Verdict
Summary
A simplistic stalk-and-slash horror movie set mostly in one location, The Unnamable is loosely inspired by a story from H.P. Lovecraft, and while the creature is clearly the highlight of the movie, they saved showing it off until almost an hour into the film, which is insane, considering that the movie is less than 90 minutes long.
Plot: High school students check out a haunted house where in the 1800’s an ugly monster called “the Unnamable” was trapped in a vault.
Review: A colonial secret is housed in the old Winthrop house just outside of the Miskatonic University, and a handful of daring students decide it’s a good idea to spend the night in the old mansion just for the halibut. Two jocks and their dates Wendy (Laura Albert) and Tanya (Alexandra Durrell) split up and get picked off one by one by The Unnamable creature that’s been living in the house for centuries. To the rescue are the studious nerds Howard (Charles Klausmeyer) and Randolph (Mark Kinsey Stephenson), who are in possession of the Necronomicon, an ancient tome that describes unspeakable evil, which may be their only hope of warding off the hellish spawn in the house before it kills the few survivors still in the house.
A simplistic stalk-and-slash horror movie set mostly in one location, The Unnamable is loosely inspired by a story from H.P. Lovecraft, and while the creature is clearly the highlight of the movie, they saved showing it off until almost an hour into the film, which is insane, considering that the movie is less than 90 minutes long. The characters (like so many in ’80s horror movies) behave like idiots, but it’s kinda fun watching them meet grisly fates at the claws of the creature. Some nudity helps, but not much. I remember this movie quite vividly from the VHS days, and I remember watching it with the sequel many years ago. Nostalgia is a key selling point for this film. Director Jean-Paul Ouellette doesn’t do much with the film other than just present it as it happens. There’s little style or verve to the proceedings.
Unearthed has recently released this title as the first entry in a proposed line of releases as part of their “Unearthed Classics” line. The transfer is pretty awesome in 4K, with nice, clear and warm image and DTSD-HD surround sound. There’s an audio commentary with cast and crew, video interviews, a photo gallery, and trailers.