Gary Sinyor’s The Unseen is a well-made, contemporary British horror/thriller with an original slant.
The Conversation
by Alexa DalbyThe Unseen
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
CAUTION: Here be spoilers
When a couple who seem to have everything lose their only son in a tragic accident they are both tormented by grief and guilt. Gemma (Jasmine Hyde), who works as an audiobook reader, starts to get panic attacks that make her temporarily blind, her spells of distorted vision being what we also see – a gimmick that works well. She’s rescued from being incapacitated by one of them by kindly good Samaritan Paul (Simon Cotton). Her husband Will (Richard Flood) believes he can still hear their son’s voice in his bedroom and it’s making him demented. Life for the two of them in the same house after their loss has become unbearable, so when their new friend Paul invites them to have a much-needed break and be his first guests in the Lake District guesthouse he’s restoring, they jump at it.
They’re charmed by the tastefully decorated house in beautiful, deserted lakeside surroundings, a taxi-ride from the nearest village. But as secrets start to be uncovered, Will is put out of action and Gemma finds herself alone, in danger and having to use her wits and knowledge to survive.
It’s a well told, sophisticated, very British thriller, that doesn’t give away where it’s heading. Hyde gives a powerful performance as a resourceful, relatable heroine and it’s good to see an independent women who’s on top of technology.
The Unseen screened at the 61st BFI London Film Festival and is released on 15 December 2017 in the UK.
