BROKEN / (WS) [DVD]

An impressive if stomach-churning low-budget horror film from England, Broken details the ordeal of a woman (co-producer Nadja Brand) kidnapped by a deranged survivalist (Eric Colvin) who attempts to shatter her will in order to make her his slave. Very little dialogue is exchanged between the two main characters (another young woman joins them later, and is silenced in a horrific manner), but the performances by the leads make the raw terror and anguish of Brand's situation palpable, as does the gruesome special effects, which make the sadism of the Saw series pale by comparison. The film's relentless misery and ugliness become wearying over the course of a full-length feature (and the surprise ending is both cruel and infuriating), but there's no denying that Broken is both well-crafted (Erik Wilson, second unit director of photography on Alexandre Aja's The Hills Have Eyes and its sequel), is responsible for its exceptionally lush look) and unbearably disturbing--a rare combination for modern horror films. The DVD includes commentary by directors Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, who are also profiled (along with Brand) in a hourlong featurette about the film's torturous production (much of the first half of the film was scrapped or refilmed a year after the initial shoot was completed; glimpses of these deleted scenes are included in the featurette). Brand also gets her own stand-alone extra in the form of an interview taped at a film festival in Brussels. -- Paul Gaita