Unhinged (2020 film)

Unhinged is a 2020 American thriller film directed by Derrick Borte, from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth. The film stars Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson and Austin P. McKenzie. The film follows a young woman who is harassed by a seemingly unstable stranger following a road rage incident.

Unhinged
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDerrick Borte
Produced by
Written byCarl Ellsworth
Starring
Music byDavid Buckley
CinematographyBrendan Galvin
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • July 16, 2020 (2020-07-16) (Germany)
  • August 21, 2020 (2020-08-21) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$33 million[2]
Box office$5.4 million[3][4]

Unhinged was theatrically released by Solstice Studios in Germany on July 16, 2020 and is scheduled to be released in the United States on August 21, 2020. It received mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

A man (Russell Crowe) sits outside a house in a pickup truck. He then arms himself with a hammer, before breaking down the door and beating the couple inside to death. He then torches the house and drives away as the house explodes. The following morning, Rachel Hunter (Caren Pistorius) a newly-divorced single mother living in New Orleans, drives her 15-year-old son Kyle to school having been granted custody by her ex-husband.

While driving, Rachel fails to signal the car in front to go after a red light. Losing patience, Rachel drives past the car. The owner of the car, the same man who killed the couple in the house soon catches up to her, demanding an apology despite her and Kyle's pleas to leave them alone. Things only escalate quickly when the stranger begins to stalk Rachel and Kyle, often attacking nearby pedestrians who try to intervene.

When Rachel tries to contact her friend and divorce lawyer, Andy Cooper (Jimmi Simpson), for help, the stranger has already caught up to the latter; viciously beating Andy to death.

The stranger continues to stalk Rachel. He attacks her brother in his house that he shares with Rachel. He sets him on fire just as police raid the house. They manage to shoot him but he still escapes, leaving the brother badly burned. The man catches up with Rachel again, causing chaos and destruction along a highway, injuring a number of people. A police officer is killed by the stranger just after Rachel and Kyle try to get his attention to alert him of the stranger following them.

Rachel and Kyle are pursued to Rachel's mother's house and she sends Kyle inside. The man attacks her in the driveway and beats her before going into the house to find Kyle. Rachel races inside and finds Kyle hiding in the closet, but the man drags her out and attacks them both. As the man tries to strangle Kyle, Kyle picks up a nearby fork and stabs the man in the head with it, Rachel then picks up a pair of scissors and stabs him in the eye with them. He falls down but jumps up again, before Rachel kicks the scissors further into his eye, killing him. Afterward, Rachel learns that her brother survived the attack. She finds out that her brother is in the hospital so Rachel and Kyle, after giving statements to the police leave to go and see him. As they drive away, a car cuts across Rachel and she almost honks her horn at the driver, but remembering the ordeal they went through decides not to, which Kyle acknowledges before driving off together.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in summer 2019 in Kenner and New Orleans, Louisiana, wrapping in September.[5][6][7]

Release

Unhinged was originally scheduled to be released on August 28, 2020, before being pushed back to September 4.[8][9] In May 2020, its release was moved up to July 1, 2020, in order to "likely be the first to test the waters as theaters try to rebound" from the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] which was later pushed back to July 10, and then July 31. On July 23, the film was again delayed, this time to August 21, 2020.[10]

The film began an international release on July 16 in Germany, and then on July 31 in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Latin America.[11]

Home media

Unhinged is scheduled to be released by Altitude Film on DVD and Blu-ray disc in the United Kingdom on November 23, 2020.[12]

Reception

Box office

Unhinged made $251,849 from 380 theaters in its German debut, slightly below expectations but finishing in first place.[13] In its second weekend the film made $201,655 from 438 theaters for a 12-day total in the country of $530,572.[14] In the film's United Kingdom debut it grossed $230,000 (£174,901) from 250 theaters, becoming the first film to make over £100,000 in the country since the re-opening.[15] By its third week of release, Unhinged was the top film in six of about 50 countries, and had a running gross of $5.41 million. Its top markets at the time were Australia ($1.24 million total gross), Germany ($877,000), the Netherlands ($597,000), the United Kingdom ($575,000), New Zealand ($193,000), and Russia ($124,000).[16] In its opening weekend in Canada, the film made $582,000 from 299 theaters.[17]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 55% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 5.52/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Russell Crowe makes for a compulsively watchable villain, but Unhinged lacks enough intelligence or depth to get sufficient mileage out of its pulpy premise."[18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[19]

