(DVR’ed from The Movie Channel on February 17, 2018)
Steven Shainberg has had an interesting career. He started out with the bleak Jim Thompson adaptation Hit Me before becoming something of a critical darling for 2002’s Secretary, which for my money is still the best BDSM movie of all time. Whatever critical praise he garnered from that flick was quickly squandered when he made the universally panned Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. It took him a good ten years to get his next directing gig after that fiasco, but he made quite a comeback with this bleak and brutal sci-fi/horror/survival flick starring Noomi Rapace.
She stars as a divorced mom on her way to a date with her new boyfriend. She gets a flat tire and is kidnapped by some shady folks who take her to an underground clinic, strap her to a gurney, and proceed to perform a bunch of horrifying “tests” on her where they make her confront her worst fears. Noomi eventually discovers the doctors aren’t trying to scare her to death. Rather, they want to scare her to the point of “rupture”, which is probably just as bad, if not worse.
Essentially, this is kind of like Captivity Meets Martyrs with a little bit of Invasion of the Body Snatchers thrown in there. The plot is predictable, but the game cast help to elevate it into being something more than just another psychological horror show. Rapace is aces as the smart, resourceful, and feisty heroine. She does her best John McClaine as she crawls around ventilation shafts, dodges despicable scientists, and tries to survive the night. It also helps that the trio of doctors, Michael Chiklis, Lesley Manville, and Peter Stormare are perfectly cast. Each one brings their unique energy to their roles and together make for a formidable threesome.
Is Rupture kind of predictable? Yes. (It’s probably no coincidence that there’s only a one letter difference in the words “Rupture” and “Rapture”.) Does it feel like a variation on Martyrs? Sure. However, the way Shainberg doles out the clues, sets the atmosphere, and ratchets up the tension is expertly done. Writer Brian (Hard Candy) Nelson also posts an interesting concept: Is your greatest fear the very thing that’s holding you back from your achieving your potential? If you’re in Noomi’s shoes, you might not like the answers, but if you’re an audience member, you’ll probably enjoy the movie.
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