ReBroken – Movie Review (3/5)

ReBroken (2023) is a new thriller that has Tobin Bell (of the SAW franchise) in a key role. It’s a low-budget indie production that works surprisingly well. Slow-burn but never in a way that drags out the plot too much. Read our full ReBroken movie review here!

ReBroken (2023) is a new thriller that deals with loss, grief, and forgiveness. Okay, that might make it sound like a classic drama (which the story is in some ways). However, don’t worry, this plays out like a ghost story with mind games and supernatural elements along the way.

Also, it has Tobin Bell in a key role. Yes, Jigsaw himself is in this movie. And if you want to watch it for him, you can. He’s good and does have quite a lot of screen time (and even more audio time). You can also watch it simply because it has a strong story and a solid cast overall.

Continue reading our 2023 ReBroken movie review below. Find it on Digital and DVD from March 7, 2023.

A simple but strong story about grief

Will (Scott Hamm) is a broken man. A deeply devastated father attending grief counseling and getting drunk till he passes out. Every single day he repeats the same cycle of despair. It doesn’t help that he doesn’t believe the grief counseling can help him – nor is he interested in really trying.

So, when a woman (Nija Okoro) at the grief counseling group reveals that she has found a way to essentially turn back time, he is ready to give it a try. He meets a mysterious stranger (Tobin Bell, of course) who gives him old vinyl recordings that Will listens to. As he does, an earthquake-like event happens and he starts receiving messages from his deceased daughter.

The communication isn’t simple and he needs to listen to a new recording to get another message from his daughter. Will is absolutely certain that he can bring his daughter back from the dead.

Of course, it isn’t that simple and the messages even turn angry, which confuses Will even more. And now the stranger is gone and he can’t get his hands on more recordings. As Will gets more desperate, he is willing to try anything. By doing this, the truth is revealed to both him and us [the audience].

Tobin Bell making the most of that familiar voice!

I have to say that casting Tobin Bell in a key role where his voice is his main feature, is brilliant. Of course, it also meant I kept waiting for him to say “I want to play a game” or “Live Or Die, Make Your Choice” because that voice is so familiar.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that Tobin Bell is just “phoning it in” here. He’s really good in his key role and doesn’t do anything Jigsaw-like. I just find it awesome that his voice is used so much. Especially since his name is used heavily to promote ReBroken. As it should be.

You have to make the most of such a scoop when you’re working with a low budget.

Minor ReBroken ending spoiler in the tagline

While it takes nothing away from watching the movie, I did find that the tagline of ReBroken included a bit of a spoiler. The tagline is “Not everyone deserves a second chance” and obviously, this isn’t very specific.

However, it does tell you that someone clearly isn’t worthy of being saved or forgiven.

Then again, the actual ending of ReBroken isn’t tied up too much in this tagline. Plus, with that title, we already know that someone broken will be rebroken. Or saved from this, of course. Watch the movie to find out.

Watch ReBroken (2023) on Digital or DVD

Kenny Yates is the director of ReBroken which was written by Scatt Hamm Duenas and Kipp Tribble. Both actors are in key roles in the film. In fact, even Kenny Yates himself plays a role in the film, so you’ll see him several times.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this, but I was very pleasantly surprised in many ways. Actually, I feel that this indie movie managed to do what the recently Netflix-released movie Neon Lights couldn’t quite achieve. In Neon Lights, the story was there in strong moments, but the pieces never quite lined up. With ReBroken, however, you’ll get a very complete story.

There’s a mystery and lots of confusion along the way – and not because the main character is drunk constantly. I really enjoyed watching this, and even the runtime worked for me. I wish this was on Netflix as well, simply because it could reach a much larger audience that way.

ReBroken is out on Digital and DVD (in North America) from March 7, 2023.

Details

Director: Kenny Yates
Writers: Scott Hamm Duenas, Kipp Tribble
Stars: Scott Hamm Duenas, Kipp Tribble, Alison Haislip, Tobin Bell, Nija Okoro, Kenny Yates