Just in time for Halloween, Passionflix’s latest film, Torn, the second in the Wicked series based on the trilogy by Jennifer Armentrout, is finally out. Like we said before, if you’re not a Halloween person or you are but prefer films that are a little on the lighter side, and they also include romance, Passionflix has you covered.
In Torn, “Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust-and fast-it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.”
Before I get into this review, I want to preface it by saying I have not read the second book in this series yet, so you could say I went in blindly. But that’s okay because watching it made me want to pick up the second book.
Anna Maiche reprises her role as Ivy Morgan, and the film picks up where Wicked, the first in the series, left off with Ivy learning the truth about who she is. Ivy has spent her life thinking she was human. She’s also been working for The Order, an organization tasked with hunting down and killing Fae who feed on humans. But after Ivy has a run-in with the Prince of the Fae and is nearly killed, she discovers she is a halfling (Half human/half Fae).
Her life immediately changes because she knows she is now in danger. Her boyfriend Ren (Liam Hall), a member of The Elite, previously told her that if a halfling were to procreate with the prince or princess of the Fae, they could produce a child that would undo the spells keeping the doorway to the Otherworld closed. This would mean that all Fae would be able to leave the Otherworld and step into the human world.
The Elite, which Ren is a part of, is supposed to kill the halfling. That presents a problem since Ivy is a halfling. Though Ivy tries to hide the secret of her true identity, that becomes increasingly more difficult as Prince Drake (Kevin Joy) begins infiltrating every part of her life. Ivy quickly realizes she has to confess her true nature to someone, and she chooses Ren because she loves him and knows he will understand.
Before she does confess, Ivy does some research after learning that there are good Fae who used to work alongside The Order. She believed that if she could share this information with Ren, he wouldn’t see all Fae, including her, as a threat. Despite reading up on this, Ren doesn’t react well when Ivy confesses to him that she is the halfling. To say this puts their relationship to the ultimate test is an understatement.
Prince Drake wants Ivy and will stop at nothing to have her. That includes him impersonating the man she loves in what were some pretty entertaining scenes to watch. Hall did a great job, and because I could tell he wasn’t Ren, watching Ivy interact with him was frustrating. I was yelling at my TV, “That’s not Ren.” I mean, come on girl, it shouldn’t have taken the coffee to help you figure it out. I would have known as soon as he tasted the beignet. Maybe even sooner than that. His behavior was just off.
Once Ivy realized it wasn’t him, it was too late, and Prince Drake was able to capture her.
I found it so interesting that the only thing Prince Drake seemed interested in getting out of Ivy was a baby. Every time he saw her in Torn, he tried to sell the “Let me impregnate you” pitch, and she was not taking the bait. First of all, like Ivy said, “ew” because this is not the way to get a girl to pay attention to you. It shouldn’t be surprising considering what Prince Drake’s ultimate goal is.
He only cares about power; he knows he will have it if she has his baby. This would lead to the gates to the Otherworld being opened permanently. Ivy wants no part of it. Because he can’t get her to comply, he uses Ren as a bargaining chip. Ivy loves Ren and doesn’t want to see him hurt, so she agrees that she will stay with the Prince on one condition.
Prince Drake is super pushy, but Ivy tells him she needs three weeks to feel comfortable with him before anything can happen between them. He hesitantly agrees to the terms and releases Ren. Over the course of their time together, Prince Drake does all he can to get Ivy to succumb; while I did like some of the scenes because Maiche and Joy are entertaining, they do drag on a bit. Maybe that was the intent of the director to make us feel like captives, just like Ivy.
My issue was that Ivy and Prince Drake had the same conversations over and over. I suspect it was because he tried so hard to wear her down until she finally gave in. Ivy gives in and allows herself to feed on a human a couple of times, but that’s as far as she goes. Thankfully, one of the kinder Fae helps her escape from Prince Drake before he can seal the deal. Once she reunites with Ren, who has had a change of heart about working with the Fae, they learn that their battle has only begun.
Torn was ultimately an enjoyable film. Maiche, Hall, and Joy all gave great performances. Even when distracted by the wigs, I was still invested in their characters. The special effects were good, but they could have been done a little better in some places because, at times, I could tell I was looking at the actors in front of a green screen. All in all, I recommend this film, especially if you’re a fan of Armentrout’s series and movies about fairies. It’s the perfect film to add to your Halloween film watchlist.
omg the wigs!!! so badly done and really distracting! Couldn’t they spring the budget for a decent lace front wig for the main character at least? Their wigs looked like something Tink bought on Amazon Prime for $9.99!
The roof top scenes etc against the green screen! so bad! Makes me wonder how Passionflix allocates budgets, because this clearly was very limited, which is a shame because I do like the franchise in general (much more than Gabriel movies anyway).
The movie did drag on a bit at some points but, much like in Wicked, Anna Maiche’s acting made up for everyone else’s slightly questionable acting. Liam Hall was definitely better in this film though but still not really sure if I believe their chemistry.
All that said; it was enjoyable, easy watching, which i love Passionflix for. Looking forward to the 3rd film.