Unrest - Schrei nicht, Du weckst die Toten

"Unrest" is a film that I had heard about through the horror film community, and I was truly excited about the project. Film-maker Jason Todd Ipson had a decent following, and the buzz about him and this film, was boiling over... When opportunity knocked, I purchased the movie and anticipated an evening of pure terror. First, I must say that the cinematography looks great. Ipson has a keen eye for what makes a scene creepy, with a top-notch lighting scheme and brooding camera angles. The acting is well above average, with solid performances from the entire cast. Yet, the concept is the part that drew me in... The idea of a group on med students whom unearth the dark past of one of their cadavers is both original and scary. Ipson corralled all the right elements, but falls short with the screenplay, which seems to sputter and stall before any real horror transpires. As a whole, I think it has it's merits, and Mr. Ipson should have a promising future.

In a medical school, the freshmen students Alison Blanchard (Corri English), Brian Cross (Scot Davis), Carlos Aclar (Joshua Alba) and Rick O'Connor (Jay Jablonski) receive the cadaver of a young woman for dissection in their anatomy class of Professor Walter Blackwell (Derrick O'Connor). The atheist Alison has a weird sensation that the spirit of the copse is trying to communicate with her and tries to unravel who the woman was. Meanwhile, all the persons that handle the corpse mysteriously die.

"Unrest" has a very promising beginning, with a refreshing storyline. However, the screenplay is flawed, with a terrible development of the story of Alita Covas, and the conclusion is totally disappointing. The writer should have made a little research, even in Google, and see that the pre-Colombian civilization of the Aztecs has never lived in Brazil but in Mexico, and they were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors leaded by Fernando Cortez. I have no background in medicine, but my common sense tells me that human beings (alive) jumping or drowning in a formaldehyde tank with dead bodies would have some sort of sequel, if they do not die. The medical students are very skilled, being able to operate an incinerator or to suture a friend. Lots of people die in the hospital-school without any further development of the story or investigation of the police. When Alison drags Alita Covas in a bag through the corridors, there is a track of blood. But the corpse had been prepared for the class; therefore I believe she could never bleed. Again, the writer should have researched in medical schools these (and certainly others) situations. If the viewer does not care to these flaws, the movie is entertaining. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Cadáveres" ("Cadavers")

This is a solid little low budget horror film with enough tension, humor and gore to keep the horror movie fans entertained. There are strong performances from some recognizable up and comers, including the two leads.

The story is about a female med student who tries to uncover the past of her gross anatomy class cadaver as terror invades the halls of the school. The med student is an atheist, and yet she senses things about the cadaver that lead her to question her own beliefs about spirits, and drive her to find out the truth behind the woman's death.

As she closes in on the truth, the murders increase, making the audience wonder if the cause is really supernatural or if another student or staff member is behind it all.

There are some nice little "gotchya" moments that make you embarrassed that you jumped out of your seat. And some funny scenes when you understand why it's called "gross" anatomy.

This is the "8 Films" movie that claims to be the first movie to use a REAL human corpse! Spooky! It's debatable whether that is true, and it's never obvious which one in the movie is a real corpse, so I'm not sure they should have went to the trouble. The "moral" of the story is "don't mess with dead bodies," so this is a rather ironic marketing angle to take. Anywho, "Unrest" takes place in a hospital, where young medical student Alison and her Abercrombie model cohorts are cuttin' up cadavers. Alison lives in the hospital until her financial aid kicks through, and they apparently spend all the time they aren't sleeping (or changing into new scrubs) carving up the same old cadaver. It must be a very resilient corpse! Most of the movie is filmed in the hospital or the confines of Alison's closet-like room. This may just be due to budget restraints, but I thought it created a claustrophobic atmosphere. Considering the lead never leaves the hospital floor and spends half her time with a chopped up corpse and male models pretending to be med students, she has plenty of time to let her mind wander. When random things start happening and she gets a funny feeling in her tummy, she decides that the corpse is trying to tell her something. What, she doesn't know. The evil corpse's alleged antics are amusing, and lead to some nasty killings and bizarre sequences. One of these features our heroes swimming around in a tub of formaldehyde, unaffected by the chemical, even though they're swallowing it and getting it in their eyes. "Unrest" is yet another silly poorly-written movie in the 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR series, but it has its fair share of scares, and is entertaining despite its flaws.

If you're looking for a movie with some good spookiness, then this isn't the movie for you. Although the trailer suggests that the movie is to die for, it's not. There are some times in the movie were one gets spooked, but only by the soundtrack of the film. The movie takes you from one place to another without really being clear on where it's going. Although you might think twice about going to medical school if you aren't ready to face some real bodies, this is the closest you might get to a corpse if they make you feel queasy. This movie is definitely no more than rated 'R' for audiences in general. It's not too violent at all. I was quite dissatisfied with this film.