Frágiles

There is acting life (albeit horrific) after Ally McBeal! No kidding, I didn't know she could act. But Calista Flockhart can with fluid aplomb as demonstrated by this horror gem. Similar to "The Skeleton Key" in its plot and feel, this hospital horror boo-donit moves quickly into the murky depths of the strange goings-on at a children's hospital that is soon to be closed. When the new night nurse, Amy, played by Flockhart, arrives to take the place of the last (fleeing) night nurse, the creepy nature of the recent 'accidents' of the children and their subsequent fearful behavior give her pangs of heart-felt anguish at their suffering. Her protective instincts (heightened by a job related trauma she herself recently experienced) kick into high gear, and she begins stalking the underlying cause of these events, although the rest of the staff buttress the mystery with listless denial, or is their passivity a part of a larger, more sinister cover-up? The haunting music, sound and visual effects transparently blend together in a well spun intensity that doesn't require the more overtly obvious shock-factor 'bumps in the night' and miscues holding other less dramatically driven, cheap-thrills horror movies together. Hey, we all know its not real, but so is your money, and you won't be wasting it if you rent this movie!

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.

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.

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

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