UNHINGED
(1982)
Directed by Don Gronquist
IndieDVD DVD
Reviewed 01.25.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Unhinged is a hard
movie to peg down. It was part of
the UK’s “Video Nasties”
list in the early 80s -- a group
of horror films (including Evil
Dead amongst others) that
were banned and confiscated under
the Obscene Publications Act. At
first glance, it appears to be a
throwaway slasher, but the odd mix
of non- acting, unsettling themes,
and incompetent filmmaking make
for a somewhat surreal viewing.
The plot is textbook 80s slasher:
three teenage girls are on their
way to a rock concert. En route,
they roll over a huge log in the
middle of the road, sending their
car careening into a ditch. The
girls wake up in an old mansion,
which is inhabited by a crazy mother
and her daughter (who looks old
enough to be the mother’s
sister). The girls are told that
there “isn’t a phone
for two miles,” and naturally,
decide to stay a few days. When
they find out that the old woman
holds an intense hatred for all
men, hush-hush family secrets are
revealed and a killer starts poking
around...
The acting in this film is nothing
short of amazing and will have you
laughing hysterically. The lead
girls speak and shout their lines
in run-on sentences, complimented
with a mono-syballic drawl. The
main girl, Terry, seems to have
shot her face up with muscle relaxers
before shooting the film. We also
have the mother character, who could
fill an entire movie with her babbling
monologues, obviously culled from
years of dinner theater experience.
She must be seen to be believed.
Unhinged also features
the most hilarious use of the heavy-breathing-point-of-view-killer
shots that I’ve ever witnessed.
Bottom line: you’ll probably
be laughing quite a bit while viewing
this film. If it’s not from
the acting, it’ll be due to
the several shots actors staring
blankly into the camera. However,
your laughter will be interrupted
by somewhat left-of-center themes
and a genuinely gruesome climax.
I’m not sure if Unhinged deserves its “banned”
reputation, as it’s a bit
tame compared to other “nasties”
from this era, but the kill scenes
were definitely effective, if not
chilling.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The film is presented full frame
and looks pretty impressive. It’s
a bit dark and grainy in spots,
but I noticed very few scratches
and blemishes. The audio, including
the excellent all-synth score, was
in mono and sounded just right.
It wasn’t too crisp or too
muffled.
EXTRAS
I’m split here. For some reason,
IndieDVD chose to include a total
waste of time as part of their extras
on this disc -- a “comedy”
commentary. This track is embarrassingly
bad and unfunny, as a group of obviously
non-comedians get together to rag
on the film. Not worth your time.
You’re likely to get some
real comedy from one of the serious
extras, which is an awesome 80s
public access spot from Portland,
shot while the film was being made.
Watch the director, Don Gronquist,
and one of the lead actresses bungle
their way through an interview,
complete with fantastic computer
graphics. I’m not sure if
Gronquist was nervous or what, but
it makes for some interesting viewing,
to say the least.
A nice gallery made up of stills,
artwork, and behind the scenes photos
rounds out the extras.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I had a strangely detached
and surreal feeling while watching
-- one minute I was laughing out
loud and the next I was cringing.
Unhinged is definitely
worth a look. |
Bad ride
What's my line?
Here it comes
Hi!
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