Unhinged

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.

Unhinged is a movie that'll likely endear itself to me the more times I see it. I will say that without the ghastly end scene this one would've been cast into the inky black void of the forgotten. There are films, especially in the horror genre, that are buzzed to have twist endings, powerful surprise endings that shock and have never been encountered, well, in regards to Unhinged that's almost the truth. While the idea/situation/plot may not be entirely underived (having an essence of Hitchcock's Psycho, for example), the film's progression shrewdly shrouds the climax. Being the seasoned, desensitized horror fan that I am, even I sat up captivated, feeling a bit unnerved as I watched the last scenes unfold. I can't say many splatter flicks have that effect on me. The killing was extended, which made it all the more uncomfortable and startling to watch, yet is exactly what many horror films lack. To compare Unhinged to Sleepaway Camp (1983) would not be entirely wrong (with slight similarities in the plot), but instead unfair, as this film was the first made of the two (1982). I find it laughable sometimes when I run across reviewers who state that the film they've watched was same old same old, nothing new when they're reviewing a horror movie from the '70s or early '80s.

Despite all the stalely delivered dialogue, Unhinged is a good horror film. On the DVD release I have, in "special features", there's a TV interview with the director, Don Gronquist, and one of the actresses who I felt gave the best performance. Mr. Gronquist is one of the worst speakers I've ever listened to. I wonder what he's like on the set. `Sp-p-p-p-p-p-it it out, junior!' Anyway, if you're a fan of '70s and '80s slasher films you must see 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!

After crashing their car on the way to a rock concert, three young woman wake up in a spooky mansion where a repressed spinster and her unstable mother live. There's also a bloodthirsty killer who doesn't want the girls there.

Unhinged is a mostly unremarkable series of slasher and old dark house movie cliches, but I'd be lying if I were to say some moments don't possess some sort of lo-fi eeriness. It's not a poorly shot film, there's some rain drenched atmosphere, a few nasty murders, and one truly insane final twist. That's more than you can say for a lot of movies. If it weren't for the mostly pedestrian script and wooden acting, Unhinged might really be something special.

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.