Unhinged: Movie Review (2020)
I was at home on a rainy Sunday afternoon, minding my own business, pretending to clean the house when my Mum surprised me with a phone call. She had two tickets to see a movie (she didn’t tell me what) and the person she was seeing it with cancelled. But… she had pre-paid. Dun. Dun. Dun. So she asked if I spontaneously wanted to go to the movies, and I reluctantly said yes (I’m not a very spontaneous person) but now… I am so glad that I did.
Not only did I get to go in the fancy cinema with reclining chairs, not only did I get to sit in a nearly empty theatre because of COVID but I also got to see a great thriller/action film.
Unhinged (2020) is a thriller/action/mystery/car chase/creepy film that follows a terrifying Russell Crowe who goes psycho after a road rage incident we’ve all been in. You know when the traffic light turns green and the car in front doesn’t move? Maybe they weren’t paying attention, maybe they were half asleep or maybe they were on their phone illegally. Regardless, you give them a friendly little tap of the horn as if to say ‘wakey wakey’ and they jump out of their gaze and start driving. No harm, no foul. Except in this case. Our protagonist, played wonderfully by Caren Pistorius, honks her horn less than politely at the wrong man. And CUE THE PSYCHO.
I’m gonna stop right there because anything else would be a spoiler but overall, it was an enjoyable movie. The first few minutes are a little more graphic than I was expecting (especially since I didn’t know what to expect at all), but other than that, it wasn’t too graphic… but still kind of graphic… but not over the top. If you ask me, it was just the right amount of action, silence, speed and dialogue. I was wondering why I liked the movie so much but once I looked up the screenwriter, I knew why. Carl Ellsworth also wrote Disturbia (2007) which was one of the first movies of this genre that I really loved.
If you like car chases, Russell Crowe and jumping out of your seat, this one’s for you. My rating is a solid 8.5/10 (the extra 0.5 is for the reclining chair).
Runtime: A comfortable 1hr 30mins
Director: Derrick Borte
Writer: Carl Ellsworth
Stars: Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman
