Road Rage Gone Deadly: Unhinged Review

by Samantha Shuma

With a lack of films being shown in theaters, the few that are released have a lot to live up to. Unhinged (Derrick Borte, 2020) does not disappoint. It is a simple story done right; the combination of characters and special effects make the film’s runtime fly by. Unhinged scares audiences with the contrast of relatability and dramatics. This serial killer flick draws on our fears of car crashes and the uncontrollability of deadly situations. Real life fears come onto the big screen and characters drive for their lives from a man who has mentally fallen off the deep end.​

The rest of this review contains spoilers for Unhinged, reader’s discretion is advised.

Unhinged​ is a horror, thriller that hinges on the message of road rage. A mother (Rachel) and son (Kyle) in a mid-size car cut around a truck, who doesn’t drive away during a green light. The truck’s driver, Tom Cooper, confronts them, asking for an apology. When Rachel refuses to sincerely apologize, her worst nightmare was destined to become a reality. Cooper wants Rachel to really feel sorry, saying what he is doing is all her fault. He tracks down where she, her friends, and family are, killing them off one by one, planning to leave Rachel for last. The characters are constantly fearing for their lives, and that fear transfers onto the audience.
With few characters and the main setting being the inside of a car, the plot could have been bare. The concept of an extreme case of road rage is a simple one, 

but there are other elements that make the film more interesting. The most influential visual elements are the car crashes. Most cars involved do not contain major characters, but they still influence the story. Tension builds with every crash, each becoming more destructive. The amount of collisions increase throughout the film, complementing the story as the killer, Tom Cooper, gets closer to his targets. As cars flip, collide, and combust on screen, we jump out of our seats imagining us as the passengers. The film uses the reality of car crashes to instill fear. The true nature of car crashes is scary enough, and the film lets each crash speak for itself.  Each crash stands alone, not accompanied by overused jumpscare sound effects or exaggerated explosions. Audiences are forced to sit in horror as destruction and death unfold in a very realistic manner. It makes the film visually compelling while adding drama to the simple story.

As well as the crashes work in intensifying the story, there are other fear factors that pull audiences out of the experience. Rachel’s phone is stolen by Cooper, which reveals the fear of personal information falling into the wrong hands. It plays a big role in how Cooper terrorizes Rachel and her family, but it is shown in an unrealistic way. The point is to immerse audiences, and they are drawn away when they have to think about the film being unrealistic. The point is to immerse audiences, and they are drawn away when they have to think about the film being unrealistic. Some details can be dismissed by our suspension of disbelief. However, when films mess up something we experience everyday (i.e. phones), audiences start to disconnect. The film works against itself when Cooper goes through several apps on Rachel’s phone. Although her phone has no password (that detail being forced into the film since people normally have a phone password), Cooper accesses apps that would have their own form of security (ex. banking app). Audiences cannot be scared by this because it is shown in an unrealistic way.

Finally, the film wants us to be afraid of the idea that its events can happen to anyone. At any moment, you could find yourself driving for your life as a man comes to kill you, your family, and your friends. Although events like this unfortunately take place in real life, it is not terribly likely. Cooper attacking Rachel and her family is scary enough,  the fact that a random person could come up to you and do the same thing becomes a bit ridiculous. The ‘this can happen to anyone’ message is over-emphasized in the film (and the marketing), it makes me laugh more than anything.
Most of the ways this film wants to scare audiences are a little silly, but the film is still an enjoyable watching experience. For someone that enjoys horror movies, there are some good scares that have been missing from modern horror movies. Instead of relying on cheap jumpscares and horror tropes, Unhinged takes a more realistic and destructive approach on an unconventional story. The story is not terribly complex, which lends itself to be visually interesting. Take a horror filled joy-ride down twisted streets and flying debris, it is certainly worth the price of admission.