Unhuman Nature

Oh man... where to begin. This is a pretty short movie at only 63 mins run time. Stories about a Wendigo, which is actually a pretty scary old tale, I'll let the movie tell you about that if you decide to watch it. However, poor script and even worse acting just completely ruined it. You can tell most of the actors are really trying to make this as good a movie as it can be for what it is, but the lead, an FBI agent who's name slips my mind, real and character, go figure. He's so bad an actor it almost makes his character work as that drab, lifeless, monotone FBI suit that is a smug know it all @##** that no one likes in the movie. So, you're letting his terrible acting slide and letting it just kind of be who his character is and boom... he fumble bumbles one of his lines and it's really bad and obvious. Moving on not too much further and guess what?!? He Brittany Spears it and does it again! Only this one is really, really bad. I mean, it destroys the flow and continuity of the movie when he does it. So, at time marker 47:30, turn your CC on and you'll see what his line was supposed to be. It's bad... just so bad. I'd almost say watch this just so you can see the real train wreck this "actor" makes this movie. I use that term very loosely btw. Ok, I'm done rambling I believe. Hope you enjoyed!

Thought the trailer didn't look too cheesy so I took a chance. Now I wish I hadn't. Little more than an hour long but boring, and slow, and just not involving. Thought it started out pretty good (given that the lead actor is terrible) but once it got going it went nowhere and made sure you didn't care. Unbelievable characters stumbling over lines. Absolutely stupid behavior necessary to advance the plot - and not just the usual horror movie stupid like walking outside alone when you know there's a killer, this is next level stupid, like letting strangers decide what actions the FBI should take etc. Plot makes no sense. How it's developed makes no sense. Characters make no sense. I wish it would have sucked from the outset so I would have turned it off instead of thinking, "it's only an hour - give it a chance". I gave it a chance. You don't have to. It's the worst kind of bad because its not trashy enough, or even weird enough, that someone might like it anyway. It's just flat, and dull and not worth your time.

Unhuman Nature turns a below average wendigo story into a boring, confusing mess. While the movie may keep you wondering as to how the story will end, that doesn't change the fact that the story itself is very boring and confusing. The viewer will not care about any of the characters, as they are all so lifelessly portrayed. Putting some fake blood on people and giving them white contact lens constitutes the movie's special effects. If you're looking for a good story about a wendigo, I would recommend the "Wendigo" episode of Supernatural's first season.

Pros: Decent soundtrack, appropriate running length, some mystery and suspense as to how movie will end

Cons: Doesn't look professionally made, terrible acting, slow pacing, very few scares or action, poor character development

When you have a movie that is little more than an hour long, involves mysterious disappearances, multiple law enforcement agencies, secrets hidden in the past, supernatural killings, and hunting a monster in the woods, it takes a specific lack of skill to make that a struggle to sit through, and, ultimately, not worth the limited effort. That it was made for an uber-low budget (one would hope they didn't spend much money on this) can be a real challenge for the ambitious but it is not a guarantee of failure. That has to be brought to the equation and in this case the fault lies with the writer/director. Watching the actors struggle valiantly to be believable, and natural, only to fail dismally was a perfect example of how the director failed them. First, by using a vapid, mess of a screenplay. One can see the moments where they thought there were bits of clever happening - and I appreciated the efforts even as each and every instance fell resoundingly flat. But no one had any real life or seemed grounded in their situations. Actors repeatedly walked in the frame and said their lines. They did not act as if they were engaged in any other action, even sitting around a dining table or hunters out hunting in the woods. They felt divorced from their surroundings as if the director thought the only important thing was saying the lines - not believing them. And the numerous ridiculous or questionable choices made in telling this story; setting up a dramatic Q&A with a person we have been led to believe might be crazy, and then literally have everyone just standing there (not even necessarily looking at each other) while the character rambles dramatically - and then not use the dialogue; instead having the most cardboard actor TELL US what the man is saying in a voiceover! And later the FBI will return to this man and let him take over the investigation, telling them what they should be doing and even what guns to use. And why the heck is the FBI involved in a local missing persons case in the first place? What is the jurisdictional issue involved here? I came away suspecting he was an FBI agent because the director had access to an FBI jacket and that is not a cool enough prop to build your weak screenplay around. And when you have to stick earplugs in everyone's ears to justify that they can't hear killings be done right behind them... you are straining. And the plot points mentioning mysterious music which we never hear? There is no consistency in how deadly the Creature is, or how it behaves, or any of the supernatural elements - pretty sure they were just being made up as they went along.

I have spent time writing this up because I suspect the filmmakers didn't realize all the ways they were wasting a perfectly decent opportunity to make a good film. It has some lovely scenery even if nothing is photographed in an involving or interesting fashion; most shots are static, as characters walk into frame and say their lines and then we cut. A good test for wannabe filmmakers would be to watch this movie and if you can't see why it's not working, then you shouldn't try and make films.

Pretty scenery though. Nice beach shot. But don't expect anything more than that.