The following review is the starting point of a blogging challenge presented to me by my friend Brian Schick at the exceptional review site Films From Beyond the Time Barrier. The “challenge” that I was given was to review 5 horror films from the 1980s that I felt were underrated or underappreciated. Please note that these are NOT my favorite horror films of that decade as those films (such as Re-Animator, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Basket Case, etc.) all tend to be quite well known and have sizeable fanbases. Instead, these are films that I felt weren’t discussed very much, at least not by more “casual” horror fans. Granted, these films do have their share of flaws (in some cases, quite so), but all are far from what I would personally call “bad” films.

Unhinged is a 1982 slasher film directed by Don Grunquist, who wrote the film in the late 1970s with assistance from Reagan Ramsey. Ramsey’s only other film credit was on a 1978 short about the works of “Claymation” animator Will Vinton, who is probably best known for creating 1980s’ advertising icons The California Raisins. Gronquist’s only previous film credit came from writing the script for 1981’s Stark Raving Mad, a film more-than-loosely based on the murders committed by teenaged serial killer Charles Starkweather. Gronquist would later work on the production team for a “children’s sing-along” video based on “Ole King Cole” in 1987, as well as write and produce the 1995 “search for Nazi gold” action film, The Devil’s Keep.

Unhinged tells the story of 3 female college students who depart on a road trip to a music festival. As is the case with many horror films, the girls choose to take lesser travelled backroads through a heavily wooded stretch of land, presumably so that there will be fewer fellow drivers to see them smoking pot along the way. During their drive, there is a report on the radio about other similarly aged girls who have recently disappeared in the area. While this undoubtedly serves as “foreshadowing” of things to come, the girls predictably pay little attention to the news.

Filmed in Portland, Oregon and surrounding areas, there are a few effectively achieved aerial shots during this sequence, featuring a lushly forested area, rich in autumnal colors. While this does help the movie feel like an appropriate “mood-setter” for the fall/Halloween season, there unfortunately may have been too much focus placed on these aerial and driving shots and not enough on developing the characters as you never really get the sense that they have differing personalities… or any at all. Granted, that can be said about many slasher films of the era, nor is it why people tend to watch those films.

After travelling for some time, the girls encounter stormy weather. Debris in the road causes them to lose control of the car and drive into a ditch, knocking them all unconscious. While still out cold, they are rescued by a passing handyman (John Morrison) and taken to the nearby estate of one of his employers. The sizable home is owned by the Penrose family, consisting of middle-aged Marion (J.E. Penner, who would later play “mothers” in the 1989 TV movie The Haunting of Sarah Hardy, as well as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey) and her elderly mother (Virgina Settle).

Two of the girls, Terry (Laurel Munson) and Nancy (Sara Ansley), prove to be relatively unharmed, but their friend, Gloria (Barbara Lusch – 1989’s Criminal Act, 1997’s Total Reality) is pretty banged up and will need some time to recuperate. Although Marion and her mother live fairly reclusive lives, the two girls are invited to stay for a few days while their friend gets back to health. While Marion is a somewhat frumpish woman, her mother proves to be more peculiar. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Mrs. Penrose is a prudish old lady who not only appears to be showing signs of dementia, but is consistently rude, demanding, and demeaning towards her daughter, frequently accusing Marion of bringing home men for secret trysts.

*It’s worth noting that Unhinged would be the only film appearance for both Munson and Ansley.

Mrs. Penrose’s negative opinions towards men tends to stem from her ex-husband’s infidelity, something that the older woman speaks quite openly about to her new guests. However, the family still does quite well without a male presence, as they still manage to live quite suitably off of an inheritance from Mrs. Penrose’s father. As for her negative attitude towards her daughter, most of that would appear to stem from the fact that Mrs. Penrose is just a nasty old bitch.

For whatever reason, Terry and Nancy don’t seem overly concerned about Gloria’s well-being, as they never check in on her or even ask many questions about her before deciding to turn in for the evening. Terry, however, does show significantly more concern later that night when she is awakened by the sound of a man moaning nearby. Believing that these moans came from someone masturbating while watching her sleep, she awakes Nancy and informs her of the incident. With little that they can actually do about it, the two girls go back to bed.

Terry’s suspicions are proven to be correct as, indeed, someone is watching them; even spying on the girls from a peep hole in the wall as they shower together the following morning. Just as alarming, it quickly becomes apparent that Mrs. Penrose is more than a little unstable, and that Marion is also hiding possibly more than one secret that deeply haunt her. Meanwhile, an unseen presence stalks the property.

Needing to have the car towed in for repairs, as well as to contact their parents and inform them of what has happened, Nancy volunteers to walk into town. Marion advises her of the quickest route, but warns her to use caution as the terrain can prove quite treacherous. She departs on her way, while Terry stays behind… still waiting an extended period of time before ever deciding to check in on “what’s her name again?” Oh, that’s right! Gloria! As one might expect, it’s not the terrain that Nancy needs to fear on her journey.

Unhinged is undoubtedly something of a “slow burn”. Some might say that it’s too slow of a “burn”, and there is some justification to that claim as the film does take a little time to start moving. However, the sense of tension does build up rather rapidly once events begin to unfurl. There’s a somewhat bizarre, but compelling synth score that helps build the tone of dread.

The film ultimately concludes with a rather intriguing twist that, while not completely unique, did manage to catch me quite by surprise upon my first viewing of the film. Sure, there are multiple hints along the way, but I do feel that the turnabout holds up quite well upon repeat viewing. In fact, there’s another slasher film from around the same time, one that is much more widely remembered and embraced by fans, that uses a nearly identical twist, but which I personally find to be far less effective or sensical.

Unhinged is undoubtedly a low-budgeted affair, produced for reportedly somewhere around $100,000 (USD). As such, there are some flaws on display. As mentioned previously, the film does feature some pacing issues, although I never found these as detrimental as a few other reviewers have claimed. There are also more than a few examples of amateurish editing to be found, with scenes cutting rather abruptly, or delays with unfading to/from black. However, most concerning may be the performance by Munson as “Terry”, who frequently looks to be in something of a daze through the entirety of the film. While not an experienced actress herself, it may have better served the film to have Ansley’s “Nancy” be more of the lead character. That said, I do not feel that either actress’s performance keeps the film from being enjoyable.

While relatively light on gore, Unhinged does feature some brutal “kills” and a notable amount of blood. Even with a healthy dose of full-frontal nudity present, it’s still a little surprising that the film found itself placed on the UK’s infamous “Video Nasties” list in late 1983, with home video copies of the film removed from stores. The film was finally passed uncut in 2004 (in the UK) and released to DVD the same year. When compared to many of the other slashers released at or around the same time, Unhinged is really quite tame.

A remake of Unhinged, produced by Scott Jeffrey (who would serve as producer on 2023’s now-infamous Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey), was released to mostly negative reviews in 2017. Surprisingly, another remake of the film was announced in late 2022, once again also reported to be produced by Jeffrey.

Unhinged has been released on DVD, but a future blu-ray release may be questionable as the original film negatives have reportedly been lost. The film is (currently) available uncut to watch on Youtube as well.

WARNING: The following trailer for Unhinged is just filled with major “spoilers”. So, if you have never watched the film and have any interest in doing so, I highly recommend not watching this trailer.