The Unseen

directed by Danny Steinmann
USA 1981

Reporter Jennifer (Barbara Bach) and her crew (Karen Lamm, Lois Young) arrive in the Danish-influenced town of Solvang, California, to conduct interviews at the annual festival and find that their reservations have been lost. They meet eccentric museum owner Ernest Keller (Sydney Lassick) who invites them to stay at his creepy gothic home outside the town. Little do they know (and they are the only ones who don't) that they are being watched by the unseen of the title through the floor gratings and dark corners of the house.

That's about it. Once the set-up is out of the way, its stalk and kill. Its suspenseful and moody (co-writer Kim Henkel also scripted Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) and well-made (something of a middle-ground between independent slashers like FRIDAY THE 13th and the slick studio-funded cash-ins like HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME) and would make a good double-bill with Code Red's forthcoming SILENT SCREAM (another low body count set largely in a creepy mansion). The Solvang setting (and a production-value opening sequence set in L.A.), the accomplished make-up effects (when one takes into account that most of the work of effects artists like Tom Savini and Tom Burman for other slasher films ended up snipped by the MPAA), and the film's long unavailability outside of some pricey ex-rental tapes is what mainly distinguishes this film from the rest of its ilk.

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: September 1981

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DVD Review: Code Red DVD (Two-Disc Special Edition) - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Code Red DVD Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:31:45
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.9 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)
Subtitles	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Code Red DVD Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • DISC ONE • Audio commentary with producer Tony Unger and star Stephen Furst moderated by Lee Christian • Introduction by Doug Barr and Stephen Furst • Interview with Stephen Furst (4:3; 9:22) • Interview with Doug Barr (4:3; 6:57) • Still Gallery • Theatrical Trailer (2:22) • Trailers for THE FARMER (4:3;2:07), BUTCHER BAKER NIGHTMARE MAKER (16:9; 1:28); • SOLE SURVIVOR (4:3; 1:51); BEYOND THE DOOR (16:9; 2:14); DEAD PIT (4:3; 1:51); • THE VISITOR (16:9; timecoded; 3:17); TERROR CIRCUS (16:9; 2:46) • DISC TWO • Interview with Make-up Effects Artist Craig Reardon (4:3; 38:07) • Interview with make-up effects artist Tom Burman (4:3; 24:45) • Make-up tests, slides, and stills from Craig Reardon's collection (46 slides) DVD Release Date: August 19, 2008 Amaray Chapters 12

Comments

As usual Code Red have given respectful (some might say extravagant) treatment to an obscure horror film. Transferred from the original IP, the progressive, dual-layered, anamorphic image looks a tad soft but that has more to do with the film stock and filtering (evident in the sunny exteriors).

Code Red has discovered a small deleted scene in slightly coarser quality early in the film and put it back into the film causing a jarring jump cut (though the effort is appreciated). Producer Anthony B. Unger (DON'T LOOK NOW) and actor Stephen Furst provide an audio commentary (moderated by Lee Christian) with some interesting factoids about the production (for instance, the opening sequence in L.A. was part of the original script even though it looks tacked on to open up the film's setting a bit). Furst and co-star Doug Barr (TV's THE FALL GUY) contribute on-camera interviews. The original trailer and several Code Red trailers round out the first disc (their BEYOND THE DOOR trailer is longer than the one on their disc of SOLE SURVIVOR - and the trailer for THE VISITOR is time-coded and lacks dialogue and sound effects). The second disc features lengthy interviews with effects artists Craig Reardon and Tom Burman (CAT PEOPLE) and 46 make-up test slides, sketches, and behind-the-scenes stills from Reardon's collection.

- Eric Cotenas

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