My biggest issue with “Compound Fracture” is that it led to a very bad case of writer’s block that forced me to think about the movie for much longer than I had to and to try to re-write this first paragraph way too many times. I know what I think about the film. The problem is that it is a pretty easy thriller to write off as awful and forgettable where nothing stands out as especially interesting or especially bad. Still, there is a degree of sincerity that goes into the filmmaking that should not be ignored. It is a challenging balance to find when trying to explain why the film does not quite work while still acknowledging the good intentioned effort that was made to film it.
“Compound Fracture” does manage to come together as a different take on the revenge ghost story, and does Manage to remain Fairly interesting by telling the story in fragments designed to create mystery and suspense. What happens is that familiar patterns of family trauma and haunting memories are so intertwined with the broken narrative structure that they seem deceptively new, and using this loose storytelling to hide then structural issues works for only a short time.
“Compound Fracture” begins with a flashback scene that displays a blood ritual being performed against a tapestry that has a wolf howling under a quarter moon. One of the opening lines from the narration states that the group shown refers to their gatherings as “the idea of a pack very seriously.” In retrospect, given where the story goes, I feel like he may have been saying “pact” but I listened to it more than once and could not be sure either way.
Perhaps my own subconscious is to blame for my association of Tyler Mane’s beard with Sabretooth in Bryan Singer’s “X-Men.” But add the fact that the family in the film is named Wolffsen and it is beginning to suggest that “Compound Fracture” is set up as a werewolf thriller. I don’t know if that was an intentional misdirection, but that is how it framed itself, even though that is certainly not what the movie is. While pacing for someone to start growing fur and fangs which never come, “Compound Fracture” instead unfolds into the tale of an undeniably dysfunctional extended family that has more than their fair share of hidden skeletons within their combined closet.
Since his sister’s murder, Michael and his fiancée have taken in Michael’s aloof emo nephew. It’s been 20 years since only son Michael had a falling out with the Wolffsen clan, who are ruled by Gary and his rather outlandish Norse occultism. When Michael goes back after two decades with his family, he is not cataclysmically shocked to find that the old, senile man has riddled the house with wards and makeshift idols against evil and filled the house with furniture to ward off evil spirits. There’s one thing Gary knows for certain: the wolffsen clan has a supernatural entity watching them and they learn by the end the entity is closely linked to the abuses of Michael’s sister and her husband, William.
Tyler Mane, Renae Geerlings, and John Schneider, who produced and starred in the movie alongside one another, created and produced “Compound Fracture as the first release from their new production company, Mane Entertainment. Casting seldom brings out the best of the creative side of actors looking for fat paychecks, instead they foster a borderline obsession with themselves that they can’t escape as they try and make something for an audience. Whereas Mane and Geerlings do not seem to hack their way through an acting skill shortage and overestimate themselves as many do with low budget horror films and, instead, concentrate on the psychological aspects of the film.
Mane’s physique together with a lack of articulation, has led to him being labeled as a one-dimensional figure, only useful for putting beneath a mask or throwing behind a stunt, which is quite exaggerated. “Compound Fracture,” however, allows him the best opportunity to showcase his versatility beyond just being a muscular figure.
The character Mane plays is always scowling, grumpy, and delivering teeth-clenching lines, but that is not something out of the ordinary for his persona. It is a performance that allows the character to be covered, and Mane does a commendable job putting a considerable face onto a character that the script presents as a poorly built stereotype. Mane does not happen to be the only actor who breathes more life into the movie than what the screenplay intends. It seems like all the cast and crew have put in equal amounts of effort and passion, and truly believe in the project and wish for it to come out bluer than expected.
Ultimately, it’s not so much the talent that lets down the material, but rather the material that undermines all efforts, giving “Compound Fracture” the impression of being a mark above average. However, considering how commendable the performances are, there is little that can be done from the cast’s end to break out of thoroughly set molds of characterization and a seemingly haphazardly stitched together storyline that seems to pivot back into tired territory.
Abusive, alcoholic fathers who used to bring resentment among their children; a physically punishing, strict parent who had kids and raised them with a lot of decorum. Disrespectful adolescents who have some amount of authority. The stock these sorts of people are made of have toweled out hundreds of such instances and this one doesn’t do much new with it either. As much as horror gurus admire Derek Mears and his terrifyingly large-bodied presence on the screen, there is simply more than putting a black hoodie on him with his head tilted forward where he is peering through his lashes.
Lacking a bit of flair to set it apart, Compound Fracture is the sort of movie you want to enjoy more than you actually do, if just for the honest effort from the filmmakers. The fragmented backstory serves the purpose of shaking the audience’s attention somewhat as the order in which the events unfold is all over the place. Sadly, it ultimately becomes a long form of a very verbose speech presented in installments. And the movie breaks first in the unwilling wait when the viewer’s tolerance for an actually worthwhile return exhausts before the picture does.
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