“Shattered” (1991) written & directed by Wolfgang Peterson, starring Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins and Greta Scacchi / Z-View

Shattered (1991)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Screenplay: Wolfgang Petersen; based on THE PLASTIC NIGHTMARE by Richard Neeley

Stars: Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi, Joanne Whalley, Corbin Bernsen, Bert Rosario, Kellye Nakahara, Frank Cavestani and Theodore Bikel.

Tagline:  A love he can’t forget. A murder he can’t remember.

The Plot…

Dan Merrick wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how he got there.  His injuries were gruesome.  He barely lived.  His face required reconstructive plastic surgery.  The concussion left him with psychogenic amnesia.  But he lived.

Dan learns driving home late one night he and Judith, his wife, were involved in a terrible accident. The car went off the road and over a steep embankment.  Judith suffered minor injuries when she was thrown from the car.  Dan has no memory of the accident or anything from his past.  The doctors say it could slowly return… or not.

Judith is so loving and attentive to Dan as he recovers.  Dan learns he was a partner in an architectural firm.  Slowly flashes of memory come to Dan but they make no sense.  As Dan is going through things he comes across hidden photos.  They are of Judith.  With another man.  Judith was cheating on him!

As Dan’s memory slowly returns he begins to wonder about the accident. The same wreck that nearly killed him, left Judith with minor injuries.  If Judith and her lover were trying to kill him, Dan is sure that they will conspire to finish the job.

If only he could remember…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Shattered delivers as a Hitchcockian psychological erotic thriller.  It’s a fun neo-noir mystery filled with surprises and a fun twist ending.

Shattered reminds me of a film that would have been made in the 1940s, but instead is a product of 1990s film sensibilities.

I love it.

Shattered (1991) rates 5 of 5 stars.