When I am left in a confused stupor after watching a movie, it’s never a good sign. And no, I have never seen Inception. This was, hands down, the worst after-movie experience I have ever had. My head was already reeling from the jittery hand-held camera movements, add in the booming chorus of “what the hell did I just watch?” repeating inside my head, I had no choice but to take a nap. I was that exhausted. So what was this movie that made my mind work serious overtime? It was The Unforgiving, a 2010 horror film directed by Alastair Orr.
The Unforgiving tells the story of two torture victims, Alice (Claire Opperman) and Rex (Ryan Macquet), who are abducted after they are left stranded on a freeway in rural South Africa. Their abductor is a gas-mask clad madman who looks like he was plucked directly from My Bloody Valentine. Through a series of flash-backs, flash-forwards and varying viewpoints, the survivors recall their experience to Detective Hirsch (Michael Thompson), who attempts to piece together their wildly mismatched tale.
The IMDB review promised me a “horrifying climax.” Well, they were playing pretty fast and loose with the word “terrifying.” In the very least I expected either…A. One of those torture scenes a typical person can’t stand to watch; B. A twist so shocking that the viewer spouts a stream of four-lettered words; or at the very least C. The identity of the psychopath is revealed.
Granted, I am pretty desensitized at this point, but when a film is likened to the Saw series and Hostel, I expect to have to cover my eyes at some point. That did not happen. I managed to grasp enough of the plot to acknowledge that there was some kind of twist involved. And I did spout a stream of four-lettered words, but it was out of sheer frustration not shock. I will give them props for the score, however, that was pretty rad.
This is by far the crappiest review I have ever written. And I blame my inability to understand what the hell happened. Apparently everyone else understood it because I have not been able to find a complete explanation online. So I guess if you are up for a not-so gory movie that will make your head hurt in the end, look no further than The Unforgiving.