Unsane (2018) - Entertaining psychological thriller with interesting camera work but nonsensical plot elements - 8/10 (27/03/18)

I wasn't expecting very much from the film, especially since it is a low-budget production shot with an iPhone camera. However, Unsane is a great psychological thriller with an ideal running time just above one and a half hours.

The movie's camera work is much better than anticipated. I expected too many shaky camera sections with blurry images that would induce headaches if seen on a big screen. This isn't the case at all. The camera work is precise and calm, if a little bit static at some points. Shaky camera passages are scarcely used and only on purpose, when the main character is overdosing or trying to escape. It becomes really obvious that an experienced director like Steven Soderbergh is behind this film.

In addition to the surprisingly innovative camera work, Unsane also convinces with a calm and mysterious soundtrack that always blends in perfectly. The light techniques are also employed skillfully and often add a gloomy touch to the sinister movie. There are very few special effects which are used very efficiently as they make the viewers wonder whether the protagonist is experiencing reality or just hallucinating.

The story itself is quite solid even though it doesn't reinvent the genre. It follows a young woman who is haunted by a stalker. She talks about her problems to a psychologist and gets interned at a psychiatric asylum against her will. At this sinister place, she comes across some inmates that believe and try to help her and others that want to get attention and menace her. However, she also sees her stalker who works there and constantly watches her. The psychiatrists don't believe her as the young woman is becoming more and more stressed out which also leads to excessive outbursts of violence. At a certain points, she starts to wonder whether she is going insane or not. She seeks the help of another inmate, police officers and her religious mother in vain and realizes that she can only save herself which leads to an intense finale with a haunting epilogue.

Despite an overall interesting story, the movie has several plot holes or at least strange coincidences related to the presence of the film's antagonist. Revealing you anything more would spoil the experience but let's just say the movie isn't even slightly realistic. If you are however ready to accept that a work of fiction can be nonsensical and open up to this film, you will get ninety-eight minutes of excellent entertainment with great actors, an intense atmosphere and a tense story line.

Fans of psychological thrillers can give this movie a shot. It convinces with solid acting, sinister atmosphere, fluid pace, tense plot and original camera work. The only downside are several plot holes that make the story nonsensical at times. Please note that this isn't a horror movie. The film is gloomy, mysterious and tense but not really scary. It's a very good psychological thriller.