The Unseen (1981)

Wow! Such a good movie.

I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

"The Unseen" has Barbara Bach as one of three female Los Angeles news reporters who are in Northern California to cover a local festival. They end up boarding at an old farmhouse after finding all the hotels in town to be booked, and each individually come face-to-face with a sinister presence lurking in the basement of the home.Given the credentials of its makers, one would think that "The Unseen" would excel as a genre picture— an early directing credit of cult filmmaker Danny Steinmann, director of "Savage Streets" and "Friday the 13th: A New Beginning," it was also co-written by Kim "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" Henkel, and even featured crew members fresh off of John Carpenter's "Halloween." What could possibly go wrong, right? Well, sort of. "The Unseen" is a visually appealing film; the cinematography is slick and there is a fair amount of atmosphere here (never mind the overuse of slow-motion shots at peak suspense sequences); it does have a fair share of problems though. Not only is is it staggeringly predictable, but it's also incredibly dull for the first hour. Mind, this is not a body count film by any means, but what it lacks in visual carnage, it fails to make up for in adequate suspense.There are two key scenes that occur in the film's first hour that kept me drawn in, and they are admittedly well-executed. That's really all to be had here though. Family hysterics abound as the loopy couple who own the farmhouse exhibit their own neuroses, and the familial drama reaches its peak point in the film's goofy climax where the "unseen"'s true identity is revealed (not to much surprise). The film is in many ways similar to Denny Harris' "The Silent Scream," which was made the same year— they share very similar tonal elements, and also complement each other in terms of architectural dwellings of the villains; "The Unseen" lurks in the basement, while the villain in "The Silent Scream" resides in a secret attic. They actually would make a fantastic double feature, though "Silent Scream" is a bit more engaging of a film.The performances here are actually decent, though Barbara Bach is lacking in the emotive department; she does make up for this though with a great performance during the finale sequences, letting some impressive screams loose. Stephen Furst deserves attention for a disturbing turn as the "unseen," and Sydney Lassick and Lelia Goldoni are madcap mad and wildly hysterical, respectively. Overall, "The Unseen" is a decent offering from the genre, but doesn't seem to know whether it wants to be a suspense film or a slasher film. Its victim list is far too short to qualify it as a slasher picture, but it lacks the cohesive tension of a suspense film. What we end up with is a dull and ultimately predictable horror flick that is just enough to be slightly memorable, but not enough to truly stand out. There are some well-played sequences and a decent climax, but the majority of the picture is too plodding to truly engage with. 5/10.

Three ladies choose to take Ernest (the late lamented Sydney Lassick), a seemingly altruistic man (who's anything but) up on his offer to stay at his house where he resides with his sister, after they can't find any hotels with enough room for them. Soon after an 'unseen' tenant in the basement is killing off the buxom beauties.This is a bad movie, I make no bones about that, but it manages (in spite of itself) to became slightly above par (for an '80's slasher film) thanks in no small part by the one-two acting punch of Sydney Lassick who plays his part of the devious off-kilter Ernest & Stephen Furst, who's over-the-pale tour-de-force performance of the titular 'unseen' has to be seen to be truly appreciated. All the other scenes without these two and sub-plots in the film are merely tedious filler.Eye Candy: Lois Young bares allMy Grade: C+ Code Red 2-disc DVD extras: Disc 1) Introduction by Doug Barr and actor Stephen Furst; commentary with producer Tony Unger and Furst; separate interviews with Furst & Barr; still gallery; theatrical trailer; and trailers for The Farmer, Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker, Sole Survivor, Beyond the Door, The Visitor, Dead Pit & Terror CircusDisc 2) Seprate interviews with make-up effects artists Craig Reardon &Tom Burman; Make- up tests, slides, and stills gallery

This is a long lost horror gem starring Sydney Lassick ("Carrie" and others) and Barbara Bach. It is sometimes difficult to locate a copy of this film but it's worth it. This film is creepy yet cheesy at the same time. It seems that 3 young newswomen (Karen, Vicky, and Jennifer) travel to the small city of Solvang, California to cover a festival when a mix-up occurs involving their hotel room and they seek refuge at the home of Earnest Keller (Lassick) and his strange wife Virginia. Vickie stays behind, feeling ill, as the other 2 are off to film their story. She is soon murdered at the house, in a VERY cheesy way by some unknown force hiding in the ventilation system (she is decapitated by the closing cover of the vent as it comes crashing down on her while she is being tugged through and into the basement). Soon Karen returns and she is murdered in an even more brutal fashion by having her face rammed through the vent cover. Jennifer is fighting with her (ex?)lover in a rather boring sub plot and when she returns home, her hosts (whom by now we have discovered are brother and sister and that whatever it is that is in the basement is their son) devise a plot to try to murder her as well. Virgina does not totally agree with Earnest's plan to murder Jennifer but she is tricked into going into the basement where she meets Junior. Here the film turns almost comic as Junior (portrayed hysterically by Stephen Furst) is a deformed, mentally deficient, manchild whose actions and motions will cause a few chuckles even though it's supposed to be scary. This is where the pace of the film picks up and the ending is well done. The actors/actresses do a terrific job with the material especially Lassick, Furst, and Bach and although it's not the most horrifying film ever made it is highly entertaining!

The first scenes of this film feel more like an episode of Dallas, or a Columbo style prelude, than they do a horror film. The comparisons get worse... Murder She wrote, The A-Team... hell no, it's Charlie's Angels. And then the penny drops, three young women, with a mystery a-foot, it's really like Scooby Doo, without a male lead or any sort of canine activity. In fact, from the moment you meet the resident bad guy (Sydney Lassik), you can just imagine him saying "If it wasn't for you pesky kids!!", as someone pulls his mask off! That said, this is not a totally bad film at all. The weakest character, unfortunately, is the one we see most of, Barbara Bach. Rarely does she provide any sort of emotional performance, and there is no need for her to be sexy in this film either. Well, I suppose she has quite big eyes, which work out well for the ending! All other roles are played well, and are for the most part believable. Equally believable is the scary situation, three girls in a remote hotel, and the mysterious menace that we know is there from early on.Suspense builds up steadily towards the finale, but once all the ground is covered, and the secrets revealed, the film turns into more action than horror, more slasher-style than creepy. It loses both pace and purpose and leaves us with no more bitter taste than a family squabble. That is, someone else's family! But this was supposed to be horror! Several minutes of senseless screaming, towards the end also don't help. What I like to call "Goonies syndrome", noise that in fact irritates more than affects the atmosphere, or benefits the film.OK, so it may make Saturday afternoon, regular TV-style horror these days... that is if you cut out the tasteful glimpse of nakedness. But outside of that, no there's not too much there. It's horrible, not horror. It's unpleasant not unbearable. It is entertaining, and quite well put together, so there's a "5" rating from me!