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"Torn Hearts" dir. by Brea Grant


"Torn Hearts"

Where I watched it: Paramount+

A made for TV Blumhouse film, basically knew what I was getting myself into before I pressed play.

This movie doesn't really have a "story" per se, but if I had to make up some form of synopsis it would be that 2 young country western singer/songwriters find themselves at odds with one another after meeting their celebrity idol who also previously got into a beef with her former country western singing partner.

Here's the big draw though... the older country west star is played by Katey Sagal, best known for her role as Peggy Bundy on Married with Children and as the voice of Leela on Futurama.

I've never seen Katey Sagal in anything outside of the aforementioned so I was intrigued to see what kind of range she had to offer. Surprisingly, she does seem to be able to portray a totally different character complete with a southern drawl (that still at times sounds like Leela).

This film is rated 7+ on Paramount but this is clearly an error. The film starts off with a murder and a sex scene. Definitely not for 7 year olds.

While this movie isn't total garbage as I honestly thought it would be, there's really not too much that's all that great about it either. It's not got a real story. Outside of Katey Sagal the acting is pretty awful. Things the characters do and say defy all common sense. Camera work is top tier student filmmaker level.

On the topic of direction I was surprised to see that this was directed by Brea Grant who is well known in the horror film world for starring in Rob Zombie's Halloween 2, Beyond the Gates, A Ghost Story, The Stylist and many more. I haven't seen the other film that she directed but all things considered, it was a competent piece of work. From a directorial standpoint.

Blumhouse movies are total wildcards, remember this is the same production house that put out Jordan Peele's first 2 films, the Insidious movies, Lords of Salem... but also put out films like Truth or Dare, Ma and The Tooth Fairy with the Rock. This movie falls somewhere in between the garbage and the gems, but leaning more into the garbage side unfortunately.

Big time meh here. Unless you're intrigued to see what Katey Sagal looks like now there's not much point in watching this.

5/10

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