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UNHINGED Starring Laurel Munson, J.E. Pennier and Sara Ansley
Censorship has been an issue amongst graphic horror films throughout their existence. Some films have made it to audiences uncut without the vision of the director being tampered with. Others have fallen to a different fate, due to the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) setting strict guidelines for violence. Many films have had to cut violence and gore sequences from their films in order to get an R rating. In other countries, they simply ended up being banned. Unhinged is a such a film. Brentwood Home Video, a company known for releasing multi-film boxed sets, has released Unhinged in its original uncut version. Three women are on their way to a music festival, and have to drive out through the middle of nowhere in order to get there. When their car runs off the road into a ditch, the three are rescued and brought back to an isolated mansion. One of them are injured and unable to move.
There, they meet a rich family with a checkered past. The daughter, an old spinster, seems to the be most normal member of the family. The mother is insane, confined to a wheelchair, and hates all men. There also seems to be another person lurking about outside the house during the dark hours of the night. Because the mansion is not equipped with a telephone, one of the friends decide to set out into the woods to get into town. She is well on her way when she is murdered by a scythe-wielding maniac. Time passes, and weird noises and strange occurrences are frequent. During the night, the injured victim is murdered. In a frenzy, the lone survivor becomes hysterical, and insists on getting to the bottom of things until she meets the killer face to face.....
Wooden acting and a low budget make Unhinged a film that has generated a cult following. However, the film's violence is infrequent and not as extreme as its reputation suggests. However, Unhinged is a movie that would delight horror fans who enjoyed films like Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Madman and Just Before Dawn. Simple stories with all of the basic elements work well. Unhinged is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The film's image suffers from major artifacting problems, mainly during the dark scenes. The picture, however, is colorful, even though the film lacks color (most of the film is shot either in the dark or around brown furniture). The film's audio presentation is pretty flat, but is only limited by the film's original source material. Films of this type had limited budgets, which led to limited means of recording sound. Some audio dropouts and pops can be heard during a monologue about half way through the film.
Among the extras is a still gallery and a 1980 interview with director Gronquist. The strangest inclusion on this set is the audio commentary with the films "detractors." This track is nothing more than a "party" track, allowing the listeners to hear negative comments about the film as it unfolds by a rowdy bunch of unknown people. It would have been more appropriate to have the commentary by the director, because judging from the five minute interview with Gronquist, he has a lot to say. Films like Unhinged are few and very far between. Many independent horror films today are shot on digital video, with 16mm falling out of the favor of film makers due to expensive materials and developing costs. One can only hope that the trend towards digitally videotaped films will not lead to a break in creativity and simplicity that makes movies like Unhinged and The Evil Dead so special. |
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