SHATTERED – A Review by Cynthia Flores
I often wonder why A player actors like the incredible Academy Award Winning John Malkovich take smaller roles in smaller films like this thriller Shattered. He plays the creepy landlord named Ronald who runs his family-owned motel in Montana. I’ll bet that it probably took only two full days to film his part. But he is an actor that can steal any scene he is in by just being there. That being said, he does add an element of wackiness to the film.
Scattered is a thriller with a don’t look away style that keeps the audience guessing till its bloody end. It’s a lusty, love story seeped in deception that takes place in a lonely mansion in the Montana mountains. Sky (Lilly Krug) is a beautiful young woman working in a bar after a failed modeling career. One rainy night she meets Chris Decker (Cameron Monaghan) as he does his grocery shopping late at night. He’s a young, now retired, and in the middle of a divorce tech wiz-kid. He invented a security system that was bought out by the big guys and he is set for life. He lives a secluded life with few people around him other than his wife Jamie (Sasha Luss) and little girl Willow (Ridely Asha Bateman). They have moved out during the divorce, so he is extremely isolated when he meets and is attracted to Sky.
Of course, there is hot sex with the new woman in Chris’s life especially when he has her move in to be his helper when his leg is broken in a random attack by a car burglar. Once she is in, all the trouble begins. Her roommate at the motel, Lisa (Ash Santos) turns up dead. Making Ronald, their landlord immediately blame Sky for it. Except, he doesn’t know that she has moved up the hill into Chris’s mansion. Add to the mix Sabastian (Frank Grillo) Sky’s violent, manipulative stepfather and then you have the recipe for a nerve-wracking tale of woe.
The clean cinematography of Juanmi Azpiroz in Shattered compliments the tight pacing of director Luis Prieto. With the lean, no padding just for the sake of being witty, writing of David Loughery, this film is a no-frills thriller that gets to the good stuff fast.
I give Shattered a 3.5-star rating. It’s not going to be a classic film like 1987’s Fatal Attraction where another femme fatale scared audiences silly. Instead, this movie is a fun thriller that you can eat popcorn while you watch as it keeps it simple and makes the bad guys hateable.
Directed by: Luis Prieto
Written by: David Loughery
Rated: R
Selig Rating: 3.5 Stars
Running Time: 92min
Thriller / Crime
Limited Theatrical Release: The Cineamerica La Gran Plaza 8 Ft Worth and VOD January 14th
Starring: Cameron Monaghan, Frank Grillo, Lilly Krug, Sasha Luss, and John Malkovich
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
