Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (February 28, 2022)
Oh direct-to-video thrillers, where would this site be without you? Minus a bunch of reviews, I guess. For another entry in this genre, we go to 2022’s Shattered.
One night wealthy divorcée Chris Decker (Cameron Monaghan) meets sexy, bubbly Sky (Lilly Krug). The pair embark on a passionate relationship.
When a car thief (Dat Phan) injures Chris, Sky agrees to nurse him back o health. However, Sky brings an ulterior motive as well, one that places Chris in perilous circumstances.
As noted at the start, direct-to-video thrillers show up on my door pretty frequently, most of which star Bruce Willis. He fails to appear here, though at least we find another bald-headed icon via John Malkovich as a sleazy motel owner.
However, another actor attracted me to Shattered: Monaghan. So effective as the proto-Joker in TV’s Gotham, I felt curious to see what he could do as a lead.
In the case of Shattered, the answer becomes “not much”, though I don’t blame the actor. Chris offers a pretty bland role, so Monaghan doesn’t get much room to shine.
On the other hand, Krug fares quite well as the slippery sociopath Sky. She plays the role as adorable and charming when necessary but gives the part a nutty sense of cheerful menace when matters turn.
Honestly, Krug becomes by far the best aspect of Shattered, mainly because her chipper turn on her character allows us to look past some of the movie’s many lapses of logic. We buy into Sky’s charismatic insanity so much that we don’t mind the more ridiculous moments.
Unfortunately, beyond Krug’s gleeful psychopath, Shattered doesn’t offer much that stretches beyond the usual confines of the thriller genre. When Sky’s nefarious plan starts to unfurl, the movie shows promise, but before long, it starts to feel more by the numbers and less compelling.
Still, as far as direct-to-video thrillers go, Shattered fares better than most. Buoyed by a solid turn from our lead antagonist, this winds up as a spotty but moderately engaging tale.