In a year where new films are a rarity, watching Russell Crowe go full psycho in an early 90’s style thriller, may just appease those looking for cheap thrills…..
There is nothing new or fresh about Unhinged, a new thriller by Derrick Borte that plays like a B Movie, but with a surprise A Lister in the shape of Russell Crowe leading the bloodbath.
Its the name of Crowe that will no doubt have many watching and expecting a high quality thrills and spills caper, fitting of the man who once ruled the world with his Gladiator battles.
Instead, what many of us will shockingly discover after half hour of watching is a film that is dripped in 90’s lore, an era where a psycho who had no need to wear a mask, ruled the box office.
If it wasn’t Glen Close being the psycho Mistress or Ray Liotta being a psycho policeman, it was a time where the same blueprint was being offered to fans and Crowe here, seems to be jumping on the bandwagon – nearly 30 years later.
Simply called “Man”, Crowe plays a deranged driver who after a brief glimpse of his murderous rage at the beginning, targets a young woman called Rachel (Caren Pastorius) who unfortunately honks her horn at him at during a traffic standstill,
That is basically it for storyline! Seriously, there is nothing much for plot, with the “Man” chasing after Rachel, demanding an apology, which results in his severe anger issues causing chaos for those she knows and blood being spilled.
There are one or two decent set-pieces including a suspenseful coffee shop encounter that will delight, but the script never really offers up anything clever or fresh to set this apart from countless others, but the nasty streak that runs through it all, may keep horror fans from ever getting bored.
Crowe can play this character in his sleep and its him alone that makes Unhinged a more than pleasing watch as it more or less becomes at times a slasher tale with an added relentless non stop pace that gathers from the very first minute and never lets up.
Its no high art and nearly everyone will guess where this road rage destination ends, but for a blood soaked thriller that clocks its mileage just under the 90 minute mark, it more than ticks the boxes for a weekend watch,
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