MOVIE IN YOUR LOCAL CINEMA, VIDEO RENTAL PLACE OR EVEN ON THE INTERNET.....WALK ON BY AND SAVE YOURSELF 100 MINUTES!!!!!!!!