Thanks for the memories!

So much average

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

In "Unhinged", three college friends named Terry, Nancy and Gloria go to a music festival in Pinewood, but during a dreadful storm, their car falls into a steep ravine and the girls are rescued by a man named Norman, who takes them to a nearby mansion. The owner of the place is a woman named Marion Penrose, who lives with her crippled mother. Marion advices the girls not to go out again during the storm, and offers them to stay for as long as they need.For dinner, Marion introduces the girls to her mother, Mrs. Edith Penrose, who turns out to be a delusional, uptight harpy. Mrs. Penrose ruins dinner for everyone by making awkward comments, accusing Marion of being a tramp and going off on a rant on how awful men are, especially her ex-husband, who cheated on her. Later that night, Terry and Nancy talk about what a horrible time they're having and both agree that they want to leave as soon as possible. Also, Terry tells Nancy that she thinks there's someone lurking outside the house, watching them, but her friend doesn't believe her. Things keep getting more and more tense between Marion and her mother and Terri can't wait to get the hell out of there, not only because she knows that there is someone watching her, but also because she can't tolerate the weird mother-daughter relationship. For some reason, "Unhinged" was banned in the UK, which is something that is proudly mentioned on the DVD cover. Honestly, I don't get it; the film isn't that violent. We see a few murders on screen and they are gory too, but it's nothing so vile that we need to look away from the screen. I am a horror fan, but I dislike extreme gore and I can honestly say that I wasn't freaked out by this at all. It is perfectly endurable and I can't understand why this film was banned at all. It can't be the nudity either, since it is something very innocent (we only see the girls showering). Could it be that the movie was banned due to the offensively bad acting instead? That I can believe!"Unhinged" was filmed in Portland, Oregon and director Don Gronquist decided to cast Portland locals with little or no acting experience… and it becomes evident as we see the film. To my surprise, Virginia Settle, who plays Mrs. Edith Penrose, was actually a stage actress. Mrs. Settle is probably one of the highest points of this film due to her over-the-top acting that gives this film an undeniable campy nature. The way she yells and gesticulates, while she's accusing her daughter of being a whore is simply hilarious. The high-pitched voice, the eyes wide open and the whole refined and snobbish aristocrat stereotype makes Mrs. Penrose a very memorable character, but I would have never guessed that she was actually a trained actress. Perhaps the declamatory acting is part of her theatrical training. Janet Penner, who plays Marion Penrose was probably the more decent actress on this film and thank god for that, because even though Terry is the main character, she is pretty forgettable as a lead and the actress, Laurel Munson is very unskilled. Marion is a more interesting character; Penner gives a solid performance throughout the entire film and during the last minutes, she displays a lot more strength and histrionics, while managing to stay serious and avoiding the campiness. The ending is campy by itself, but Penner doesn't make it more bizarre. The two other girls were awful; Sara Ansley, who portrayed Nancy, was a model whom Gronquist had found through a talent agency and maybe she was an excellent model, but as an actress, she was terrible. The filming locations are probably one of the best things about "Unhinged", since most of the action takes place at the Pittock Mansion, which is the perfect scenario for a horror film. The place is beautiful for sure, but it's also eerie and it gives a feeling of uneasiness, since the girls seem to be lost and trapped in that isolated location.Throughout the entire film, we hear a weird synthesizer music that doesn't really fit for a horror movie that is supposed to be serious and creepy, but somehow, it works well in this film. While this film doesn't really offer anything that special to the horror genre, I found the twist in the end to be rather interesting and fun. I have read other reviews stating that the twist was predictable and unoriginal, but I myself don't feel the same way and it's one of the reasons why I love this film so much. The thing about "Unhinged" is that, clearly, it is a less than perfect movie, but there's just something about it that makes a lot of people love it, without being able to explain why and I am one of those. I love this film and I regard it as one of my all time favorite slasher flicks, even though I also understand that it isn't all that great either.

Why do we go to horror films? To see a lot of gore and be on edge. What the hell was this writer thinking. We've got three honeys, one at the start, who we are granted with seeing her goodies while taking a shower, going to a rock concert during a rainstorm, which as consequence, they crash their car. They're taken in by a pleasant enough guy who works at this mansion that harbor a terrible secret. There's little suspense, but a lot of screen time wasted with uninteresting activity (chatting). The old woman who owns it, has a real nasty, spiteful nature, and worse, she HATES men, hence the secret. The younger woman, the sister, provides the twist, which I liked. You won't see the twist, so to speak, it's too well covered up. It doesn't look good for three girls, either, as one by one, they're being sliced up, with a sickle in some effectively sick gore. But Unhinged suffers, purely on the lack of suspense and uninteresting prattle, by our three mains who are okay in their roles, plus dialogue from others too, in a displaced horror that could of much better, if not for a lot of nothingness. The unveiling of the killer + murderous, reasons, provide a good backing of the character's motives. Unhinged is a horror movie you'll fee cheated by.

