If you have ever spent grueling hours in a hospital waiting room, you know that the painful time spent in the hostile environment involves fear, suspense, and thrill. Similarly enough, these are exactly the emotions you will experience while watching Netflix’s new thriller Fractured. 

Directed by Brad Anderson, Fractured is a film that tells the heart-stopping story of a man whose wife and daughter mysteriously disappear from an unsettling and truly terrifying hospital. The plot is at times a bit bland throughout the film’s runtime, but the skilled and experienced director is able to provide enough suspense to keep viewers eagerly awaiting the unpredictable upcoming decisions of the characters. 

Ray Monroe (Sam Worthington) is a recovering alcoholic who is involved in a rocky relationship with wife Joanne (Lily Rabe). On the way home from a failed family Thanksgiving dinner, the couples’ daughter Peri (Lucy Capri) encounters a stray dog while stopped at a rest station, and in an attempt to save his daughter from the menacing animal, Ray accidentally frightens young Lucy and sends them both plunging into a deep hole where they are both knocked unconscious. Upon waking, they quickly make their way to the nearest hospital where things take a turn for the worse. 

When taken for a CT scan, only one parent is allowed to travel with Lucy to the procedure. As her mom chooses to stick by her side, Lucy is whisked away into the eerie elevator, and as the creaking doors come to a close, Ray gets his final look at his family before they suddenly go missing. 

Throughout the majority of the film, Ray is on a thrilling pursuit to find where the sinister staff is hiding his loved ones. Along the way, he is accused of being delusional and evens begins to question himself and the power of his own struggling mind. 

As most of the film revolves around Ray’s journey, the emotions he has to portray to the audience play an important part in the creation of the film. Although there was a lack of passion behind his character, he was able to accurately portray the chilling traits of a mentally ill and unstable character. The way Anderson is able to transport the audience into the mind of Ray provides an exciting aspect to the film that keeps you wanting more from the interesting plotline. 

The duration of the runtime involves Ray fighting against the rest of the society around him who doubt all that he has to say. At times, this creates repetitive scenes that can easily be removed without changing the thrilling—and surprisingly unpredictable—finale of the film. When the closing credits rolled themselves across the screen, the ominous mood of Fractured left its mark in my bedroom for hours after its ending. 

As Anderson has directed many hit thrillers including Session 9 and The Machinist in the past, his ability to terrify and shock an audience is what left the greatest impression on me after viewing. No matter what type of character he wished to bring to life on screen, Anderson was able to pull the most important traits from the actors in order to produce a mystery in which all of the pieces fell together seamlessly in the end. 

Although Fractured does not have an award-winning plot under its name, it is an exciting thriller for nearly anyone in search of a suspenseful mystery. The film is able to use its nightmarish series of events and spooky lead character to leave viewers with their hearts beating faster and faster as each second ticks by.