Unhinged Review

Russell Crowe is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day in "Unhinged," the first new movie to be released only in theaters here in the states since the pandemic shut the world down. He stalks a divorced mother Rachel, played by Caren Pistorius, who is also having a not so pleasant day, after a bit of road rage during rush hour.

There's a level of subliminal irony at play here, as the only way to see a road rage movie is to go on the road! Whether its to a traditional sit-down theater, if you're brave, or to a drive-in like me, viewers must potentially put themselves into a situation where they can encounter a man like Crowe's character. It's a relatable premise, far more believable than ghosts or possessed dolls, and it's appeal boils down to whether or not you, yourself, have ever contemplated laying on your car's horn at another driver.

I know I have. On my way back from the outdoor cinema, I drove behind an eighteen wheeler who slowed to about 35mph on a 65mph highway. I thought to myself, what's going on here? Should I pass him? Should I honk? The driver eventually sped back up, and I just kindly kept behind the trailer, with the memory of "Unhinged" so fresh in my head. We all encounter times like this on the interstate, but for a film this neanderthal to stick with me after the credits rolled speaks to its inherit terror we all always have behind the wheel, and the unconscious potency of the filmmaking on display.

Crowe plays Tom Cooper, a divorcee himself who hacks his ex-wife and her new lover with an ax, before burning their house down, in the movie's opening moments. He is already unstable, and by the time he encounters Rachel, he is a full-blown slasher villain. The camera lusts over his face, crawling from his twitching eyes to his curled lips as he contemplates each kill, during each kill, and after each kill, and Crowe relishes in the chance to play such a psychotic person. The Oscar-winning actor is too good for material like this, but that's kinda the point- he hams it up with an almost sensual pleasure, chewing not only the scenery but the entire production, right up to the film reel.

He crashes into dozens of cars in pursuit of his victim, runs over people, stabs some and burns others, all in broad daylight- this guy is a maniac! He always knows where Rachel is (thanks to phone tracking), but even once she realizes this and smashes the cell, he's always just behind her. The police of course only show up when its a convenience to the plot, and just about every cliche imaginable is written into the script as if by the law of screenwriting. But none of that has ever mattered in a slasher film, which this very much is, and director Derrick Borte works beyond the limitations set by writer Carl Ellsworth by staging the carnage with professionalism and style. The car chases are clearly shot, and there is genuine suspense we anticipate Cooper's next move and inherit slaughter.

At just over ninety minutes, "Unhinged" is a terse, brutal, stupid, and, for all measures, bad film, but it works. It is your quintessential B picture: telling a familiar story in the rare "road rage" genre, a pulpy production that milks the audience for every emotion you expect to be milked. You yell at the screen every time someone does something dumb, you wince when Rachel's son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) is in danger by the hands of Crowe (along with some electrical wire to boot), and you just don't feel like driving once it is all over, and there is something to admire about that. Do I recommend "Unhinged?" Did I like it? Is it good? Is it bad? It doesn't matter; it sets its goal low then leaps high over it with finesse. Anyone who's looking for an exploitative tale of violence is in for a satisfyingly deranged time, wait for it, at the movies. When was the last time we could say that?