Death Chair: The Chair That Drags You Into a Hell Dimension

The more closely I watch films, the more pretentiously observant I come to think myself as being.

Damnit! In typing that sentence, I just broke another monocle. Good thing I get these things in bulk!

What I was trying to say--sorry, I should pause the Chopin so you can hear me--is that lately, I’ve been paying closer attention to things that make a film rather than just the film itself. I started thinking about this back when I watched Fabrice Du Weiz’s Calvaire and continuously thought, “this is an incredibly well-made film sitting inside a mediocre one.” Full thoughts on that over on episode 18 of the Girls On Film Podcast. It made me want to seek out more from the director, and now having seen his fairly incredible followup Vinyan, I get why.

I bring this up because last year, I watched a frustratingly nasty but quite well-constructed torturesome flick called Broken, made by Adam Mason and co-written by Simon Boyes. It made me miserable, but I couldn’t deny it bore the promise of an intriguing filmmaking team with better work ahead.

Hence, today I test that theory with their 2007 feature, The Devil’s Chair.

Have a seat.

Quick Plot: A pair of horny drug doers named Nick West and Sammy head to an abandoned lunatic asylum to pop some LSD and have kinky sex in a mysteriously rusted torture-ready chair. 

Some of us call such events ‘Thursday.’

It’s all very sexy in a grungy and not actually sexy way until the titular apparatus closes on Sammy, tearing at her flesh before evaporating the screaming addict into thin air.

Flash forward a few years to West as a patient in a mental asylum. Experimental psychologist Dr. Willard decides to cure his delusions by bringing West back to the site of his lady love’s disappearance, dragging a few assistants along the way.

Before you can hum the opening bars to “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat,” everyone is taking turns popping a squat and subsequently getting sent into an alternate Hellraiser-ish dimension where a freaky demon is on the hunt.

Different, right? Throughout the film, West narrates with an amused tongue-in-cheek attitude, something that rounds The Devil’s Chair in a self-aware state. We don’t quite know how seriously to take the Silent Hill-esque horrors lurking on the other side and while it might subtract something from the scare factor, it also gives the film a unique and wicked sense of humor that pays off well in a rather horrifying finale.

High Points

To go into too much detail on the performances may lead to spoilers, but I will say some of the hammier acting might be more clever than you think and throughout it all, lead Andrew Howard (the sheriff from the I Spit On Your Grave remake) is pretty fantastic

Low Points

Though the hell side of The Devil’s Chair has its moments, it also, unfortunately, has a whole lot of shabby CGI

Lessons Learned

A typical psychological research team will, without any question, include exceedingly attractive females

British people have odd ideas of pajamas, unless skeleton t-shirts, white riding pants, and boots are actually comfortable

In alternate hell dimensions, it’s very hard to hear giant monsters sneaking up on you, even when there’s nothing else anywhere near you making a noise

Rent/Bury/Buy

The Devil’s Chair is quite a confident little slice of genre fare that has some mean fun with tried and true conventions. Like Broken, it’s not for the faint of heart but it hits you hard with an interesting lead character, brutal imagery, and an effective twist that will most likely divide its blood-covered audience. It might not be for you, but if the style and story sound like your grog, have a seat (not in anything with rust) and give it a try.

Hate Life? Perhaps Yours Is Just BROKEN

Shhhhhhh. Don’t tell anybody, but I watched this film. That’s right, intro banner that warned “This DVD is for sale only” be damned, I hit ‘play’ and viewed it. Then sent it back to Netflix without selling it. I’m wild like that. 

I’m also something of a movie masochist, often in more ways than one. You knew that from my inability to not watch titles like Death Bed: The Bed That Eats, Empire of the Ants, or anything from any one of my four Mill Creek 50 packs. Broken is a different kind of pain: a well-made 2006 horror that seeks to do nothing more than make you miserable. Consider it one of those truly unpleasant experiences--not without its merit, mind you--worth investing in when the sun is shining way too brightly and you really feel the need to stab your eyes with cyanide coated safety pins.

Quick Plot: A dimly lit prologue follows a woman awakening in an above ground coffin (thank heaven for small favors). As she stumbles through a seemingly empty forest, a man clad in black butts his rifle in her face. Moments later, she finds herself tied to a tree with a nagging stomach cramp. That tends to happen when a razor blade has been inserted and stitched up inside. 

Worst. Day. Ever.

After a messy self-inflicted operation, our mystery blond is offered the chance to go on or give up. Bleeding and beaten, she makes her choice and we sigh in relief to see her misery end. 

