Unseen

I watched the film not expecting much, but it was surprisingly good. The two actresses who carried the movie were great. Midori Francis and Jolene Purdy, who I hope to see more of in the future are very talented.

It was the theme from Cell taken to the next level with a creative twist of one woman (Sam) having to be the eyes for another woman (Emily) escaping from her homicidal ex-boyfriend. In the process the women become empowered, both refusing to be victims and help each other reclaim their lives. Missi Pyle, who is always great, tops it off with some comic relief as the stereotypical rich white lady from hell. You should check it out.

There are tons of movies lately being made / written / starring so called minorities and / or women. I guess it's a backer push for equity. Most of these films are pretty bad, so I went into streaming this with that in mind.

What a surpise. It's actually pretty decent. Yes, there are plently of holes in the plot and a few poorly rendered characters, and some under par acting here and there, but I have to say: it's nonetheless well made.

The director keeps the tension tight throughout -- even when a particular scene might be really silly, or unbelieveable.

I also liked how the two main female characters grow from each other by the end of the film.

Overall, I say it's worth a watch.

This could've been a really decent movie if they stuck to one genre. It felt like they tried to make two completely different films and then somehow forcefully fit them together.

The main idea was not incredibly original, but it worked quite well. A seriously visually impaired woman is stuck in a dangerous situation and is trying to get help from a stranger through a video call. That part was mostly well done, with some forgivable flaws. (Characters making silly decisions just because with a logical step the movie would end after 20 minutes, or the fact that they tried to show the main protagonist's bad vision through an eye shaped "cutout" while nobody's vision is like that.) It had tension, it was engaging, it captured one's attention.

The connection between the two main female characters was also good, their shared journey was nicely done.

What sort of ruined it all more and more as the movie went on was the addition of the minor characters at Sam's work. At first they were just rather overdone and one dimensional. But later on they progressed into truly over the top burlesque, with zero connection to reality. And that's where the movie split into two. That sort of absurd comedy can work, but not paired with a fairly realistic thriller/drama. I get that they wanted to add obstacles, excitement on Sam's side as well, but it was really poorly done.

It's still a watchable movie, but it could've been a whole lot better with a revised script that kept the two sides more in balance.

Unseen is absolutely ridiculous. But like a bad car wreck, you cannot stop watching, well some of us anyway. My friend couldn't take it. No spoilers, but all of it was highly improbable, unrealistic, and silly. Good for entertainment while you are folding clothes, brushing the dog or doing anything where your full attention is not required.

It could become one of those cult classics. But I just would not watch it again. Once for me is enough.

The movie seemed long and drawn out and I lost interest at times. It is never a good sign when you cannot wait for a movie to end.

A lot of the usual tropes present, but you can see for yourself.

When I opted to sit down and watch the 2023 thriller "Unseen", I had actually never heard about the movie. But the movie's synopsis sounded interesting enough, and the cover definitely was an eye-catcher. So yeah, of course I opted to sit down and watch what director Yoko Okumura had to offer.

And color me impressed. I wasn't really expecting such an entertaining movie. The storyline in "Unseen", as written by Salvatore Cardoni and Brian Rawlins, was such a refreshing approach to the stalked-in-the-woods type of movie. I really enjoyed the whole aspect of Emily (played by Midori Francis) having poor eyesight and having to rely on the eyes of Sam (played by Jolene Purdy) through video call on a battered mobile phone. It was quite a nice way of adding a very modern element, and a very well-functioning element I might add, to the movie.

I wasn't familiar with leading actresses Midori Francis and Jolene Purdy, but they really carried the movie quite well with their performances. I definitely was impressed with what I saw on the screen. The movie also has a nice appearance by Missi Pyle, whom was the only familiar face on the cast list for me.

Visually then director Yoko Okumura makes good use of distorted and blurred lenses to illustrate Emily's vision as she stumbled through the forest, depending on the eyes of Sam on the other end of the video call. "Unseen" is not a movie that uses an abundance of special effects, nor does it need to do so, as "Unseen" is a well-functioning psychological thriller. And it sort of gets under your skin and makes you feel like you're right there in the forest alongside with Emily.

I was genuinely surprised with the entertainment level from "Unseen", and it is a movie that I warmly recommend you to sit down and watch. I was genuinely and wholeheartedly entertained from beginning to end of this movie from director Yoko Okumura.

My rating of "Unseen" lands on a well-deserved seven out of ten stars.