By: Heather Seebach
Rupture is a film that asks the question: Can the human body transcend suffering to become something greater? I'm thinking no, as I sat through this tedious nonsense and frankly, I don't feel any different. What begins as a promising kidnapping thriller unravels into an illogical sci-fi mess riddled with plot holes, cheap visuals, and all-around silliness.
Renee Morgan (Noomi Rapace) is a single mother raising a teenage boy in the suburbs of Kansas City. She is a tough woman capable of handling most things herself - from electric work to changing tires - but spiders are her greatest fear. One day, after dropping her son off with his dad, Renee is en route to go skydiving with a friend but she never makes it there. She is ambushed by strangers, tied up with tape, and thrown into a van for a long drive to somewhere mysterious. She is taken to a seemingly isolated facility where medical staff ask her questions, take blood samples, and say creepy shit like, "You have interesting skin." Renee immediately begins to plot her escape.
This is the part where I approach semi-spoiler territory but this is all taken from the official synopsis: Renee's captors intend to use her fear of spiders to induce a part of her genetic code to "rupture" and unlock "her true self." If that sounds a bit familiar, you are probably thinking of last year's Deadpool wherein scientists torture Wade Wilson to unlock his powers. Whoever thought that tiny section of plot could carry an entire film in Rupture was sorely mistaken.
Rapace, who is so above this movie it is not even funny, gives it her best shot but the material is just too weak here. Not helping matters is the fact that her character was written to be a Canadian living in Missouri with an inexplicable Scandinavian accent. I do not blame Noomi for this, as Renee could have easily been a Swedish immigrant, but somewhere in the script-writing process, someone: A) opted to bring up her birthplace for no obvious reason, and B) chose Canada. Really?
The only other recognizable faces are Peter Stormare (who also deserves better) and Michael Chiklis, both of whom play forgettable men of few words. Considering all the talent involved in this film - including director Steven Shainberg (Secretary) and writer Brian Nelson (Hard Candy) - it is baffling how bad it is. In fairness, it starts off creepy when Renee is kidnapped. I love the terrifying imagery of her being wrapped in black electrical tape and chained up inside a van, which fits right into the wheelhouse of the director/writer duo, but once the story shifts to the hospital, things just turn silly.
From here out, the story is riddled with plot holes and vague half-explanations. Too many missteps create a dull experience culminating in a completely unsatisfying ending. Visually, the film tries too hard to be creepy and weird, instead coming across as laughable. Check out the ridiculous goggles and giant syringe in the following photo, and then remind yourself that this is a serious film:
Renee Morgan (Noomi Rapace) is a single mother raising a teenage boy in the suburbs of Kansas City. She is a tough woman capable of handling most things herself - from electric work to changing tires - but spiders are her greatest fear. One day, after dropping her son off with his dad, Renee is en route to go skydiving with a friend but she never makes it there. She is ambushed by strangers, tied up with tape, and thrown into a van for a long drive to somewhere mysterious. She is taken to a seemingly isolated facility where medical staff ask her questions, take blood samples, and say creepy shit like, "You have interesting skin." Renee immediately begins to plot her escape.
This is the part where I approach semi-spoiler territory but this is all taken from the official synopsis: Renee's captors intend to use her fear of spiders to induce a part of her genetic code to "rupture" and unlock "her true self." If that sounds a bit familiar, you are probably thinking of last year's Deadpool wherein scientists torture Wade Wilson to unlock his powers. Whoever thought that tiny section of plot could carry an entire film in Rupture was sorely mistaken.
Rapace, who is so above this movie it is not even funny, gives it her best shot but the material is just too weak here. Not helping matters is the fact that her character was written to be a Canadian living in Missouri with an inexplicable Scandinavian accent. I do not blame Noomi for this, as Renee could have easily been a Swedish immigrant, but somewhere in the script-writing process, someone: A) opted to bring up her birthplace for no obvious reason, and B) chose Canada. Really?
The only other recognizable faces are Peter Stormare (who also deserves better) and Michael Chiklis, both of whom play forgettable men of few words. Considering all the talent involved in this film - including director Steven Shainberg (Secretary) and writer Brian Nelson (Hard Candy) - it is baffling how bad it is. In fairness, it starts off creepy when Renee is kidnapped. I love the terrifying imagery of her being wrapped in black electrical tape and chained up inside a van, which fits right into the wheelhouse of the director/writer duo, but once the story shifts to the hospital, things just turn silly.
From here out, the story is riddled with plot holes and vague half-explanations. Too many missteps create a dull experience culminating in a completely unsatisfying ending. Visually, the film tries too hard to be creepy and weird, instead coming across as laughable. Check out the ridiculous goggles and giant syringe in the following photo, and then remind yourself that this is a serious film:
At one point, Renee's hospital room is wallpaper'ed with the carpet pattern from The Shining. Why? Who the hell knows, probably because it's "cool." Some pretty terrible CGI - including the spiders that are so pivotal to the plot - make the film look even cheaper and sillier. The movie never really ventures into gore territory, nor does it offer up psychological chills. It sits somewhere in-between, resembling a PG-13 Hostel by way of Deadpool with a half-assed sci-fi angle thrown in. The notion that a person can be broken and then re-born as someone (or something) new has great sci-fi potential, but unfortunately this script bungles the idea and "ruptures" into a whole lot of nothing.
Rupture is currently available exclusively on DirecTV and will hit theaters and On-Demand April 28th.
