The case for The Broken

As someone who just saw the film twice in the last few days, I'm perplexed and dismayed by the negative reaction its gotten both here and at Rotten Tomatoes, and can't help but feel that many people had expectations that aren't relevant to the kind of movie The Broken is meant to be. I suspect that many people got mislead by the term 'horror' being used to categorize the move, and that's a shame.
The real magic isn't in the story, as in the telling, as they say. The artful cinematography, the emotionally muted acting, the contemplative pacing, the quiet, anti-dramatic tone, the subtle tell-tale sounds on the sound-track: all these things make for a movie with a very mysterious, chilling, clinical atmosphere. I don't think the slow, quiet pacing and understated acting was due to ineptitude, I think it was a deliberate stylistic choice that worked to outstanding effect. The movie was shot in a way that creates an impression of what's going on rather than being literal-minded about it, and that makes it all the more chilling.
It's a very intelligent film in that one has to pay attention to small details to see what's being hinted at, and repeat viewings are definitely rewarding. It reminded me of The Hunger, of David Lynch movies like Mulholland Drive, of Stanley Kubrick movies like The Shining, and of European cinema in that way. I find these kinds of atmospheric, meditative movies a refreshing antidote to the bombastic style of many popular movies that are edited at rock video pace.