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Written and Directed by Jason Todd Ipson Starring Presented by 88 minutes |
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UNREST
Review
I never want to go to medical school. That is the first thought I had after watching UNREST, Jason Todd Ipson’s film that was released as part of the AFTER DARK Horror Fest. I originally viewed this film past October at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and after viewing it again on DVD, I feel that this is a solid horror film and worthy of being selected for this unique festival. The film stars Corri English as Dr. Alison Blanchard, a medical student who being a late addition to the class has to take shelter in the same building where classes are held… and the cadavers used for dissecting are kept. Arriving simultaneously is a mysterious corpse from Brazil that is younger than the usual cadavers used, and has scars all over her body. She is assigned this corpse along with three other med students and immediately she senses something is not right with it. Her proof is cemented when people start to die upon contact with the corpse, leading Alison and her fellow students to find the mystery of why the body came to residence with them, and why its spirit is vengeful. I mean this in a good way when I say this was one of the most squeamish films I’ve seen in quite some time, primarily due to the realism involved in the scenes where the class is dissecting their cadavers. I am understood that Ipson used real cadavers for this film, and if he did, he used them well here. Also, although I don’t know how a medical school is run, but it seemed very believable here, right down to the beleaguered yet respected teacher Dr. Blackwell (played by veteran Derrick O’Connor). There is also plenty of blood, but most of that is due to the after effects of the wrath of this spirit and the reactions around the school are presented in a believable way. The film boasts an impressive cast who all play the right notes. Corri English, channeling a bit of Britney Spears before she went bonkers in the looks department, is an engaging lead. Her determination to find the truth is done well and never is annoying, and her convictions in her sanity and dependence on her fellow classmate Brian (Scot Davis) is done well. Davis is good in the typical male hero role, a bit of eye candy for the ladies and doesn’t ham it up when seeing all these situations unfold before him. Jay Jablonski takes the usual “class asshole” role and offers a fresh spin. When he shows his fiancée the body, and she turns up dead, we feel his pain of loss but then feel his sense of mind when he slowly starts to unravel. Derrick O’Connor gives a solid supporting role as he puts his devotion to the school first. His approach to Alison explaining her cadaver is done very well. You know he doesn’t believe her, but he does his best to understand her situation, like any good teacher would do. For the first 70 minutes, we are treated to a good, suspenseful horror film, intelligently written and directed. In the last 15, it does seem like it gets rushed. The conclusion, dealing with an ancient Aztec ritual, tries to make sense however it did feel slightly tacked on. The sequences where the surviving classmates fetch the body in a formaldehyde tank is very gripping, and makes for a very intense moment. Jason Todd Ipson has created a solid horror film, wisely using a backdrop of medical science to underscore what is a familiar ghost story. The setting makes this film work, especially in its realistic presentation, and Ipson should be commended. I originally felt the scenes where Alison and Brian establish a relationship was a little weak, especially with all that was going on around them, but once you see the conclusion of why the corpse came to be at the school, you understand why those scenes were essential to the film. In all, UNREST is a solid horror film, one that I may not watch again due to its graphic displays of cadavers. But nonetheless, it is one of the better horror films I have seen this past year and proves that some of the better films made never get the proper release they should. UNREST: 8 Out of 10 Maggots
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