STARRING: RUSSELL CROWE, CAREN PISTORIUS, GABRIEL BATEMAN, JIMMI SIMPSON, AND AUSTIN P. MCKENZIE
DIRECTOR: DERRICK BORTE
DATE: AUGUST 21, 2020
Rage is a common emotion that many people try to avoid throughout their day- to-day lives. As people, we naturally try to hold it in just to avoid any type of confrontation. However, sometimes anger can come about in the most unexpected places. The real fear is what happens when you fully give in to your anger as if you had absolutely nothing to lose, and someone with nothing left to lose is a person you never want to come across. In this case, that is what Russell Crowe’s character’s path leads him in in this new heart pounding thriller, Unhinged.
Unhinged begins in New Orleans, Louisiana. The opening scene shows a suburban neighborhood on a rainy night. Along comes Tom Cooper (Russell Crowe) parking his truck in front of his former home where his ex-wife and her boyfriend currently live. Tom is angered beyond measure from his divorce and decides to get out of his truck with a hammer and a container full of gasoline. He breaks into the house and proceeds to murder the couple with the hammer and pours gasoline inside the house. After he finishes the job, the entire house burns to the ground and he proceeds to get back into his truck to drive off into the night.
The next day, Rachel Hunter (Caren Pistorius) awakens from her sleep on the couch in her living room to answer a phone call from her friend, Andy Cooper (Jimmi Simpson). As she finishes conversing with Andy, her son, Kyle Hunter (Gabriel Bateman) reminds her that she overslept for work and that he’s late for school. While Rachel gets dressed, Kyle watches the news on TV in the kitchen about the recent murder that took place last night. Kyle’s Uncle Fred (Austin P. McKenzie) turns off the TV because he thinks it’s too much for his nephew to watch in the morning. When Rachel is finally dressed, she and Kyle finally hit the road.
After Rachel and her son reach the highway, they cross the intersection in an attempt to make a shortcut to avoid upcoming traffic. When they manage to get out of the traffic, they pull up behind a large pickup truck parked in front of a red light. As the light turns green, the truck does not move, provoking Rachel to become frustrated by driving around the truck and honking her horn. Little did she know, the driver of the truck is none other than Tom Cooper himself, who doesn’t take her honking the at him nicely. Unfortunately, for Rachel and her son, they’re dealing with a man who is completely unhinged.
Unhinged is a jaw dropping thriller that takes the premise of road rage to an entirely different level. Crowe delivers a chaotic performance that will make him seem unrecognizable to the audience. The supporting cast is great with their dramatic performances. The stunts and brutal killing scenes are worth the price of admission alone. It’s a simple film that keeps you tuned in for a wild ride.
Unhinged receives 8 stars out of 10 stars.