beorhouse I could have done without the overly dramatic defenestration of the kindly orderly. A simple spelling block to the temple would have been sufficient. Also, the entire premise is fundamentally flawed for the reason that the living humans have no idea what to do about the unclean spirit who used to be a nurse at the hospital. For 'hospital horror' films, and I have seen quite a number of them, this one isn't bad--if you can get past Flockhart's hysterics. I've seen this one twice, but had no idea that was the case until about three-fourths of the way through it the second time, which says quite a bit for the film. I rarely will watch any movie more than once--there are exceptions though, such as A Christmas STORY and COLD COMFORT FARM. In any case, step into this one with some caution if scary things scare you, because there are quite a few scary things here--including a good amount of body horror--blood, broken bones, surgery scenes, and the freaky psychotic nurse-monster. Oh, and we all need love kisses every now and again. Yes, I had to wipe my eyes a few times, but I'm an old softy when it comes to faith and hope and love.

TheBlueHairedLawyer Amy is an American doctor who has a dark secret; a child under her care died and she still blames herself. She heads out to England to work as a doctor at a decrepit old children's hospital and immediately makes friends, including the nurse Helen, Doctor Robert and Roy, a hospital worker. She is filling the place of Susan, a doctor who left under mysterious circumstances. Amy immediately becomes intrigued by Maggie, a little girl with cystic fibrosis, an orphan as well. Maggie has an imaginary friend called Charlotte. As the hospital prepares to shut down for safety concerns and move the children, Amy begins to unravel a hidden dark secret. Back around the fifties (maybe sixties?) a little girl with "brittle bone disease" was a patient; she had to wear artificial steel bones and somehow died in the hospital. Amy tracks down Susan and finds out that the former doctor has been killed in a car crash immediately after quitting. Roy mysteriously gets killed after falling from the hospital window, leading Robert to start questioning things and he becomes Amy's love interest as they both try to solve the mystery of what Charlotte is before somebody else gets hurt. Fragile at first looks like it could be extremely cheesy, but it isn't; it's an amazing film with beautiful soundtrack, great acting and a ton of suspense, mainly towards the end when everything crashes down, literally. In the end Maggie dies and Amy nearly dies trying to find Maggie, but Robert rescues her and Maggie's ghost revives her, then continues to stay with her since she loved Amy. There were a couple of small flaws but the film was otherwise very well-done. The past story of Charlotte, who turned out to be not really a dead little girl or imaginary friend, was very shocking. Overall a great movie, really worth watching.

Tss5078 After sitting on the shelve for seven years, Fragile, has finally been released, as part of the Fangoria Frightfest. It's a strange movie that takes place in a decrepit children's hospital off the coast of England. The hospital is about to go out of business, when weird occurrences start taking place, leaving them short staffed. To fill the void, they hire an American nurse who quickly realizes that something at this hospital is very wrong. This film was very creepy, especially at the end, but it wasn't particularly exciting. It's extremely slow moving and tries to make a relevant point, but it's contrary to the whole premise of the film. The tagline states that the dead stay near the things they love, but in this film the dead are terrorizing what they supposedly love. As for the acting, it was pretty good despite the fact that half the cast were just kids. I admit that I did like parts of this movie, but others are extremely weird and disturbing, not to mention I almost fell asleep a couple times. It's not a great film, but it's not the worst I've ever seen.

gradyharp FRAGILE (Fràgiles) is a terrific dark scary creepy atmospheric intelligent ghost story. Made in 2005 and released as an episode film in the Fangoria Frightfest, this decent film was overlooked in the theaters but deserves more attention now that it is available on DVD - allowing it to be viewed in the safety of the home! The story is written by Jordi Galceran and writer/director Jaume Balagueró who demonstrate a rather sophisticated knowledge of a little known malady called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a genetic disorder that makes the bones very brittle and easily (and frequently) broken. The story begins on a foggy dark night as temp nurse Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart) steps off the ferry onto an island to fill in for a children's hospital that has been condemned but must keep one floor open until the island's other hospital recovers form over crowding following a significant accident. She is met by the kindly Roy (Colin McFarlane) who escorts her to the dilapidated hospital where the administrator Mrs. Folder (Gemma Jones) takes her on a tour, explaining that the second floor is sealed and has been for some years, and introduces her to the day nurse Helen Perez (Elena Anaya) who in turn introduces Amy to the eight children, all with significant illnesses, who will be under her care. There is one child - Maggie (Yasmin Murphy) who keeps to herself and is obviously terrified, her closest friend had been the nurse Amy is replacing. Amy and Maggie bond and this bond serves as the thread that opens the doors to the terrifying mysteries of the hospital. Noises are heard after lights out and Amy gradually learns form Maggie about the 'mechanical girl' who somehow influences the activities of the hospital. There is a doctor assigned to Amy's ward - Dr. Robert Marcus (Richard Roxburgh) - who assists Amy and the children. But Amy must find out if the fears Maggie has are founded and so she visits two old ladies (Freda Dowie and Matyelek Gibbs) who inform Amy of the story of one child and nurse who could be the connection tot he terror: the child had osteogenesis imperfecta and her ghost remains present in the hospital. Once Amy discovers this information she shares it with Dr. Marcus and the two face the decision as to how to manage the increasingly terrifying events at the hospital. Calista Lockhart, the fine Australian actor Richard Roxburgh, the always excellent Gema Jones, and the surprising debut of young Yasmin Murphy make this film work. Their performances are top notch, and the cinematography by Xavi Giménez and the musical score by Roque Baños maintain an atmosphere of terror that is credible and keeps the audience on the edge of the seat. Give this little film a chance- it is much better than the other films in this series! Grady Harp