Rupture is a 2016 sci fi thriller film. Directed by Steven
Shainberg (Secretary) and written by Brian Nelson (Hard Candy, 30 Days of
Night), the film stars Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
Prometheus) and Peter Stormare (Fargo, Bad Milo). The film debuted at the 2016
Fantasia International Film Festival.
The film follows Renee (Rapace), a single mother who finds
herself kidnapped on the way to a skydiving day out. She awakens strapped to a
bed in a mysterious facility where she is subjected to a series of experiments
designed to produce excessive levels of fear. Briefly able to escape her room,
she discovers there are many other victims being subjected to similar
experiments by the sinister staff of the facility. The staff eventually reveal
themselves to be inhuman beings who achieved superhuman powers by pushing themselves
past the perceived limit of mental trauma in a process they call “rupturing”.
Renee becomes converted to their cause but draws the line when they try to
convert her son, leaving her position as the “mother” of a new race in
question.
Rupture takes a number of ideas done better in other forms
of fiction and cobbles them together in a half baked waste of a film. The
central premise of torturing victims until they reach enlightenment, or transcend,
is so blatantly lifted from the French masterpiece Martyrs (2008). Furthermore,
the idea of locking someone in a room and slowly introducing their worst fears
is even more blatantly lifted from 1984 (just replace rat mask with spider mask
here). This wouldn’t be so bad if the film actually committed to some graphic
violence or atmosphere, as those influences would warrant, but the most you get
here is some seriously ropey effects for the lumpy headed alien species that
made me laugh out loud.
Unfortunately the script is nearly as ropey as the effects, disappointing
given Nelson’s previous work, and nonsense lines about “fear altering DNA” and “scaring
you past death” are delivered with as much enthusiasm as they deserve. What’s
most disappointing about this film is that Noomi Rapace is being completely
wasted after appearing in several high profile films that promised to launch
her career outside of Sweden. Add to that the completely miniscule role for fellow
Scandinavian heavyweight Peter Stormare, and this all becomes a very
frustrating exercise. Fleeting moments of suspense and impressive technical
direction do appear from time to time but not nearly enough to save the film
from being laughably inept.
If you feel like you’ve seen this film before, you definitely
have, and there is very little on show to distract from the highly derivative
premise. Frankly, almost everyone involved in the film is better than this and
would be best off moving on very swiftly, which for Rapace will be Alien: Covenant
in a few short months. Have you ever been so scared that you turned into a
lumpy headed alien? No, me neither!
* 1 Star
What did you think of the film? Did you like the premise?
