Movies that make you scream: Fragile

Posted by Susan in Movies | 0 comments

Fragile, 2005

reviewed by BforQueen

Ever since I was young I’ve been fascinated by two things: horror movies and hospitals. I was one of those creepy kids that stood in the horror section of the video store to check out the latest zombie flicks, instead of browsing the Disney section like other kids my age. I couldn’t get enough of the pictures of gruesome faces, hacked-off body parts and screaming women. Of course, my parents wouldn’t allow me to watch any of those movies at that time, and I’m pretty sure they thought I was a bit of a freak because of it.

I spent a lot of time in hospitals as a child. Not so much for myself, but for my grandfather who had cancer and heart disease for as long as I could remember. As little as I was, I can still remember how much I enjoyed exploring the place, especially the special display they’d set up showcasing pictures and instruments from the days when the hospital was first opened. Needless to say these looked like gruesome torture devices, and I could only imagine the horror inflicted with them. Yes, I was a strange child…

As an adult I worked in that same hospital for years, often taking early shifts just so I could wander the creepy catacombs of the basement in silence, imaging ghosts or the occasional slasher around every corner. Clearly, my preference for horror movies is still very much alive, and though I have a fondness for pointless blood, gore and guts, any horror movie that includes a hospital is an automatic win in my book. The movie I’m about to recommend to you is one of my favourites in that particular genre.

Fragile – starring Calista Flockhart (2005)

Summary:

As the new night nurse at a soon to be abandoned children’s hospital readies the last group of orphans to leave, it becomes increasingly clear that these are not normal children. Something living in the hospital, something the children call ‘the mechanical girl’, has a terrifying hold over them and will stop at nothing to keep them in the hospital with her forever.

The movie takes place in Mercy Falls Children Hospital, which is in the process of closing down. American nurse Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockheart) is brought in to help transfer the few children that are still left. She instantly bonds with Maggie, a quiet but very perceptive child (wonderfully played by the very talented Yasmin Murphy). Maggie has a way of communicating with someone named Charlotte, also referred to as “The Mechanical Girl”, supposedly a former patient who died many years ago. Amy initially dismisses this, but it quickly becomes clear that all the children in the hospital fear Charlotte and for good reason.

Strange occurrences and gruesome cases of abuse cause Amy to investigate further, and what she finds out isn’t pretty. During an exploration of the abandoned second floor of the hospital, she comes face to face with “The Mechanical Girl” herself. Amy immediately tries to get everyone to evacuate the children, but Charlotte will not let them leave that easily. And is Charlotte even really what she seems?

With a good plot, eerie scenes and a heartbreaking ending, this movie is one I can watch again and again. Truly a good one if you like to be spooked…