Unholy (2007)

A woman who lost her daughter to suicide investigates a theory that may have to do with the young girl's death.

Director:

Daryl Goldberg

Writers:

Sam Freeman (screenplay), Sam Freeman (story),

Stars:

Adrienne Barbeau, Nicholas Brendon, Siri Baruc

Cast

Credited cast:
Adrienne Barbeau	...	Martha
Nicholas Brendon	...	Lucas
Siri Baruc	...	Hope
Richard Ziman	...	Storeowner
Cheyenne Casebier	...	Cammy
Merwin Goldsmith	...	Charlie
Susan Willis	...	Gertrude
Joseph McKenna	...	Lester
Ron Patrick	...	Damien
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alan Aisenberg	...	Scotty
Robert Lopez	...	Zombie Soldier

Storyline

Martha, a widow living in rural Pennsylvania, comes home to find her daughter about to blow her own head off with a shotgun in the basement of their house. Martha doesn't succeed in stopping her child's horrific demise, but the girl's death gradually leads the grieving mother to investigate a conspiracy that involves a legendary local witch, Nazi dabbling with the occult, and secret government experiments, with the story even referencing the fabled Philadelphia Experiment.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | shotgun | suicide | cemetery | crazy woman | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 2007 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sky Whisper Productions LLC, Catfish Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: We can neither confirm nor deny the use of paranormal means to assure this nation's protection. - General Arthur T. Bradley, U.S. Army.

User Reviews

Maybe if you can figure it out, you'll enjoy it...but probably not even then.

This sounded like a really interesting movie from the blurb. Nazis, occult , government conspiracies. I was expecting a low budget Nazi version of the DaVinci code or the Boys from Brazil or even Shockwaves. Instead you get something quite different, more psychological, more something like from David Lynch. That was actually a plus. But the way the story is told is just awful.

Part of the trouble is the casting. Andrienne Barbeau's character starts off the moving being somewhat timid and afraid. She just doesn't do that well, even at her age, though she certainly tried. The actor cast as the son apparently thought this was a comedy. Most of the other actors also seemed to have thought this was a campy movie, or at least acted like it, rather than simply being quirky. The only one that I thought did really well was the daughter, Siri Baruc.

Another big part is the pacing. It starts off very slowly. So slowly you might be tempted to turn it off. But then it gets compelling for a while when you get to the daughter's suicide and the aftermath. But shortly afterward, it all becomes a jumbled mess. Some of this was on purpose, but much of it was just needlessly confusing, monotonous, and poorly focused.

The real problem, is it's simply not a pleasant movie to watch. It's slow, dull, none of the characters are likable. Overuse of imagery and sets. Some movies you see characters get tortured. In this, it's the viewer that does. It does have a few creepy moments, most notably the creepy Nazi paintings and the credits, but the rest of the movie is mostly just tiresome.