Rupture [2016]: Director Steven Shainberg makes his debut after a ten-year hiatus with his latest film, Rupture. Not only did he direct the film, but also penned the script with writer Brian Nelson (Hard Candy). Rupture is a sci-fi thriller that stars Noomi Rapace as Renee, a single mother trying to reunite with her son after being abducted by an unknown organization.
Talk about Hard Candy. Rupture is incredibly tough to chew. Brian Nelson tries to conjure an homage to the gialli films we all know and love but instead writes a script that is far more perplexing than thrilling. The film drags with dribble for dialogue and even finds itself going in circles, continuously repeating the same scenes with no thematic gain. However, we can’t let Nelson take all the blame considering Shainberg co-wrote. A script with this many holes would’ve been acceptable if the pay off had any redeeming qualities, yet it doesn’t. The reveal offers no true explanation for the ‘rupture’ and leaves even more unanswered questions than we began with. It is a shame the film never ruptured into its full potential.
Giall-no. Rupture tries to be quite stylish aesthetically but not even gelled light could save this movie. Shainberg purposely bathes scenes in vivid hues of purple, yellow and red as a reflection of earlier gialli films, however, the film actually goes so far as to explain why the lighting is this way, removing any artistic value the lighting may have had.
Noomi Rapace and soft-core torture porn. For a film entirely about torture, Rupture is modest. Noomi Rapace spends about 40 minutes crawling through a ventilation system and then we’re left with a few PG-13 spider torture scenes. Without any suspense driving the film or emotional heft needed to empathize with our lead, the torture scenes flake. Nevertheless, Rapace does her best with what she's given, a character just as flat as the script. If you wish to see her being tortured, there are about four other films you could watch instead.
This was an opportunity missed - if only Shainberg’s true kinkiness and Nelson’s revenge fetish
were brought to the table instead of a bunch of daddy-long-legs.
Related: What's the story behind Rupture?
Check out our interview with Rupture's Director Steven Shainberg
for behind the scenes information on the film's production.
Watch Rupture on iTunes