One of the "8 Films To Die For" that was part of the After Dark Horror Film Festival in November 2006, "Unrest" boasts a unique idea for a story. The film centers around a group of medical students, mainly Allison (Corri English). She groups up with a few guys in her new anatomy class to begin dissection on a cadaver. She is a little grossed out by the entire thing, and begins feeling an uncomfortable presence when around the corpse, which appears to be a woman who was either murdered or killed herself. Of course, nobody thinks anything of Allison's strange feelings around the corpse, and dismiss it as her being a little paranoid, since it is her first time working with a cadaver. But they soon believe her when strange things start happening around the school. And those who came in contact with the cadaver begin to die one by one. But why? The identity of the body may hold the secret, and it's up to Allison to find out.
I went in seeing this film with fairly low expectations, so I wasn't too horribly disappointed with it. I actually thought the movie had a great story, and it was at least a step in the right direction, and different from most of today's horror films. Working with human cadavers has got to be a little eerie anyway, and adding on a supernatural layer to it all is really clever. The only problem here is the story becomes a little wishy-washy as the movie progresses. It started off pretty well and was good for the first thirty minutes or so, but it soon began going downhill, which was a real disappointment considering the potential that it had. The opening shot is really spooky - that woman's strange facial expressions and her staring eyes gave me chills. But the entire history behind her character is where this movie really falls flat. It's disorganized and becomes too muddled. Most of her story is told through character dialog that lasts about five seconds, and some things are more unclear than they should be. I wish they had elaborated on her background more, because it could have been a really creepy story.
Like most of these low-budget indie horror flicks, the cast isn't huge in names, which isn't a bad thing. I didn't recognize the cast members, but I thought the acting was pretty decent. Corri English was the leading lady and she was pretty good - convincing enough in her role. As far as horror clichés go, there weren't too many which was surprising. There are a few silly moments though, especially the entire formaldehyde-tank swimming sequences, which were a little overdone if you ask me. Can you even swim in that stuff anyway? It seems like it would be toxic to your body. I won't pick it to pieces though, you just have to take it for what it is.
Overall, "Unrest" is a decent horror movie that sets out what it aims to do - entertain. The film went downhill a little as it progressed and the story needed some work, but it was a watchable movie with a few nice thrills and an interesting (albeit different) storyline. If you enjoy supernatural-themed horror movies, this wouldn't be a bad rental - you could do much worse. 6/10.
