“Unhinged” (2020) starring Russell Crowe / Z-View

Unhinged (2020)

Director: Derrick Borte

Screenplay: Carl Ellsworth

Stars:  Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman.

The Pitch: “It’s Spielberg’s Duel crossed with the scariest monster you can imagine!”

Tagline: He can happen to anyone.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Rachael is having a bad day.  She’s going through a rough divorce.  Her mom has just been moved into an assisted living home that Rachael can’t afford, her out of work brother and his “fiancé” have moved in with her and her teenage son.  To make this bad day even worse, Rachel overslept.  She’s got to drive her son to school, herself to work and both will be late.  Yeah, Rachel is having a bad day.

It’s about to get worse.

At an intersection Rachael finds herself behind a big truck that just sits when the light turns green.  She’s already late and this guy isn’t moving.  So she lays on the horn.  Still no movement.  She lays on the horn again and then pulls around him.  As she passes the truck she gives the driver a gesture letting him know she’s pissed.

As it turns out, the guy in the truck is having a worse day.  His wife was divorcing him, going after his house and all his assets, and having an affair with her attorney.  I say was divorcing him because she (nor her attorney-lover) are now in a position to do anything.  Yeah, this guy is having a real bad day and Rachael’s actions have pushed him to the limit.

He pulls up beside her and gives her a chance to apologize.  This just infuriates her and she says things to make it worse, not realizing that she’s dealing with a man who is about to come unhinged.  And he does.

To tell more would be to tell too much.  Suffice it to say, Unhinged delivers thrills and continues to ratchet up the tension until the very satisfying climax.  Crowe is perfect as the man who is on a mission to destroy Rachael by killing everyone dear to her before he is killed.  What makes Crowe so scary is he knows he’s going to die, probably at the hands of the police, and he is alright with that.  For him it is just a question of how much damage he can do before they get him.

Caren Pistorius is excellent as Rachael.  What I liked about her character is that she creates most of her issues and it is her actions that sets everything in motion.  This is a nice change from the innocent woman in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Pistorius is believable as Rachael.  Kudos also to Gabriel Bateman who plays her son, Kyle.  He comes off as sympathetic and likeable.

Crowe deserves special praise for his portrayal of the nameless man who becomes Unhinged.  He isn’t just a one-dimensional psycho killer, and perhaps that is what makes him scarier than Jason, Michael Myers or any of the other monsters we’re used to seeing.

If you’re looking for a action-thriller, then you should consider Unhinged.  I really liked it!

When I first watched Unhinged, I was impressed.  The movie was better than I thought it would be.  Since that viewing, I’ve watched Unhinged a few times.  It holds up with each viewing.  My initial rating for Unhinged was 4 stars, but that changes today with an updated 5 star review.  As always your mileage may vary.