Unrest (2006)

Author: Brett Gallman
Submitted by: Brett Gallman   Date : 2008-06-26 11:53
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Written by: Chris Billett and Jason Todd Ipson
Directed by: Jason Todd Ipson

Reviewed by: Brett G.









In 2006, After Dark Films announced Horrorfest, an 8 film horror movie festival that would take place in select American cities in November of that year. Dubbed “Eight Films to Die For,” the festival essentially gave eight independent horror films a chance to shine in theaters. Essentially, these were selected by After Dark as the best of the best when it comes to independent horror. Naturally, I was skeptical of the flicks, as they’re essentially direct-to-video material that just happened to play in theaters for a couple of days. However, I couldn’t resist picking up the flicks when they went on sale for $5 apiece late last year, and I’m just now getting around to them.

My tour through the first wave of After Dark films coming near an end, I turn my attention towards Unrest, a film with a fairly interesting premise. We follow a group of med school students (Alison, Brian, Carlos, and Rick) whose cadaver is more than a little creepy. Sporting a multitude of slashes and other various wounds, the cadaver obviously met a violent death; furthermore, it soon becomes apparent that everyone who comes in contact with it is met with misfortune. Alison soon becomes to know this and “sense things” (that’s actual dialogue from the movie, folks) and attempts to unravel the mystery of the cadaver’s violent history. It is ultimately decided (out of pure speculation) that the body must be put at rest so that the violent spirit will be vanquished.

Like most of these After Dark films, Unrest offers absolutely nothing new to the genre. It’s an interesting premise, but it’s one we’ve seen before—in fact, we saw similar plot devices in The Gravedancers. However, whereas some of these films (Wicked Little Things and Dark Ride) didn’t offer anything new, they were at least entertaining and well done, which is something Unrest can’t claim. It’s not especially poorly directed, as Ipson seems to know what he’s doing behind the camera. The script, however, is just a mess and is full of clichéd horror characters with some of the most inane dialogue I’ve heard in a while. I didn’t particularly care for any of the characters in this film, and even the villain is uninteresting, if only because we never really see her in action and learn about her through some trite exposition). It’s also a shame that Derrick O’Connor is pretty much wasted in his role as the teacher overseeing the class.

The premise does have promise, but, as I said, the script just really sank this ship before it could get sailing. The film is all over the place, and there are more than a few moments where you’re just simply left scratching your head. For example, on top of the main storyline, there’s a possession sub-plot that just seems tacked on because it just muddles the proceedings. The undead spirit causing havoc due to an unburied body motif is nice and simple, but the addition of the possession angle unnecessarily complicates things because I’m not quite sure what the ending tries to accomplish. Oddly enough, the film itself must have felt the same way because the ending is laughably bad in its attempt at ambiguity, which only manages to invalidate the third act of the film.

The film does get one thing right if gross-out horror is up your alley. There are more than a few disgusting sequences involving dissections and cadavers (which the film’s trailer claims were real dead bodies to boot). While it doesn’t quite garner a “disgusting” rating on the carnage counter, this movie confirmed that I would have never made it through med school. However, this doesn’t save the film at all, as, if you’re looking for gore, there are plenty of other more entertaining films out there to satisfy you. As far as horror goes, that’s about all this has going for it because the atmosphere is nothing special, which is a shame because hospitals can make for excellent horror settings (see Halloween II). In terms of pacing, the film is subtle and low key as it plods along between the sparse death scenes strewn throughout the film. If anything, I thought this film handled its climax well, as it didn’t degenerate into an over-the-top, action packed romp like The Gravedancers did. It’s just too bad the epilogue couldn’t leave well enough alone.

Ultimately, unless you’re just absolutely starving for a film dealing with dead bodies, you won’t be missing anything by skipping this one. If you do decide to seek it out, the DVD is alright. The transfer does exhibit some ringing and halo effects, but only the tech-heads like myself will notice it. The soundtrack is nice and aggressive at times, but it’s a fairly muted film for the most part. However, I must warn you that this is one of the weaker entries in the After Dark series so far, and it’s only worth a rental if you really feel like you need to see all eight films. If you’re not bound by that obligation, however, you’ll be fine to skip this altogether. Trust me, the use of real cadavers isn’t worth it. Trash it!




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