Broken
I recently had the opportunity to check out the short film entitled Broken. To be honest most short films made by aspiring film-makers aren't that good. For every Batman – Dead End there are dozens of poorly made/uninspired films. (Read the Batman Beyond fan made DVD.) I am happy to report that Broken fits squarely with the "inspired" and "very good" short films camp.

In Broken, Bonnie Clayton awakens in a darkened apartment one stormy night to discover that she's not alone. She's kidnapped by a group of mysterious strangers and finds herself strapped to a wheelchair as one of these strangers interrogates her. During the interrogation, Bonnie realizes that these strangers might know something about her that's a mystery to even herself.

What I found most appealing about Broken was that the short seems as if it's lifted directly from a longer movie. The art direction, special effects and production are top notch. Visually, Broken is every bit as good as most Hollywood releases and insanely better than most television shows or made for television movies. To achieve this level visual quality in a short film costing a mere $8,000 is an achievement onto itself.

If you're a movie going fan/visual effects nut like me, I cannot recommend Broken enough. Broken has gone and set the bar a bit higher for all other fan made films out there. If you're planning on filming your own short movie anytime in the future you'd be well advised to check out Broken to see how to make a short movie right!

Visit the Broken web-site to learn more about the film.

Broken the DVD should be available on DVD with two and a half hours of special features and a ton of extra features.

Check out the Broken trailer.

By Bert Ehrmann
7/7/2005