'Unhinged' is one of those movies I would suggest a slasher addict to keep close to himself. This is a rare and underrated gem that can surpass most of the slasher tragedies made today. 'Unhinged' is a serious movie and it's surprising that IMDb has only 2 credits listed for the director Don Gronquist. It's really amazing to think that such a good director couldn't make it big in the tinsel town. Anyways, this movie isn't really ahead of its time, but has those moments that would keep you to the edge of your seats until it reaches the climax. The climax is more chilling and grotesque than you could have ever imagined. Like a typical 80s flick, 'Unhinged' revolves around 3 teenage girls, who on an unfortunate day fall pray to a vicious household in the woods. 'Unhinged' isn't entirely a backwoods slasher, but follows similar set-ups from time to time. I might have been 4 years old when this movie was released, and I somehow feel good to think that I was born during horror boom.Terry (Laurel Munson), Nancy (Sara Ansley) and Gloria (Barbara Lusch), 3 college friends are on their way to a music concert, when they are caught amidst heavy downpour. The girl somehow loses control on the wheel and the car crashes down the road. They survive and awake in a house, where they are tended by a homely and seemingly compassionate belle Marion (Jannet Penner). Marion is Mrs. Penrose' daughter and remains heavily and conventionally dressed most of the time. Mrs. Penrose (Virginia Settle) is not very good to Marion and keeps being profane with her. Marion seems submissive and caring to her invalid mother. Mrs. Penrose tells the girls of her male abjection at the dinner. She won't allow any men go around in her house. Marion tells the girls that once her mother caught her father molesting a young girl and had since been a victim of hatred. Obviously Mrs. Penrose' marriage failed and she separated from her husband. Gloria, one of the 3 girls is somewhat injured and is recuperating at the Penrose mansion. Terry notices strange sounds emanating from upstairs, which she claims to be the sound of a man 'doing himself'. Before things could be cleared, Nancy is brutally murdered by an unseen killer, who hacks her down with a large scythe in the woods. Her death remains a mystery to the other girls. After few days, a resting Gloria is murdered mercilessly on her bed. Terry is dubious about Penrose family, but doesn't have anything to allege. Terry would soon know the mystery of Penrose family and the hapless victims.'Unhinged' has no more than 3 murders to show on screen, but they entirely reflect the swift and cold-blooded nature of a serial killer. The murders are graphic and disturbing. 'Unhinged' has a great set-up but seems to be short of budget. The backwoods pinch adds value to the plot and atmosphere. I personally prefer atmospheric horror than gory ones. First of all, this film uses vibrant colors and desolate locations to ratify the presence of an evil entity lurking around and in the woods. The background score is wayward, and creates tension when plays. The mansion (Pittock mansion) is fairly eerie and looks like a devil's shelter in the vast expanse of unforgiving woods. 'Unhinged' is a genuine slasher that gives us a chance to look into the hidden personality of a killer which may pop out just like a bolt from the blue at any point of time. 'Unhinged', by all means would prove to be a nice asset for a horror buff, who is after classic horror. The only similarity it holds with other slashers is the bad acting by teenagers, but that's nothing new for a slasher flick. Jannet Penner has simply bore the whole burden on herself and propels this boat sail at a considerably nice pace. She alone has superimposed most of the other actors. So if you are into serious horror, logical climax, creepy and discomforting atmosphere and dementia for the sake of dementia, give 'Unhinged' a try.

I've never really considered myself much of "student" when it comes to watching films, I watch them, form an opinion and that's it. But Unhinged changed all this. This film is without a doubt the most inept attempt at film making I've ever seen. Every kid who rocks up at university thinking they're gonna be the next Spielberg or Tarantino needs to be handed this film with a handbook titled "How Not to Make A Film". Not only is there no story to be had, the film makers weren't even competent enough to make a film worth watching. It's been a while since I saw it, but all I can say is watch the overhead tracking shots in the opening scenes. They are never ending! It's almost like having your teeth pulled, only not as much fun.