The Unseen

I had never even heard about this 2023 thriller from writer Jennifer A. Goodman and director Vincent Shade prior to stumbling upon it by random chance. However, I will say that the movie's cover definitely was sufficient enough to grab my attention.

However, "The Unseen" turned out to be a rather monotonous, bland and actually rather pointless thriller. Writer Jennifer A. Goodman just failed to concoct anything even remotely thrilling, much less actually interesting or entertaining. Yet, I still managed to sit through all 100 minutes of the movie, hoping that the movie would eventually pick up in pace, or that actor RJ Mitte would be given something more worthwhile in terms of script and character to bring to the screen. That just never happened.

The acting performances in "The Unseen" were adequate, despite the fact that the actors and actresses virtually had nothing to work with from writer Jennifer A. Goodman.

For a thriller then director Vincent Shade swung and missed. The movie was ultimately very bland and devoid of any interesting flavors of any kind. And this is not a movie that I will recommend for thriller fans to rush out and get to watch. Nor is it a movie that I will ever pick up and watch a second time.

Funny how the movie's title actually is a premonition of what will happen to the movie itself.

My rating of "The Unseen" lands on a two out of ten stars. It just simply wasn't worth the 100 minutes.

While the idea behind this low budget horror-thriller certainly is intriguing.

The execution is really quite bad.

As the acting- including from Breaking Bad star RJ Mitte- is particularly dreadful.

With a poorly constructed plot.

And writing that is mediocre at best.

The whole thing comes off as a film school project.

Which is a shame.

Because, given a bigger budget, and some more seasoned direction...it could have had potential.

The main problem I had with it all...is the dubious psychology around which the entire story is based.

It's never fully explained.

While the paranormal aspect of it is incredibly confusing.

On top of this, the sequences flashing back to highschool either needed to be redone...or scrapped altogether.

Because they just don't work.

It's just not believable watching these mid 30's actors pawn themselves off as teenagers.

With the act Mitte's character has repressed making literally no sense whatsoever.

Which kind of ruins everything.

Because, while they do adequately explain it via several twists.

The fact he wouldn't have gone to the police about it just isn't plausible.

So, using it as the crux of the storyline was an incredibly poor decision, in my opinion.

As it squanders what little the film had going for it.

Which wasn't much to begin with.

You can tell they thought they were being clever with the multi-twist ending.

But it's hard not be upset by it's fatal flaw.

Because it was totally possible to rework the entire plot, around the ending, so as to completely avoid these complications.

Making it all feel a bit lazy...or, at the very least, forced.

Because...while you might not see the ending coming.

It's just not a rewarding experience.

And felt like they drew the conclusion out a bit long for what it was.

When they could have ended on a high note.

But it is what it is.

3 out of 10.

Let's start with the obvious...this is a lower budget movie with some good aspects and some aspects.

The good: The title kind of sums it up! It should be "Unseen"! My honest feedback is RJ Mitte is okey. Rebekah Kennedy is pretty good. I guess the other good thing is there are a bunch of people that rated the movie a 9 or 10 (but my assumption is they are relatives, friends or cast members...or, they have never actually seen a movie!)

The bad: It is very slow and at 100 minutes it constantly drags. I'm thinking the Producer/Writer was involved in the editing and refused to cut scenes.

A lot of the acting and directing is a big swing and a miss. Anytime the writer is also one of the stars of the film you should skip it...this obviously applies here. Jennifer A. Goodman failed as both a writer and actress with a flat, uninspired script and performance.

The concept of the film is coherent, but the execution and script don't seem to match the idea. There are no real thrills or scares, just a few overly obvious hallucinations.

Overall, it isn't a good movie. Not even a little good. I would skip this one and go find something else to watch.

I wish I could give this film 0 stars, but at least a few performances salvage an otherwise horrible viewing experience. RJ Mitte does his best to navigate this contrived story and my favorite supporting character would be the one played by Candice Rose.

The plot is unambiguous and dull, most likely due to poor writing and execution. If you gave any money to the production of this steaming pile of trash, you should promptly ask for a refund.

The highlight for me was the dude enjoying his doughnuts. Those doughnuts didn't look that tasty, but he sold me on them. Well done sir.

Save yourself some time and money and avoid this cinematic astroid at all costs.

As an avid moviegoer, I had high hopes for "The Unseen," from reading reviews on here. Unfortunately, my anticipation quickly turned into disappointment and confusion as I endured what can only be described as a mishandled and poorly executed cinematic endeavor.

From the opening scene, it became painfully evident that "The Unseen" lacked any coherent plot or direction. The story stumbled aimlessly from one disjointed sequence to another, leaving me wondering who wrote this? Any attempt at crafting a mysterious and thought-provoking narrative fell flat.

The characters in "The Unseen" were equally underwhelming. The actors performances were hindered by weak dialogue and underdeveloped personalities. It felt as if the actors were struggling to breathe life into poorly written and uninteresting roles, resulting in unconvincing and uninspiring performances that failed to evoke any emotional connection.

Perhaps the most glaring flaw of "The Unseen" was its blatant disregard for basic storytelling principles. Scene transitions were lacked coherence. It felt as if the film was edited by someone with no understanding of pacing or continuity, resulting in a haphazard mess that was difficult to follow and immensely frustrating to watch.

Furthermore, the cinematography and visual effects in "The Unseen" were subpar at best. The film relied heavily on clichéd jump scares and predictable horror tropes, failing to offer anything fresh or innovative. The few attempts at creating suspense were hampered by laughable special effects and lackluster camera work, further detracting from any potential enjoyment the movie could have offered.

Ultimately, "The Unseen" falls short on every level. The film's lack of a coherent plot, underdeveloped characters, and poor execution make it a frustrating and forgettable experience.

Save your time and money. Skip "The Unseen" altogether.