The Unknown (2007)--SRS Cinema

Normally, when I see the SRS Cinema label, I think of shitty, low-budget movies that don’t deserve a 2nd look (other than the early Eric Stanze stuff), but at some point during a horror convention, I picked up a movie called The Unknown (probably bought on the cheap), touted under the SRS Cinema Grindhouse label. What’s different in this and the regular label, shit, I don’t know, but the movie wasn’t half bad.

It’s somewhat of an Amityville style house-possession story, where three friends (Linda, Jake, and Adrien) try to find help for a wrecked car, but end up getting trapped by a house’s evil clutches. Adrien starts acting weird, eating maggots, and having visions of killing (and eventually acting on it), while Jake and Linda try to find their way back to the car, but things happen, and they end up stuck at the house. Yeah, it’s low budget, with some crappy dialog and effects, but still very watchable, and Linda’s thonged bottom looked pretty nice too.

But, there were some really retarded parts that detracted from the story. 1) Some dude comes out of a closet, has a wound on his face and a gun in-hand, writes his thoughts on a piece of paper for Jake to see, then goes upstairs and blows his brains out, 2) The apparition scenes of the old, blurry-faced man telling Adrien to kill everyone, 3) The shaky dude in the attic who had chains around his head, which for a moment was kind of cool, but then seemed irrelevant and unnecessary, and 4) The "Water this Way" markings which helped Jake find the lake. This phrase was conveniently subtitled to ensure we knew what it said, as if we couldn’t read them, and it wasn’t even a pivotal plot piece, so I'm not sure why they wanted to make it a point.

I didn’t hate it, but it's not one I would recommend either, as there’s nothing really noteworthy to take away from it. It's just a mediocre b-movie, and trust me, I've seen worse, but I wouldn't mind watching it again somewhere down the line. The coverart is very simple, yet seemingly effective for a movie of it's caliber, and it has reversible artwork for another SRS Grindhouse movie, Scarred. Smart idea for a small company, not only to promote another movie, but to help keep costs and supplies down. While both discs are available on Netflix, I encourage you to check out Eric Stanze’s Scrapbook and China White Serpentine instead. And, if you like those, check out Deadwood Park and his newest one, Ratline, which were bigger budget projects not released under the SRS tent.

ACTING --3-- HUMOR --1-- BLOOD/GORE --3-- NUDITY --0-- B-MOVIE-RIFIC --2-- DIRECTING --2--

OVERALL RATING --2.5--