When you’re a hardcore horror nut there’s nothing better than seeing an indie film that you have are forced to pause after the first five minutes. Now why would you pause it you ask? So you can call all of your friends and scream “holy sh-t you have to see this!” The unfortunate part in the next hour or so dragged like there was no tomorrow. What UK directors Adam Mason and Simon Boyes understand is that a film needs a great opening and an even better finale, but aside from that there’s nothing more than bad acting and long-winded (or filler) dialogue.

In ‘Broken’ Hope (Nadja Brand) and her young daughter are kidnapped and brought deep into a forest by a nameless man played by Eric Colvin. As Hope is forced to undergo humiliating, violent and degrading trials she waits for the perfect opportunity to escape and try and find her missing daughter. After failed attempts, the man reveals the death of Hope’s daughter, where she then develops a plan to exact her revenge and make her escape.

If you’re a big fan of James Wan’s ‘Saw’, then you’re definitely going to dig on this micro-budget indie treat. The film opens with a girl strapped to a tree with a stick in her hand. She’s balancing on a log and in order to escape she must cut open her stomach and pull out a razor within, using that to free herself from the ropes. The sequence in intense, gory and beautifully shot (the end is just as good)- I seriously thought I had something special on my hands.

Then after suffering through an hour of some horrendous acting and nearly no action, we finally get a little gore as the killer cuts the tongue out of another victims mouth to stop her from screaming. I think what this film suffered from was spending too much time on the “now” instead of getting more into the psyche of the killer. I wanted to know more about his past than what his intentions were for the present. ‘Broken’ really did feel like a cheap(er) version of ‘Saw’ more than anything else, only it didn’t learn anything from Leigh Whannell’s brilliant screenplay (*note: I’m not saying they ripped off ‘Saw’, the idea is just really similar).

I don’t want to spill only negative energy on the duo’s film because honestly, ‘Broken’ is still quite an accomplishment. Shot for next to nothing the film looks superb; the cinematography makes the film look a lot more expensive than it is. The editing looks professional and at times shows a flash of brilliance. And just the opening and ending of the film says a lot. If only Adam Mason and Simon Boyes can execute better plot devices and integrate a more interesting cross-story, these guys could become a force to reckon with in the future. Check out ‘Broken’ when it’s available on DVD if you’re a big gore fan, there’s really nothing much here other than that.