The Unraveling

I am a ten plus year super fan of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982). As such, this review and my opinion of the movie each reflect that fact. As fellow fans of The Thing know, any time you see the words isolated, paranoia and horror, you get a little bit excited by the potential. The best part of the movie is in its buildup. It takes its good time presenting the story and building the tension and suspense, and it keeps patient viewers wondering, but with enough subtle hints so as not to be a snooze fest. The premise is solid, the location is solid, the pacing is solid and there are no stupid character decisions, no forced plot points and no movie-ruining political statements, but the ending is what really falls short and leaves me with mixed feelings about this movie.

Michael, a drug addicted, gets abducted whilst at work by four guys wearing hoodies and hockey masks, he is bundled into the boot (trunk) of a car and taken out to the Californian backwoods. It turns out to be a bachelor party prank played by his friends. This is annoying and misleading because the DVD artwork (British release) shows the four hooded guys looking very menacing and gives the impression that they are gang of brutes. They drink beer, they play pranks and they camp but then, one by one, they are killed by killer/s unknown. Backwoods slasher movies were very popular back in the 1980's and this is a reasonable attempt at being one. But then comes a huge plot twist that completely ruined it for me, quite ridiculous and hard to swallow. Much of the acting is as wooden as the many trees that we see, there are some unsettling scenes of drug use but very little in the way of gore. This movie was never going to be better than average but that dumb ending was very disappointing. Thankfully the running time clocked in at under 80 minutes.

To my surprise this film pulled off drama better than most indie horror films I've seen. This film had a human element to it, where I felt like I was living the experience with Michael. It is a story of the human experience of life, love, and addiction. They do a profound job telling this story, taking their time with cinematic shots, dramatic and emotional music, and effective dialogue. A few parts fell flat but overall grab the popcorn, but don't expect just an edge of your seat thriller it was also heartfelt and well delivered.

......unless you have experienced this horror or love someone who has you might not think this film is any good. Although predicable, and a somewhat weak ending, this film does an ok job of showing what a monster addiction can be. If you really want an artistic and cringe worthy film that also deals with this theme watch Requiem For A Dream. Those characters needed an exorcism not intervention.

Well just finished ⌚ watching the horror movie 🎦 called the Unravelling and I thought what A well made little flick never. Mind what the other reviewers said. I found it quite entertaining and love 😍 and have many horror films myself