If you think the spirit possession was scary,
you should see the capital losses people take on this problematic property. Seventeen
years ago, the Anderson family vanished under mysterious circumstances, only
leaving behind a shell-shocked sheriff’s deputy as a witness. Unaware of the
property’s history, a single mother and her emotionally stunted little boy have
moved in, hoping the mountain air will be healing. Their young nanny knows better,
but she keeps coming to work because the “recovery” was particularly soft in
those parts. You largely know where things are going from here, but
screenwriter-director Sheldon Wilson adds elements of the home invasion
thriller for extra added menace in The
Unspoken (trailer
here),
which opens today in New York.
Poor Angela’s life kind of bites. Her
mother also perished under dubious circumstances around the same time, leaving
her with her structurally-unemployed father. She is pseudo-romantically
involved with the closeted Pandy, who constantly spurns her to keep up appearances
with her meth dealing friends. To help make ends meet, Angela takes a job minding
the charmlessly sullen Adrian, who hasn’t talked since his father died.
Of course, things start going supernaturally
haywire, but Adrian’s mother Jeanie is never around to see it. Perhaps even
more ominously, Pandy’s townie pusher pals are rather put out by the prospect
of losing the old Anderson place as a stash for their drugs, especially since
they did not have the chance yet to retrieve their latest and biggest shipment.
They intend to break in and settle things Wait
Until Dark-style.
Oddly, Unspoken
works better as home invasion horror rather than a haunted house movie.
Yet, all the (admittedly limited) payoff relates to the uncanny storyline.
Frankly, the big twist follows very much in the tradition of Alistair Legrand’s
The Diabolical, but the Ali Larter
vehicle was superior in every way.
Even though many of the conventions Wilson
recycles feel stale, the performances are surprisingly fresh. Whether it was
the plan or not, Jodelle Ferland (Twilight,
Silent Hill, The Tall Man) is carving out quite a niche as a modest and
reserved scream queen, which continues with her work as Angela. Frankly, it is
impossible to resist taking a strong rooting interest in her. Once again Neal
McDonough and his authority figure presence inspire plenty of confidence, but
he just doesn’t get enough screen time as Sheriff Bower. Anthony Konechny,
Jonathan Whitesell, and Jake Croker are suitably creepy and destabilizing as
Pandy’s drug-pushing pals. However, the less said about the young boy, the better.
