Review: Steven Shainberg directs Noomi Rapace in the delightfully bonkers sci-fi/horror flick ‘Rupture’

It might come as a surprise that director Steven Shainberg of “Secretary” and “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” fame has tackled a genre film — the wild and kooky sci-fi/horror flick “Rupture,” penned by screenwriter Brian Nelson (“Hard Candy”). But Shainberg has brought his signature style and tone to the project, and the result is delightfully bonkers.

Shainberg’s fingerprints are all over this. He’s got a formidable female in the lead with Noomi Rapace as Renee, a single mother who is kidnapped by a shadowy organization and transported to a mysterious facility, where she undergoes an intimidating medical exam and is subjected to fear-based torture.

Shainberg’s meticulous skill with color design is put to good use within the walls of the blood-red-tinged facility. The stylistically fastidious filmmaker directs the loopy “Rupture” like it’s “Hostel” meets “The Stepford Wives,” with shades of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

But give Rapace an X-Acto knife and she’ll escape any scary hospital. The lean, contained story focuses on Renee as she cajoles, contorts and carves her way out of captivity. There’s an interesting theme at play about fear as a cathartic transformative experience, although that thread is lost among the crazier sci-fi elements. Nevertheless, Rapace’s daring performance and Shainberg’s unique approach make “Rupture” a surprising slice of schlock that you won’t soon forget.

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‘Rupture’

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes

Playing: Arena Cinelounge Sunset, Hollywood

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