'Fragile': Old-Fashioned Ghost Story That Delivers the Chills

Last night I watched a horror movie—Fragile (original title Fragiles)—that I’d like to have written as a book or short story. The movie has all the elements for a satisfying read: atmosphere, a great setting, good pacing and relatable characters.

It also involves an old-fashioned ghost, which is increasingly rare in today’s movies. I like other types of horror movies too (as long as the gore isn’t too gratuitous), but nothing beats ghosts, in my opinion.

Photo: Roku Channel

Fragile is a Spanish-British production that was released in 2005. The plot features an old hospital on the Isle of Wight (the largest island in England). The hospital is about to be closed down. Unfortunately, a recent train accident has left a neighboring hospital full so the children’s ward hasn’t been able to move yet.

Calista Flockhart stars as Amy, a new night nurse at the children’s ward. She comes with baggage, believing she killed a patient through negligence. As she settles into her new job, Amy finds the children talking about a mysterious girl named “Charlotte.” She investigates further after she starts seeing and hearing things.

A hospital is creepy enough. The filmmakers heightened the mood by adding in long empty corridors, an abandoned floor, dreary, wet weather and Amy’s isolation as one of the few employees working at night. Deliciously spooky.

I don’t know how the movie fared at the box office but I sure enjoyed it. Now if I can only think up a plot for a ghost story that is just as good.

Fragile is streaming on the Roku Channel.