Unrest

Cori English is a new med student working with cadavers who feels there's something strange about the body of a young woman the med students have to dissect. She senses the woman has a back story that involves something evil and with the help of a medical colleague (SCOT DAVIS), she goes about an investigation.

So much for the logic of the plotting before things begin to happen that make no sense whatsoever. The horror depends on whether you're frightened of the undead aspect of the story--supposedly featuring real cadavers for the medical sequences. When the most sympathetic and respectful student dealing with the dead is murdered, you have to wonder what the deal is.

The most professional member of the cast is DERRICK O'CONNOR as Dr. Blackwell, with SCOT DAVIS running a close second. Cori English is a bland leading lady as the investigative med student but the rest of the cast is adequate enough for this low-key horror film.

Summing up: Even a few surprising twists can't save a poorly scripted suspenser. No rational explanation can save the back story about spirits--some nonsense about sacrificial rites to an Aztec God--from being more than a little illogical.

Let me start off by saying it's not a bad film. I didn't hate it, I just didn't fall in love with it. But I'm glad I watched it.

The cinematography is very good, the whole piece is generally rather beautiful. But can beauty make up for a lack of plot or substance? The first half is very good. Scrap that the first two thirds are very good. The build up, the general air of unease created, spot on. Then we have this particular films 'reveal' and it all quickly goes downhill from there.

Don't get me wrong, if you are a horror fan I would recommend this over any Saw (bar the original) any day, if only for the originality of the setting. I just don't see it going mainstream.

Oh, one more thing; you will never see the phrase 'dipping your toe in the water' in the same light again!

This is the "8 Films" movie that claims to be the first movie to use a REAL human corpse! Spooky! It's debatable whether that is true, and it's never obvious which one in the movie is a real corpse, so I'm not sure they should have went to the trouble. The "moral" of the story is "don't mess with dead bodies," so this is a rather ironic marketing angle to take. Anywho, "Unrest" takes place in a hospital, where young medical student Alison and her Abercrombie model cohorts are cuttin' up cadavers. Alison lives in the hospital until her financial aid kicks through, and they apparently spend all the time they aren't sleeping (or changing into new scrubs) carving up the same old cadaver. It must be a very resilient corpse! Most of the movie is filmed in the hospital or the confines of Alison's closet-like room. This may just be due to budget restraints, but I thought it created a claustrophobic atmosphere. Considering the lead never leaves the hospital floor and spends half her time with a chopped up corpse and male models pretending to be med students, she has plenty of time to let her mind wander. When random things start happening and she gets a funny feeling in her tummy, she decides that the corpse is trying to tell her something. What, she doesn't know. The evil corpse's alleged antics are amusing, and lead to some nasty killings and bizarre sequences. One of these features our heroes swimming around in a tub of formaldehyde, unaffected by the chemical, even though they're swallowing it and getting it in their eyes. "Unrest" is yet another silly poorly-written movie in the 8 FILMS TO DIE FOR series, but it has its fair share of scares, and is entertaining despite its flaws.

If you're looking for a movie with some good spookiness, then this isn't the movie for you. Although the trailer suggests that the movie is to die for, it's not. There are some times in the movie were one gets spooked, but only by the soundtrack of the film. The movie takes you from one place to another without really being clear on where it's going. Although you might think twice about going to medical school if you aren't ready to face some real bodies, this is the closest you might get to a corpse if they make you feel queasy. This movie is definitely no more than rated 'R' for audiences in general. It's not too violent at all. I was quite dissatisfied with this film.

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.