Caffeinated Clint
Talks about the new DVD, “Broken”
Hype has always been with us in one form or another. And while there’s something to be said for the generation of anticipation for an upcoming movie or television series or album or book, there’s something altogether more pleasurable about discovering a special something for yourself. Sure, I’m the kind of chump who without fail will make his way to the cinema to catch the latest blockbuster or tune into what’s promoted as the next must-see TV show. But I’ve found that it’s much more of a kick to do a bit of prospecting in the pop-culture goldmine and unearth a nugget or two. So I frequently find myself wading through the plethora of direct-to-DVD movies taking up space on the shelf of the video store. You do find yourself paying good money for a chunk of fool’s gold on occasion, but there are also times when you pick a winner. This is especially the case when it comes to horror, a genre to which I’m rather partial. And it’s quite the treat when you realise that the slasher flick or monster movie you’ve rented actually supplies the scares or displays a bit of ingenuity and invention. I’m talking here about films like Lucky McKee’s low-key spooker “The Woods” (a splendid follow-up to his amazing “May”) or Michael J. Bassett’s UK slice-and-dice effort “Wilderness”, which pits a posse of juvenile delinquents against a bloodthirsty killer.
Then there’s something like Adam Mason’s “Broken,” now available on DVD through the fine folks at MRA Entertainment. A low-budget effort that’s as dark as midnight in a coalmine, it shows that you can yield a whole lot of tension and terror from a handful of characters, one or two locations, some well-used special effects and a willingness to not flinch away from the nastier aspects of human nature. The plot is simple: a creepy loner has kidnapped a woman, putting her through a hideous test of physical and mental fortitude that will determine if she’s worthy to become his companion in his self-constructed forest hideaway. (Judging from the bodies hanging from the trees, it’s a test not many women have passed.) As the days pass, she must salvage what’s left of her strength if she’s going to escape his clutches.
When I say ‘low-budget’, that’s actually overstating the case. Mason claims that he’s pretty much made Broken for nothing, shooting the movie over the course of two years with the help of crews who’d stick around a few extra days after the director had finished making a music video. “I knew we could have a couple of actors and one location,” says the affable Brit. “So what kind of story can we tell with that? It’s kind of limiting but that limitation can be a real blessing because it forces you to be creative. I mean, money’s great but it can water down some good ideas.”
While an opening title on the film claims that it is based on actual events, Mason’s inspiration for “Broken” stemmed from a number of incidents he’d read and heard about in recent times. “There was that case in Austria of the guy who kept the girl in his basement for 10 years,” he says. “But there seems to have been more and more of these incidents in the last five years – it’s like they’re becoming more prevalent. And it’s very disturbing, especially when you read about so many people going missing every year.” The motivation for the film’s unrelenting tone and occasionally graphic imagery, however, came from a much more personal area.
“Well, there’s my rage at the British film industry,” he laughs. “I was so fucked off with it that I just wanted to give it the finger by doing something really extreme but that would also get noticed. We were also making something we could sell. We wanted to make something that would get released. For instance, the opening of the movie is rather gratuitous in my opinion, but we wanted to grab people and say ‘Look at this!’ It’s not necessarily my taste but we wanted to get an immediate reaction. If you look at the rest of the film, once the action gets to the camp, that’s much more my kind of movie. That’s the part I’m really proud of. The rest of it’s a little too much.”
Bringing “Broken” to the screen was a gruelling experience in itself, Mason recalls. Nadja Brand, who plays the tormented central character Hope, was once Mason’s wife – that’s no longer that case. “It’s fair to say that “Broken” completely fucked up our marriage,” he says. “It was such a brutal experience and what she went through was just awful – chained to a tree for a month in minus-four temperatures. It was really difficult for both of us. I’ve done 40 music videos and four movies and this was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had. Even though it didn’t cost us anything to make, it cost us a lot in terms of time and everything else. But we’re still close and I know she’s really proud of her performance.”
While Mason isn’t about to bid farewell to the horror genre any time soon, he does admit that “Broken” may be the culmination of his more extreme ventures. “I’m trying to move more towards the horror-thriller genre but my stuff does tend to have this nasty edge to it, I’ve found,” he chuckles. “Don’t ask me why.” Now based in L.A., he’s currently at work on one such horror-thriller – “something in the vein of Seven,” he says. “The violence is kept to a minimum…but it’s still deeply unpleasant.”
– GUY DAVIS
