I'll give the remake of Unhinged this - it definitely does its own thing. Related only superficially to the little seen 80's slasher flick of the same name, Unhinged starts off on just the right foot with a group of friends heading to one of their weddings and being accosted by an angry man. They accidentally kill him and load his body in their trunk. They run out of gas, so they stop off in a small village where a spinster seems all too happy to take them in. As luck would have it, said spinster might have some demons of her own that will bring about their untimely demises.
For about 15 or 20 minutes, the only major fault I could find in Unhinged was the terrible American accents that the English actresses felt the need to use. If we're being truthful, it makes even less sense for them to be American than it would for them to keep their normal dialects. Besides that, things were rolling out at a nice pace, acting was decent, cinematography was pleasant, and the music score was above average for a film of this type. Heck, there was even a jump scare or two that actually worked.
Once the major incident incident happens, Unhinged starts to...well...unhinge. At least in the original film, the girls had an actual car accident, making their stay in this random house a little more sensible. In this film, this crazy woman just randomly offers to let them stay in her house even though she has no idea who they are. Shouldn't that have been a bigger red flag to the main girls?
Unhinged also trades stalk/slashing with surprise and torture sequences. It's not as effective although the killer's get up actually is. The first appearance of the killer on the stairs with that wedding dress billowing in the wind was a very striking image.
It should be applauded for going in a different direction and at least attempting some decent character development for the lead girls, but it's just not as memorable as it could have been. All the elements were in place, but a few things keep it from being as great a remake as one might have hoped.
For about 15 or 20 minutes, the only major fault I could find in Unhinged was the terrible American accents that the English actresses felt the need to use. If we're being truthful, it makes even less sense for them to be American than it would for them to keep their normal dialects. Besides that, things were rolling out at a nice pace, acting was decent, cinematography was pleasant, and the music score was above average for a film of this type. Heck, there was even a jump scare or two that actually worked.
Once the major incident incident happens, Unhinged starts to...well...unhinge. At least in the original film, the girls had an actual car accident, making their stay in this random house a little more sensible. In this film, this crazy woman just randomly offers to let them stay in her house even though she has no idea who they are. Shouldn't that have been a bigger red flag to the main girls?
Unhinged also trades stalk/slashing with surprise and torture sequences. It's not as effective although the killer's get up actually is. The first appearance of the killer on the stairs with that wedding dress billowing in the wind was a very striking image.
It should be applauded for going in a different direction and at least attempting some decent character development for the lead girls, but it's just not as memorable as it could have been. All the elements were in place, but a few things keep it from being as great a remake as one might have hoped.