Unspoken, The (2016)
Matt Boiselle
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Starring Jodelle Ferlund, Sunny Suljic, Pascale Hutton
Directed by Sheldon Wilson
When a film relies heavily on the executive production duties of a man who’s got movies such as Insidious and Paranormal Activity in his back pocket, you’d be expected to think that something of The Unspoken could really be a swat out of the park when it comes to product and presentation…hold them horses, Hoss. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.
Director Sheldon Wilson employs the full-usage of executive producer Steven Schneider to a fault, as the movie simply tries to go in too many directions in the hopes of ringing up the chills, instead limping to the finish line before it ever gets a chance to stretch its legs. 17 years prior, the entire Anderson family simply up and disappeared without a trace from the Briar house. Police discovered every conceivable clue that would lead to this being a complete and utter slam dunk when it comes to a conclusion: blood-soaked room, sign of forced entry, evidence piling up right and left…but where the hell did the family go to? Speed your clocks up to present day, and we’ve got young mom Jeannie (Hutton) and her creepy little kid, Adrian (Suljic) as new tenants to the mysterious Briar home, and what horror movie setup would be complete without the presence of the beautiful but interestingly quiet new nanny, Angela (Ferland) into the mix? As Angela’s father pleads with her not to take the job, it becomes painfully obvious to all involved (including the audience) that this home has some seriously unresolved issues residing within the walls, and at the risk of sounding negative to a fault, this film simply takes too long and delivers a real lack of a punch in its conclusion.
The whole “haunted house” ornament has been wrung out in inexplicably every fashion, and The Unspoken is just another example of an idea that’s been beaten on a rock down by the river over and over again. Weird noises, moving shadows and foreign instances of ghostly circumstance are overflowing with this one, and I can’t help but think even the most pedestrian of horror fans will eyeball this one and utter “been there, done that” at a pronounced level. Stick close by and see a final shot in the movie’s closing scene to confirm my dogged “oh, Jeez” stance on this one. There has been a blueprint in place for films of this category for decades, and sadly this one follows it to a tee, and I firmly believe that we as aficionados of spooky cinema deserve better of our time. Quoting one political candidate, “Let’s make horror great again!” Alright, that’s about as far as I’m going to tiptoe into that neck of the woods – if you really want some haunted house thrills, Google at least a dozen other films over the years and skip this one. It ain’t horrible, it ain’t noteworthy, it’s just there…like a stagnant test-pattern on your big-screen tv set.
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Film
Categorized:Reviews
