Horror films were a dime a dozen in the late 70s/early 80s and most of them got at least a brief stint at the local cinema. If you fail to remember The Unseen - a rather prophetic title - that is because despite its cast and good production values I am fairly certain that it went straight to video at a time when pretty much everything got some cinema play. And that should tell you something.
Reporter Barbara Bach, her sister Karen Lamm and friend Lois Young are sent to cover a completely uninteresting festival in a small California town. With all the local motels filled, the women accept an invitation to stay at the family farm of museum worker Sydney Lassick and wife Lelia Goldoni. Of course, something frightening lurks in the basement to menace the nubile guests.
Nary a cliche is left out in this unsuspenseful mess. You have your three dim-witted babes ripe for the stalking, the isolated home that is big enough to house unknown terrors, the seemingly helpful nervous guy, his surly wife, a back story of familial abuse and incest, and so on. It is hard to believe that any news association would send reporters out into the field without appropriate accommodations, or that the staff would be three curvaceous women.
The film actually looks pretty good production wise and at least two of the suspense scenes are fairly well choreographed keeping the cause of terror relatively hidden. There is, of course, a reason for this. Once the climax lets us in on what the horror in the basement is, to say it is a letdown would be an understatement. Given that one of the terror's talents is creeping in and out of rooms using smallish vents for access, its revelation makes such a thing highly unlikely. Plus, given that Lassick and Goldoni are ostensibly desperate to keep the secret in the basement under wraps, it makes no sense that Lassick would openly invite strangers into the mix.
Lassick, a character actor specializing in morally challenged roles, does more of the same here. He seems nervous and sweaty right from the start, which makes the women's near immediate acceptance of his hospitality a bit unconvincing. He and Goldoni both overact to the heavens here - and the sequences where they recall past abuses are particularly cringe-worthy. Fall Guy alum Doug Barr is on hand for no discernible reason as Bach's boyfriend with a bum knee, who shows up later on to accomplish nothing. Lamm is not bad as Bach's sister, but Young's role is fairly thankless. She gets to show up, claim she is not feeling well so that she gets to separate from the other women and make herself a target at the farm, don one of those flowing nightgowns and then get killed in a tasteless montage mixed with a sequence of Goldoni beheading a live chicken. Oh, and she gets to have Lassick perve at her full frontal nudity through a keyhole while she bathes. I truly do not mind obvious titillation scenes being thrown in for the men, but a level playing field would be nice. Could someone direct me to the scene where a hot naked guy gets this attention? I mean how about a sequence where Barr gets ogled full frontally naked through a keyhole. Just saying! Ostensible lead Bach basically has nothing to do but be clueless that anything is going on for the duration and then scream hysterically during the laughable climactic moments. Which all seems a come down considering a few years earlier she was one of the more memorable Bond women.
All in all, I definitely saw worse in the 80s, but there is nothing that compels one to seek to this out. Gore hounds will be disappointed, people looking for genuine jolts will be bored, and viewers seeking out quality filmmaking will definitely want to look elsewhere.
Reporter Barbara Bach, her sister Karen Lamm and friend Lois Young are sent to cover a completely uninteresting festival in a small California town. With all the local motels filled, the women accept an invitation to stay at the family farm of museum worker Sydney Lassick and wife Lelia Goldoni. Of course, something frightening lurks in the basement to menace the nubile guests.
Nary a cliche is left out in this unsuspenseful mess. You have your three dim-witted babes ripe for the stalking, the isolated home that is big enough to house unknown terrors, the seemingly helpful nervous guy, his surly wife, a back story of familial abuse and incest, and so on. It is hard to believe that any news association would send reporters out into the field without appropriate accommodations, or that the staff would be three curvaceous women.
The film actually looks pretty good production wise and at least two of the suspense scenes are fairly well choreographed keeping the cause of terror relatively hidden. There is, of course, a reason for this. Once the climax lets us in on what the horror in the basement is, to say it is a letdown would be an understatement. Given that one of the terror's talents is creeping in and out of rooms using smallish vents for access, its revelation makes such a thing highly unlikely. Plus, given that Lassick and Goldoni are ostensibly desperate to keep the secret in the basement under wraps, it makes no sense that Lassick would openly invite strangers into the mix.
Lassick, a character actor specializing in morally challenged roles, does more of the same here. He seems nervous and sweaty right from the start, which makes the women's near immediate acceptance of his hospitality a bit unconvincing. He and Goldoni both overact to the heavens here - and the sequences where they recall past abuses are particularly cringe-worthy. Fall Guy alum Doug Barr is on hand for no discernible reason as Bach's boyfriend with a bum knee, who shows up later on to accomplish nothing. Lamm is not bad as Bach's sister, but Young's role is fairly thankless. She gets to show up, claim she is not feeling well so that she gets to separate from the other women and make herself a target at the farm, don one of those flowing nightgowns and then get killed in a tasteless montage mixed with a sequence of Goldoni beheading a live chicken. Oh, and she gets to have Lassick perve at her full frontal nudity through a keyhole while she bathes. I truly do not mind obvious titillation scenes being thrown in for the men, but a level playing field would be nice. Could someone direct me to the scene where a hot naked guy gets this attention? I mean how about a sequence where Barr gets ogled full frontally naked through a keyhole. Just saying! Ostensible lead Bach basically has nothing to do but be clueless that anything is going on for the duration and then scream hysterically during the laughable climactic moments. Which all seems a come down considering a few years earlier she was one of the more memorable Bond women.
All in all, I definitely saw worse in the 80s, but there is nothing that compels one to seek to this out. Gore hounds will be disappointed, people looking for genuine jolts will be bored, and viewers seeking out quality filmmaking will definitely want to look elsewhere.