Breaking Vera

Director - Brittany Blanton
Starring - Hauke Bahr (Dreamworld, Anderson Wake) and Nikki Fioretti (Bigfoots, Psychology of Murder)
Release Date - 2017
Genre - Drama/Thriller
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Brittany Blanton is an actress that needs no introduction by this point.  Her appearances in Don't Fuck in the Woods, The Lamb, It's Your Fault, and Season's Greetings has made her a recognizable name and face in the indie horror community.  This beautiful young lady has shown she has amazing skill in front of the camera and has decided to step out of her comfort zone where she took on directorial duties on the new Concept Media short, Breaking Vera which she also wrote. Producer Shawn Burkett was kind enough to reach out to me to review the new short.  Thanks Shawn!
     The film follows Vera (Fioretti).  Vera has been held captive by Matt (Bahr) for sometime now.  He is trying to force her into submittance and to love him but she continuously tries to escape resulting in Matt hurting Vera to get her point across.  When he finally thinks he has broke her she makes for her escape...but will she be able to get away or captures and feel the force of Matt's wrath?
    

     Before the review goes any further you need to know this is not a horror movie.  It plays out like a dark drama or a thriller.  The film is very effective as a dark drama or a thriller but could have been a pretty fun horror film if more was added to it.  From my understanding, this story is close to Brittany so she went with this approach which is understandable considering.  The acting in this one is great.  Hauke Bahr and Nikki Fioretti are damn near perfect.  Hauke comes across as your typical suburban husband with perfectly trimmed lawn.  He is cool, calm, and collected until Vera steps out of line and then he is maniacal and unhinged.   Niki Fioretti is great as Vera.  She is emotional when it needs to be and strong when she has to be.  She draws an emotional connection out of the viewer which is what makes this film work.  Way to go on the casting.  The story for this one is fine for what we have but it makes me wonder what could have been.  The story is short, simple, and to the point but left a few questions.  Adding more to the running time and giving us more of a backstory would have made this one a little more grounded.  I also think there was a missed opportunity by not turning this one into a traditional horror film.  Having this story take a gruesome turn would make it very realistic.  Finally, this one has some minor practical effects that look good but no blood and gore.  The film relies heavily on character interaction and story instead of the sticky red stuff.  Overall, Breaking Vera is a well polished short that looks great and has an amazing cast.     The story could use some tweaks but the final product still does the job.  Check this one out.