The Unfolding, 2016.
Directed by Eugene McGing.
Starring Robert Daws, Nick Julian, Lisa Kerr, Kitty McGeever and Lachlan Nieboer.
SYNOPSIS:
A couple of paranormal researchers travel to Dartmoor to investigate strange goings on in an old house.
There is a disclaimer at the beginning of the unintentionally hilarious paranormal investigation show Most Haunted that basically lets them off the hook with regards to the legitimacy of the ‘hauntings’ and lets the viewer know that entertainment is the name of the game. The Unfolding is presented in a similar fashion to Most Haunted – i.e. people walk around old buildings talking to themselves – but there is nothing entertaining about it, begging the question as to how a 30 minute episode of a nonsense TV show manages to have more convincing ‘events’ happening in it than an 86 minute movie that somebody actually sat down to write.
It is because there is a fine line between creating an atmosphere using slow-burning techniques and total tedium, and The Unfolding steps way over the line and into the realms of total tedium so blatantly it almost seems proud to do so. The story is the usual found footage trope of psychic investigators going to a creepy old house, this time out in the middle of Dartmoor, and finding that whatever spirits reside within aren’t best pleased with the unwelcome visitors. The twist with this one? The film is set against the backdrop of a world on the brink of a nuclear war, with events happening around the world being broadcast on the radio as the two main characters are joined by the usual nerdy academic and a psychic to try and work out who has been jabbing forks into the kitchen wall.
None of which changes the fact that for 99% of its running time, nothing actually happens in The Unfolding and the only time anything that has the potential to be of interest is about to happen, in usual found footage fashion the cameras are moved, don’t pick anything up or a noise happens off-screen, prompting everyone run around like headless chickens before it dawns on them that everything is always happening in the next room. Add to that some of the most laughable dialogue and downright aggravating ‘performances’ from actors who cannot make even the most clichéd characters at least watchable, let alone interesting or sympathetic, and you have a film with nothing to grasp onto or make you even care what is happening or why you should bother sticking with it until the end.
It isn’t that The Unfolding is necessarily bad as opposed to just being totally generic and monotonous, and when the genre that it belongs to is a style of horror movie that is known for generally following the same template as The Blair Witch Project, a film that is nearly two decades old and arguably one of the most overrated movies of recent years (once you remove it from its then-innovative marketing campaign), you have to wonder where the originality or desire to entertain has gone. The inclusion of the nuclear war threat could have added an interesting slant if anyone had bothered to do anything with it but it’s not really a plot point, just a bit of background filler to break up those awkward silences between people jumping at nothing, and by the time of the ending there’s really not a lot left to be too concerned about anyway as your attention likely left the room after the first five minutes, which is the most attractive bit of the film as there are some relatively ominous shots of the Dartmoor countryside that would make a fantastic setting for a horror movie, just not this one. Other than that, The Unfolding lacks any real creativity and is painfully dull – why put yourself through it?
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★
Chris Ward
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published August 2, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