Then we realize we’re about to get treated to watching this all over again.

Two weeks later, a nice single mum named Hope (Nadja Brand) achieves the kind of blind date that makes girlfriends squeal with envious glee. But you know what’s worse than the dreamguy not calling for a followup? Being kidnapped by another unnamed fellow and enslaved in the wilderness.

And that’s pretty much the plot in a linguistic nutshell. After surviving a few early torturesome tasks, Hope is shackled and re-dressed as her captor (known in credits simply as The Man and played by Eric Colvin with a slight resemblance to Robert Englung channeling Anthony Perkins) forces her to tend a garden and scrub his pots (not a euphemism). Hope clings to, well, hope, playing the part of the happy servant in the hopes that The Man will divulge the fate of her young daughter. There’s not an incredible amount more to tell without spoiling, but then again, there’s also not a whole lot more that actually happens anyway.

Broken was filmed over the course of two years by co-directors Simon Boyes and Adam Mason, a fact well documented in the dense extras on the Dimension Extreme’s DVD. Financed primarily by the filmmakers and lead actress Nadja Brand (then married to Mason, a fact that’s interesting in itself when you consider some of this particular process), Broken is surprisingly successful at making the most of one location (and making it appear far more sprawling onscreen) and finding its cinematic voice despite its meager share of dialogue. I never doubted Hope’s desperation or the The Man’s carefully laid out plan. The film that takes place is a sort of nightmare, but the narrative itself is delivered in a fully believable way.

Then again, I also didn’t enjoy the movie, but you should probably worry for my moral stability if I had. Unlike something like the later Saw movies (jabbed at so specifically on the DVD cover), which inadvertently invoke humor based on the sheer over-the-toppitude of increasingly elaborate traps, Broken is played out with all the solemnity of a funeral. I suppose this is appropriate, as slavery isn’t generally a laughing manner and some of Hope’s decisions need that level of escalated reality in order to register in their horror, but it also makes for one truly unpleasant viewing experience. 

Is it worth your time? It all depends on how you like to spend it. The enslavement angle is quite interesting and how it plays out is far different from a lot of other woman-in-peril themed cinema, straight down to the surprising role sex plays and the simultaneous disturbing/inoffensive scene that takes the relationship into new territory. For what it is and what has come before it, Broken is noteworthy and not without merit. That doesn’t mean I have any desire to ever see it again.

High Points

Despite being shot on digital video for less money than Harvey Weinstein’s lunch bill, Broken’s photography is absolutely striking

She doesn’t really get much to do, but Nadja Brand is a strong presence who helps to hold the film together with earnestness and believability

The opening structure that introduces Hope is quite cleverly done. Instead of drawn-out scenes to force an audience connection, we get a quick and cute date to establish some details about our soon-to-be heroine and immediately build a connection to her daughter

Low Points

It’s okay for us to never really understand the nature of The Man, but Colvin’s performance doesn’t quite make him the enigma the script calls for him to be

I can generally excuse character actions (or lack thereof) that violate common sense in a stressful situation, but by the third almost-kill-the-villain-but-run-away-instead choice, it’s hard to maintain sympathy for Hope

Middle Ground

The ending is thoroughly cruel but not unwarranted in terms of the story. It’s miserable and will make you want to hug a puppy or hide inside the belly of a Tauntaun, but there’s a place for cinematic nihilism and Broken tends it with gardening skills straight out of a handbook

Lessons Learned

White fabric remains remarkably clean in lonely forests

Schoolgirl uniforms must be kept intact at all times. Sure, that tie may be confining, but rules are rules

To tend a near mortal wound, all you really need is a sprinkle of oregano

Rent/Bury/Buy

Broken is a tough movie to watch, but it’s somehow even more difficult to review. On one hand, few things are less pleasant than mean-spirited horror, where characters seem victimized purely to make the audience miserable. On the other, Broken is a beautifully shot, well executed example of how to make a horror film on a shoestring budget. The DVD includes several worthwhile extras, including a directors’ commentary, 50 minute making-of, and rather candid interview with likable star Nadya Brand. All the behind-the-scenes documentaries are extremely informative for budding filmmakers and refreshingly (sometimes uncomfortably) honest for general fans who simply want to learn more about what it took to get the final result (apparently, one marriage was at least part of the cost). If you’re interested in extreme or indie cinema, there’s a lot to learn here. If you’re not, there’s a whole lot less to enjoy.