How do you fill out 8 pages of paperwork and not realize that you are voluntarily committing yourself to be sectioned? It is like these people suddenly angry at Facebook could have saved themselves some hard times if they had just read the Terms & Conditions they agreed to.
Unsane stars Claire Foy as Sawyer, a young woman who is adjusting to life in a new city and is doing a terrible job at it. After a one night stand goes horribly wrong, she seeks consultation, in which she confesses to having contemplated suicide due to her trauma from a violent stalker.
Sawyer then unwittingly signs documents committing herself to spend 24 hours in the hospital’s psychiatric ward because you know, reading is overrated. So instead of lying low and riding out her time, she decides to physically attack people adding to her sentence. She then learns that her stalker is actually in the ward, but no one believes her because they all think she is crazy, which is true.
Outside of one glaring issue with the setup, the film is actually quite good. The entire film was shot on an iPhone 7 Plus but it is not a found footage movie and doesn’t abuse shaky cam like many others. The micro-budget of 1.5 million gives the film a more intimate feeling which works wonders for a horror and thriller of this size.
Sawyer is a difficult character to care for at first, but once her story unfolds, you understand why she is the way she is. Joshua Leonard plays the scummy psychopath perfectly. His display as an emotionally inept madman is terrifying and realistic as a man who has bought into the reality that only exists in his head. Juno Temple is also a standout as a mental patient, however, you really don’t get as much with her character as you want which is a letdown towards the end.
A few edits to the story and Unsane could have been something truly great, but as it stands, it is really really good. An innovative thriller that even has a good cameo from a star that i’m slowly growing tired of (Hint: It’s Not Ben Affleck….)
3/5
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