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Great Film overall

Best movie of this year hands down!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

In "Unhinged", three college friends named Terry, Nancy and Gloria go to a music festival in Pinewood, but during a dreadful storm, their car falls into a steep ravine and the girls are rescued by a man named Norman, who takes them to a nearby mansion. The owner of the place is a woman named Marion Penrose, who lives with her crippled mother. Marion advices the girls not to go out again during the storm, and offers them to stay for as long as they need.For dinner, Marion introduces the girls to her mother, Mrs. Edith Penrose, who turns out to be a delusional, uptight harpy. Mrs. Penrose ruins dinner for everyone by making awkward comments, accusing Marion of being a tramp and going off on a rant on how awful men are, especially her ex-husband, who cheated on her. Later that night, Terry and Nancy talk about what a horrible time they're having and both agree that they want to leave as soon as possible. Also, Terry tells Nancy that she thinks there's someone lurking outside the house, watching them, but her friend doesn't believe her. Things keep getting more and more tense between Marion and her mother and Terri can't wait to get the hell out of there, not only because she knows that there is someone watching her, but also because she can't tolerate the weird mother-daughter relationship. For some reason, "Unhinged" was banned in the UK, which is something that is proudly mentioned on the DVD cover. Honestly, I don't get it; the film isn't that violent. We see a few murders on screen and they are gory too, but it's nothing so vile that we need to look away from the screen. I am a horror fan, but I dislike extreme gore and I can honestly say that I wasn't freaked out by this at all. It is perfectly endurable and I can't understand why this film was banned at all. It can't be the nudity either, since it is something very innocent (we only see the girls showering). Could it be that the movie was banned due to the offensively bad acting instead? That I can believe!"Unhinged" was filmed in Portland, Oregon and director Don Gronquist decided to cast Portland locals with little or no acting experience… and it becomes evident as we see the film. To my surprise, Virginia Settle, who plays Mrs. Edith Penrose, was actually a stage actress. Mrs. Settle is probably one of the highest points of this film due to her over-the-top acting that gives this film an undeniable campy nature. The way she yells and gesticulates, while she's accusing her daughter of being a whore is simply hilarious. The high-pitched voice, the eyes wide open and the whole refined and snobbish aristocrat stereotype makes Mrs. Penrose a very memorable character, but I would have never guessed that she was actually a trained actress. Perhaps the declamatory acting is part of her theatrical training. Janet Penner, who plays Marion Penrose was probably the more decent actress on this film and thank god for that, because even though Terry is the main character, she is pretty forgettable as a lead and the actress, Laurel Munson is very unskilled. Marion is a more interesting character; Penner gives a solid performance throughout the entire film and during the last minutes, she displays a lot more strength and histrionics, while managing to stay serious and avoiding the campiness. The ending is campy by itself, but Penner doesn't make it more bizarre. The two other girls were awful; Sara Ansley, who portrayed Nancy, was a model whom Gronquist had found through a talent agency and maybe she was an excellent model, but as an actress, she was terrible. The filming locations are probably one of the best things about "Unhinged", since most of the action takes place at the Pittock Mansion, which is the perfect scenario for a horror film. The place is beautiful for sure, but it's also eerie and it gives a feeling of uneasiness, since the girls seem to be lost and trapped in that isolated location.Throughout the entire film, we hear a weird synthesizer music that doesn't really fit for a horror movie that is supposed to be serious and creepy, but somehow, it works well in this film. While this film doesn't really offer anything that special to the horror genre, I found the twist in the end to be rather interesting and fun. I have read other reviews stating that the twist was predictable and unoriginal, but I myself don't feel the same way and it's one of the reasons why I love this film so much. The thing about "Unhinged" is that, clearly, it is a less than perfect movie, but there's just something about it that makes a lot of people love it, without being able to explain why and I am one of those. I love this film and I regard it as one of my all time favorite slasher flicks, even though I also understand that it isn't all that great either.

I had never heard of this until about a week ago when i saw an intelligent documentary regarding the video nasty furore of the 80's, entitled 'Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape'. This is well worth watching if you have a historical interest in horror. This film was mentioned so I got hold of it and of course, it is another standard slasher complete with an 18+ Scooby Doo style twist ending and many of the typical slasher ingredients. However the setting is appropriately spooky and I understand Pittock Mansion has been used in several films and despite the moans and groans (justified) about the acting, Janet Penner was well cast and let's face it we don't turn to this era or genre for lessons in 'the craft". However what I like the most is that so many of the cheap slashers left you wanting so much more with regards to the back-story and what turned the killer into the way they became etc. Friday 13th, Halloween, MBV did this well but many threw this away. Unhinged does give you a lot of back story and I liked Mrs Penrose recounting her golden days gone by of visitors etc. One for aficionados only perhaps, but not without some interest.

This video nasty slasher film directed by Don Gronquist, was banned in Britain for 20 years because of violence and nudity.It may have been nasty in 1984, but it is certainly tame by today's standards. That doesn't mean it is not worth watching, but it certainly does not stand up next to today's slasher films.First, I have to be careful and cannot fully review it as it would spoil it for anyone wanting to see it.I can say that the two shower scenes were nice, but nothing special.I can also say that there were three slasher scenes, but only the last one was special.It is worth the time, but it is certainly not anything excessive.

Ever watched a movie that lost the plot? Well, this didn't even really have one to begin with.Where to begin? The achingly tedious scenes of our heroine sitting around the house with actually no sense of menace or even foreboding created even during the apparently constant thunderstorms (that are strangely never actually heard in the house-great double glazing)? The house that is apparently only a few miles from a town yet is several hours walk away(?) or the third girl who serves no purpose to the plot except to provide a surprisingly quick gory murder just as the tedium becomes unbearable? Or even the beginning which suggests a spate of 20+ killings throughout the area even though it is apparent the killer never ventures far from the house? Or the bizarre ritual with the salt & pepper that pretty much sums up most of the films inherent lack of direction.Add a lead actress who can't act but at least is willing to do some completely irrelevant nude shower scenes and this video is truly nasty, but not in the way you hope.Given a following simply for being banned in the UK in the 80's (mostly because of a final surprisingly over extended murder) it offers nothing but curiosity value- and one classic 'daft' murder (don't worry-its telegraphed at least ten minutes before).After a walk in the woods our victim comes to a rather steep upward slope which they obviously struggle up. Halfway through they see a figure at the top dressed in black and brandishing a large scythe. What do they do? Slide down and run like the rest of us? No, of course not- they struggle to the top and stand conveniently nice and upright in front of the murder weapon.It really IS only a movie as they say..