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Feeling nostalgic for a great psychological thriller? The late 2010s were the absolute sweet spot for tight, perfectly paced "is he losing it, or is everyone lying to him?" movies. That’s exactly why hidden gems like "Fractured," though mostly slept on by the masses, hit so hard. It’s a personal favorite that I stumbled upon on "Netflix" after hours of scrolling, and I’m so glad I did.
The setup is instantly gripping: A stressed-out dad rushes his injured daughter and wife to an isolated hospital during a tense road trip home. But as soon as his daughter is taken back for a scan, she and her mother vanish somewhere inside the building. The hospital staff calmly insist his family was never there to begin with, and the line between worried father and unreliable narrator instantly begins to blur. Who is telling the truth?
If you enjoy thrillers that take you on a twisty, turny ride and keep you guessing until the very last frame, you will absolutely love "Fractured." Available to stream right now on Netflix, it is a brilliant, slow-burn descent into madness.
What's 'Fractured' about?
Ray Monroe (Sam Worthington) is a man on the edge, trapped on a tense family road trip with his wife, Joanne (Lily Rabe), and their young daughter, Peri. The trip is already rocky, but everything goes sideways at a highway rest stop when Peri tumbles into a construction pit. She lands hard, leaving her with a fractured arm and a suspected head injury.
Ray races to the nearest hospital, where the family is checked in and Peri sent down for a CT scan. Joanne goes with her to the basement testing area while Ray is told to wait upstairs. He dozes off in the waiting room, but when he jolts awake hours later, his wife and daughter are nowhere to be found.
Even worse? The intake nurse has no record of them ever checking in. The doctor claims Ray arrived alone. Security politely suggests he go home and sleep it off. But Ray is positive his family is trapped somewhere inside that hospital, and he is ready to tear the building apart to find them. As he wages a one-man war against a stone-walling staff and skeptical cops, an agonizing question looms: Is there a sinister conspiracy at play, or is Ray losing his mind?
Why you should stream 'Fractured' on Netflix
If you want a thriller that is utterly unafraid to leave you in the dark, "Fractured" delivers an awesome, memorable ride. Sam Worthington is in his element here, leaning into the unhinged intensity of a desperate everyman. Co-stars Lily Rabe and Stephen Tobolowsky give him some wonderfully frustrating forces to play off of, and the early, fractured tension between Rabe and Worthington’s characters could be cut with a knife.
Director Brad Anderson — the mastermind behind cult psychological thrillers like "Session 9" and "The Machinist" — leaves his distinct fingerprints all over this film. He masterfully creates a creeping certainty that something is deeply wrong, yet refuses to tell you what. That inescapable dread is exactly what keeps you hooked until the final, deeply satisfying payoff.
If you want a movie that locks you in for 99 minutes and doesn't let go until the final reveal, go in completely cold. Turn off the lights, stream "Fractured" on "Netflix," and get ready to question reality right alongside Ray.
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