Good morning, House of Madness captives:
How far would you go to help a friend in need? Probably pretty far if you're a good friend. Now, how far would you be willing to go to help a complete stranger? I'm not talking about giving the person in front of you at the checkout the extra fifty cents they're scrounging around in their purse for either, I'm talking about going way above and beyond answering the call for a stranger in distress. Let's reverse the tables and let me ask how far you'd be willing to trust a complete stranger in your most dire hour of need, with no possible help on the horizon other than the hand they reach out for you to grasp in your most vulnerable state? The circumstances above may seem like one in a million, but if you're the one, I'd think the majority of the populace would step up and do the right thing, no matter how awkward the situation might leave you feeling.
For complete strangers Emily (Midori Francis) and Sam (Jolene Purdy), this is the exact scenario they've been faced with, as Emily's crazed ex-boyfriend Charlie (Michael Patrick Lane) is holding Emily captive, and has nothing but sinister intentions. Emily manages to break free from her bumbling ex-boyfriend, but in the process smashes her glasses which leaves her about as blind as a referee as she tries to navigate her way through the unknown woods. Meanwhile, Sam is at work at her loathsome job as a gas station cashier, just trying to get through yet another day of dealing with an asshole boss and bullshit customers. Sam makes a phone call, and dials the wrong number in what will end up being the most important call in her and Emily's lives.
Emily answers, and desperately tries to convince Sam to be her eyes, because the 9-1-1 dispatcher has told her it can take up to an hour to narrow in on her location, and she knows Charlie is in hot pursuit. After much persuading, Sam decides to help Emily, and the two new friends embark on a violent journey of discovery, survival, and trust. With time not on their side, and an angry ex-boyfriend with the IQ of a potato hellbent on revenge, the two acquaintances will have to use all the brains and willpower they can muster if Emily is going to survive, and while one has to put her life in the hands of a complete stranger, the other will be pushed to the limits of just how far one may be willing to go, no matter what the repercussions might be.
"Unseen" isn't without its issues, mainly Charlie being about as chatty as a Bond villain every time the opportunity for his ultimate revenge arises, the usual police presence just in the nick of time, and the fact that the gas station garners about as many customers as a one-legged prostitute. These hiccups are easily forgotten and forgivable simply because the concept of the film works; you really feel Emily's plight and it's hard not to root for the two women using everything they can muster to their advantage. Bottom line, "Unseen" deserves to be seen.
Madness Meter: 6/10
NB
