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.
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.