[Review] Unhinged(2020) {7.5/10}

Directed by Derrick Borte, from a screenplay by Carl Ellsworth, the film stars Russell Crowe (The Man), Caren Pistorius (Rachel Hunter), Gabriel Bateman (Kyle Hunter), Jimmi Simpson (Andy Cooper) and Austin P. McKenzie (Fred). It tells the story of a young woman who is terrorized by a seemingly mentally ill stranger following a road rage incident.

The plot revolves around Rachel (Caren Pistorius) who is running late getting her teenage son to school, again and traffic is causing her morning to unravel. So she drives around traffic on the shoulder. And then, when a stoplight turns green and the pickup in front of her doesn't move, she lays into her horn. The driver of the truck (Russell Crowe) catches up to her at the next light where he addresses Rachel and says that it was rude to not first be given a "courtesy tap". He apologizes for zoning out and explains that he's had a rough day, and he asks for a similar apology from her to which she denies. The driver then becomes not just hostile, but murderous, seeking to find and kill everyone associated with Rachel.

All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. Director Derrick Borte keeps viewers on the edge of the seat, revving up identifiable tension and driving through the most extreme version of a scenario many people worry about. Crowe's performance as a nameless, blood-thirsty psychopath comes disturbingly natural. He delivers a superb performance as a man who snaps and goes on a hate-filled killing spree to get even with a world he despises. Heart thumping music combined with lots of action and gruesome death scenes creates immense tension throughout the whole movie. Crowe's performance carries the film and makes it highly entertaining. The chased sequences are backed very well with an equally thrilling background score. Most of the 90 minutes takes place behind the wheels and what does not is bloody and murderous. It's chilling and recognizable but it is not believable. The film had every scope to preach about a lot of things but it does not, leaving a subtle impactful message by the end, still there are well enough twists and turns to keep one hooked till the end. Unhinged accesses the fear and adrenaline that lots of people experience when they are involved in any kind of confrontation with a stranger in another car.

Unhinged is now available on Digital and Blu-ray.