Shattered (2007)

Directed by Mike Barker. Starring Gerard Butler, Maria Bello, Pierce Brosnan, Claudette Mink, Callum Keith Rennie. [R]

A seemingly perfect couple is rocked to their foundation when a stranger (Brosnan) kidnaps their daughter and forces them to complete a series of tasks over the course of a day in order to get her back alive. Dim and dour thriller is ill-served by poor dialogue and actors that try too hard. Based on the results, it must be assumed that the filmmakers’ intent here is to make the experience for the audience as excruciating as it is for the terrorized family (though considering how limited the release was, there wouldn’t have been much of an audience watching in the first place). Two increasingly inane and underwhelming twists at the end seal the deal: it’s not worth the effort. Released outside the US under alternate titles (Butterfly on a Wheel, Desperate Hours).

27/100