The Unseeable Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: In 1930s Thailand, a pregnant women stays at a weird mansion while searching for her missing husband.

Review: I saw this film when it was first released, but I didn't remember it being that great. I checked out the imdb rating recently and saw that it was up to a 7/10. I wondered, could I be remembering a different movie or something? Upon a second viewing, I have to wonder where the hell that 7/10 is coming from? The story is more of a drama than a horror, the scares are flimsy, and the filmmakers clearly believed the romance aspect was deeper than it truly is. While there are plenty of good ideas, and the attempts at an old time ghost story are appreciated, the film is ultimately too slow and fails to make sense when all the secrets are revealed.

The best thing going for the story was the sense of intrigue and mystery. The main girl's pregnancy, the lost husband, the crazed madame, locked rooms, weird kids, etc.--the audience is given a lot of material to consider and how it might all come together. However, did it succeed at pulling those elements together? Not really. Having a 1930s setting helped enhance the mood--what with the clothes, hairstyles, music--but they didn't fully capitalize on the situation. The actors try to work with the material given so I can't fault them for the one-dimensional characters. I understand the story was trying to invoke a combination of abandonment, loneliness, and claustrophobia, but those concepts are only examined to a small degree.

My main gripe is the slow pacing with virtually no payoff. There are deliberate attempts to build up the mystery with no discernible reason like the husband's obscured face; what's the point? Almost every scare until the end is simply someone walking past the camera or someone appearing behind the main girl and then disappearing. Believe me, that shit gets old--quick--especially when there is a scene where it happens three times in a row. There are also a ton of continuity errors or plot holes or whatever depending on what the explanation is supposed to be. We come to learn all of the characters are ghosts repeating the same scenario over and over, but their actions would contradict this. One particular bullshit moment is when the loudmouth girl drops that jar, because she's scared, yet seconds later has moved locations and eats the jars contents? Huh? What scared her then if she knows she's a kind of ghoul? The reason why the ghost reveal doesn't work is because only the main girl doesn't accept her fate; this means all the other characters' actions are nonsensical with them playing along. More so, how does the crazy madame live then if everyone are ghosts? What, the ghosts really do bring her food? Finally, the romance is cornball as fuck--a bizarre love triangle that makes little sense. No thanks. Besides, the love between the characters is not conveyed to be that profound to be making this big of a deal out of the situation.

I'm sure others will enjoy this particular story more than I especially if they go into it with the understanding that this is more of a drama with light supernatural elements. Although, even if you have a greater appreciation for the story than I, one cannot ignore the blatant flaws and predictable twist. The '30s setting spices things up but nowhere near enough to engage the viewer. The pacing needed to be tightened, and there should have been at least one, major set piece scare before the finale. Honestly, a good movie lies under all the missteps, but I wouldn't know how to repair it. I would still recommend checking it out, but keep your expectations low.

Notable Moment: When all the ghosts appear at once. It's cool in theory, but I highly doubt that many people have died on the premises.

Final Rating: 5.5/10