I didn't know what I was getting myself into here when I sat down to watch the 2020 horror drama movie "Unearth". In fact, I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down in 2021 to watch it. But it being a horror movie was more than sufficient to make me want to watch it. Plus the fact that it was a movie that I hadn't already seen before, and also it having an interesting cover, definitely helped seal the deal.
And it should be said that the storyline told in "Unearth", as written by writers Kelsey Goldberg and John C. Lyons is rather slow paced. Now, the storyline itself definitely was interesting enough, but the pacing of the movie just restrained the movie to reach its full potential. And you have to keep focused on the movie, because this is a very confusing storyline. Directors John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies definitely do good jobs at keeping the audience in the dark, and never really knowing what is actually going on and what is just imaginary.
That kind of storyline and approach to a movie doesn't really sit well with everyone in the audience, so "Unearth" could be somewhat of an acquired taste. I enjoyed it well enough, but I feel that the movie could have been a lot more entertaining if it had been properly paced, and also if there was actually a clear and distinct way of knowing what was actually going on.
I sat through the entire movie, and as it ended I was left with a sense of 'okay, what was that all about?', it makes for a somewhat anti-climatic movie and I feel somewhat bereft out of a proper movie experience.
It should be said, though, that the atmosphere in the movie was spot on. I definitely enjoyed that, and there were some elements of a Lovecraftian-inspired sense of cosmic dread to the movie.
The movie had a fairly strong ensemble of actors and actresses to portray the various roles and characters throughout the course of the movie. And they definitely put on good performances. It was just a shame that they weren't allowed to go to the full scope of what could be done, given the limitations of a slow paced story and a very confusing storyline.
"Unearth" wasn't an impressive horror movie, but it definitely was a good atmospheric movie - if there is such a thing.
My rating of the 2020 movie "Unearth" lands on a four out of ten stars. A shame really that this movie wasn't allowed to become more than it turned out to be, because it had all the contents necessary to make for a truly great atmospheric horror movie. If you are in for an evening of proper horror, then your money is not well spent on "Unearth".
