Compound Fracture (2014)

Compound Fracture: Directed by Anthony J. Rickert-Epstein. With Tyler Mane, Muse Watson, Derek Mears, Renae Geerlings. Michael left home when he was a teenager and never looked back. Now, after the death of his sister, Chloe, he’s returning home with his fiancee Juliette and his angst ridden nephew Brandon. On arrival, they realize that home isn’t exactly what it used to be. With high walls surrounding the house and security cameras in every nook and cranny it’s more of a military compound than anything else. Enter Gary, Michael’s estranged father who, while happy to be reunited with his son and grandson, seems more distracted by other things. As the strange family reunion commences, an uninvited guest shows up and we learn bits and pieces about the real reason behind Chloe’s death and why Brandon is so closed off from Michael. This fractured family will have to come together to fight the ghosts of their pasts and make it out alive!

“Compound Fracture feels like a first outing, and it is. Tyler Maneu0026#39;s new company offers us a passable thriller that ultimately never truly thrills.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story works. It offers characters with interesting drama and characterization, and a villain with a purpose. There are a few forced moments, where the emotion just shows up instead of being earned organically, but that could be in part to the directing and editing, which I will get to later. The story definitely had potential for thrills, and each character is memorable in their own way, and that is something you donu0026#39;t often find in indie horrors/thrillers, especially first timers like Geerlings.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe acting was weak. Muse Watson, the patriarch with dementia, often felt way over the top as he went in and out of lucidity. Sometimes it felt like dementia, sometimes if felt like he was tired and ready to go home. Tyler Mane will always feel like a giant to me, and it was hard, but not impossible, to see him as a family man. I think his strengths come from playing more fringe characters, less u0026#39;everymanu0026#39;. Alex Saxon was a point of awkwardness for me. He fear noises really drew me out of the moment.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think, even with the acting, there is potential in the film, but it all fell flat due to the direction/editing. Iu0026#39;m going to group those since they were done by the same guy, Anthony J. Rickert-Epstein. First, a look at his page reveals he is a cinematographer (he was also DP on this film, thatu0026#39;s a lot of hats for a feature). And it shows. There were some technical shots going on but usually at the cost of performance and story telling. The film plays slow, and not u0026quot;slow burnu0026quot;, just slow. The action scenes feel forced. I felt like I was supposed to be scared or thrilled but everything was moving so slow I was usually left just watching, unengaged. There were moments that didnu0026#39;t fit the rest of the film. I canu0026#39;t say it enough: everything felt forced. It felt like they wanted us to be scared, but didnu0026#39;t know how to pull it off, so they just copied a lot of techniques with sound and editing and tried to make it work. And for me, it didnu0026#39;t.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI think it was a good first effort. Hopefully they learn from the mistakes, mostly of letting one man head three departments, and can produce more films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCompound Fracture isnu0026#39;t a great movie, but it shows that this team has potential, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with next.”