Unhinged

This movie seems to be most known for being apart of the 'Video Nasties' list during the 1980's. Its about three girls who end up crashing their car on the way to a concert, and end up in a huge mansion with a creepy woman, and her elderly wheelchair bound mother. The acting isn't the best, but what do you expect from an 80s slasher film right? And it can be kind of slow in parts, but on the plus side, the murders are well done, (especially for such a low budget movie), the music is eery, and the ending is quite shocking! I'd definitely recommend it to slasher fans to check out.

The only thing that puzzles me, is why it made it onto the video nasties list in the first place. While there's a decent amount of blood for the killings, there was much bloodier movies out there, and with that said, I can see why some people don't like this movie, and felt let down, by what this movie suggests. Still though, if your an 80s horror/slasher fan, pop this one in, and give it a try. Its not the best out there, but its decent, and surprisingly creepy, which a lot of 80s slashers lack. You could do a lot worse!

Unhinged is a strange movie indeed. While it obviously gets most well known because it was banned, and it stills holds it's own weight. It is not as bloody as you might think, there is blood but it's not overly exploited or in the film that much besides a few scenes.

The acting is a mixed bag, most of it being amateur acting that isn't very believable. Some of the actresses seemed like they were reading their lines while half asleep. The exceptions being the sister and the mother.

What i really liked about this was it's seclusion in a castle-like mansion in the middle of nowhere. This house is more like a palace and I'd really like to know who lived there when this was filmed, it looks more like an old hotel resembling a castle than a private house.

Another thing i really liked was the music score, a well executed early 1980's synth horror style that exceeds in creating a truly creepy atmosphere and it really helps the film a lot in my opinion.

This film is far from perfect, it's obviously a very low budget indie movie. The end scenes are worth watching the movie for, and there is an 80's era shocker in the plot. It looks somewhat dated by today's horror standards, but just remember this is over 20 years old now. There are a couple of nude shower scenes, for those looking for that sort of thing it's worth mentioning.

Unhinged is now out on a great DVD in it's uncut and uncensored version. It's worth a viewing for fans of oddball horror movies.

What starts out as your average old dark house movie picks up its dragging feet towards the end and delivers a whopper of a finale. It's not a very good movie - some of the actors appear to be in danger of falling asleep mid-line reading, the pacing is uneven, and some of the scenes are lit so dark that you have to imagine what's actually going on, but when Unhinged rises to the occasion, it can be very effective.

Three young girls set off for a concert, and have to look for shelter.

I have to begin by commenting on the acting, it is rather woeful, the trio of girls in particular are somewhat off with their performances. Janet Penner was surprisingly fun to watch as Marion.

The film is definitely a low budget horror, but the success lays in the fact they managed to create a level of atmosphere that's sometimes lacking in many horror films. The climax is particularly shocking, it's brutal and seemed to come out of nowhere, I wonder if it had something to do with the film's banning in the UK?

So it's full of clichés, it has a very clunky score, but it is hugely watchable, full of shocks. If you haven't seen it and you like slasher/b-movie horrors I would whole heartedly recommend a viewing. 8/10.

Unhinged doesn't seem to have much going for it. The acting is amateurish (to say the least), the pacing can be a bit plodding, and there's a body count of about 3. However, there's something about this movie that helps it stand out from some of the other slashers of the time.

The plot of Unhinged is paper thin. Three monotone, mouth breathing young women are headed to a concert when their car breaks down. They wake up and find themselves in a strange mansion, being taken care of by an odd middle aged woman and her elderly mother who seems to hate men. Also, there's a heavy breathing maniac on the loose and...well, you can probably tell where the rest of this is going.

As I said, the acting is more wooden than the forest surrounding the film's main location, but it's almost endearingly awful. Surprisingly, there actually is a little mood and atmosphere to spare and that goes a long way in keeping the viewer engaged while there isn't much of anything going on.

There's an almost giallo flair to a lot of the stalking/murder scenes which is appreciated and the synth score isn't half bad. Unhinged even manages to pull off a pretty creepy twist ending that will stick with you.

Perhaps with a little recasting and a tighter, more interesting script, Unhinged could have been a minor slasher classic. As is, it's a flawed, but entertaining piece of low budget horror filmmaking.