Unholy (2007)

Very disappointing...

Just what I expected

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Always seeking a great under-rated true horror film, I thought I'd give this one a shot. After all, Skew (a GREAT film) received poor reviews but was extremely good. With Unholy, I have NO idea what was going on, the music was awful, I kept waiting for some horror to happen but was let down. There are (arguably I suppose) no ghosts, there is a strange maternal issue and a daughter who apparently commits suicide (as shown in the trailer, and a cellar that also serves as the "scary place". Throw in some kids, snow, a weird grocery store clerk and a bit of WWII history and...well, that's the film. If anyone can come up with a positive and comprehensive review of this film, I applaud them, really.

This one will get reviews all over the map because it doesn't comfortably fit any mold. It's horror-- but not a splatterfest. It's equal part Suspense as well as Horror-- yet without the usual Hollywood screams and jerky camera. The feel of the movie is spare and lean with next to no special effects because I think you should listen and watch the faces of the characters.Forget that Brendan is a graduate of the Buffy universe. That's a red herring. He IS acting here. 'Camp' is a misreading of the tone of this story. Adrienne Barbeau is giving a rock solid performance-- so she must believe the script has something to say. We all know the sorry excuses where the actors plainly don't care anymore and are just waiting for the director to snap "Cut" and get their paychecks. This is Not the case, here.Forgive the fact that the bodies begin to fall with almost mondo-funny regularity. I don't think the intent was humorous-- but to keep you off balance. Think of it less of a Horror 'Movie' and more of a Horror 'Play' on a stage-- that decrepit whitewashed house. Then you might see it's really about paranoia, fear, and spiralling madness set in an isolated someplace, USA.And it is twisty. Time travel, Mind Control, secret experiments and Nazi's who may NOT be dead. . .yet.I say rent it and give it a try if you're in the mood for something a little cerebral. This would be a good choice for a Saturday Midnight sit down.

Some movies dream big on a small budget and this is one of them. The small budget allotted to it, doesn't do it's story justice. It's not that the movie was badly made, it's that it could have been so much better.First off; the performances. Other then the son, everyone did a pretty good job. The neighbor who had a fascination for tomatoes was pretty cool, and was a nice bit of comic relief.The story. A bit too far reaching for the budget allotted. Within minutes we find out about the Unholy Trinity conducted by the Nazis during the war: invisibility, mind control and time travel. Without giving anything further away, the movie involves characters finding out about mind control, invisibility and time travel. By the way, stay tuned for the credits, the story continues in radio addresses throughout the end credits.The SFX. Not bad, but I can see them being done on the directors home PC using everyday over the counter technology--not that it's a bad thing.Honestly the best part of the movie were the three painting that were shown. I loved the style they were done in.In closing all I have to say is: Damn Nazis!

Unholy (2007) 3 of 5 Dir: Daryl Goldberg Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Nicholas Brandon, Siri BarucAdrienne Barbeau hasn't had the best of time lately and they get worse when her daughter commits suicide in their cellar. Along with her son (Brandon of TV's Buffy) gather up the pieces and decide to leave that sad home. But Barbeau can't shake the reasoning with the tragic events and decides to return to get to the bottom of the mystery. How does an old legend of some boogeyman used to frighten children, the strange behavior of the residents around her and the strange audio diaries and Nazi inspired paintings that the daughter did have to do with an unholy trinity? It's always nice to see the lovely Miss Barbeau in genre pics and she does a fine job here. Baruc and Brandon (still doing the 'Xander' thing) are good as the messed-up children. The script, while having an interesting premise doesn't seem to gel together in the end. It comes up with an interesting angle but kind of glances off things that needed a bit more explaining. The final result leaves an ending that is a bit muddled. It may leave some viewers scratching their noggins. 'Unholy' tries hard to come up with an interesting twist and it succeeds for the most part but it kind of falls apart in the end. This spooker with sci-fi underpinnings does look good and has a solid and talented cast though.