Guy Lodge of Variety said that the film "delivers exactly the nasty B-movie thrills you expect" and wrote: "The carnage is the point here, not any of the reasoning behind it, and Borte and Crowe bring it to a suitably frothing, furious head".[20] Writing for CTV News, Richard Crouse gave the 2 stars and wrote: "Unhinged distinguishes itself by keeping the pedal to the metal without providing anything new in the way of thrills. As a study of an emasculated man seeking revenge it brings to mind Falling Down, Michael Douglas' 1993 black comedy, except Unhinged is all darkness and no comedy."[21]

Writing for IndieWire, Kaleem Aftab gave the film a "D" and said: "For a film so reliant on the telephone, it's probably not a surprise that Crowe dials in his performance. Dressed heavy-set, Crowe is all grimaces and frowns in disgust at everything around him. His only emotional note is all ANGRY, resulting in a parody of his own performances. It's Crowe on overdrive, and it's horrible."[22]

References
  1. "UNHINGED (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  2. Fleming Jr., Mike (May 12, 2020). "Solstice Studios' Russell Crowe Road Rage Thriller 'Unhinged' To Be First Film Back In Movie Theaters July 1". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. "Unhinged (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  4. "Unhinged (2020) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  5. "Russell Crowe Stars as an Angry Driver in First Look at 'Unhinged'". Variety. August 23, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. Scott, Mike (June 17, 2019). "Russell Crowe to film road-rage thriller 'Unhinged' in New Orleans". The Times-Picayune, The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  7. McNary, Dave (May 10, 2019). "Russell Crowe to Star in Road-Rage Thriller 'Unhinged'". Variety. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. Squires, John (September 16, 2019). "Russell Crowe-Starring Road Rage Thriller 'Unhinged' Speeding Our Way Summer 2020". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. Fleming Jr., Mike (September 12, 2019). "Shari Hardison Named Solstice Studios Head Of U.S. Distribution; Russell Crowe Road Rage Thriller 'Unhinged' Set As First Release For August 28, 2020". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  10. "'Unhinged' Sets August Release In Wake Of 'Tenet's Labor Day Weekend Plan". Deadline Hollywood. July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  11. Tartaglione, Nancy (June 23, 2020). "'Unhinged': Russell Crowe Road Rage Pic Gears Up For Global Release As Cinemas Re-Open". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  12. "Unhinged Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  13. Tartaglione, Nancy (July 21, 2020). "'Peninsula' Thrills To $21M In Overseas Bow; 'Train To Busan' Sequel Helps Imax Score First $1M Global Weekend Since March – International Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  14. Kay, Jeremy (July 27, 2020). "'Unhinged' set for August US release, crosses $500,000 in Germany". Screen Daily. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  15. Grater, Tom (August 3, 2020). "'Unhinged' Delivers $230K As UK Box Office Shows First Green Shoots". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  16. Tartaglione, Nancy (August 11, 2020). "International Box Office: Fresh Offerings Build Momentum To Signal Brighter Future Ahead". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  17. Anthony D'Alessandro (August 16, 2020). "'Sponge On The Run' & 'Unhinged' Kick Off Domestic Weekend Box Office In Canada – Sunday". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  18. "Unhinged (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  19. "Unhinged Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  20. Lodge, Guy (July 30, 2020). "Russell Crowe in 'Unhinged': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  21. Crouse, Richard (August 14, 2020). "Movie reviews: 'The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on The Run' is enjoyable for fans old and young". CTV News. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  22. Aftab, Kaleem (June 30, 2020). "'Unhinged' Review: Russell Crowe Will Not Save Cinema with This Pointless Thriller". IndieWire. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
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