The Unseen (1980)

User Rating:

4.3/10   

Director:

Danny Steinmann

Writer:

Michael L. Grace (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

September 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The unknown brings terror. The UNSEEN ... DEATH

Plot:

A trio of Female reporters find themselves staying overnight in a house occupied by a hostile 'being' known only The Unseen.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Museum | Basement | Parade | Lifting Weights

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Stephen Furst	...	'Junior' Keller (The Unseen)
Barbara Bach	...	Jennifer Fast
Sydney Lassick	...	Ernest Keller
Lelia Goldoni	...	Virginia Keller
Karen Lamm	...	Karen Fast
Douglas Barr	...	Tony Ross
Lois Young	...	Vicki Thompson
Maida Severn	...	Solvang Lady

Directed by
Danny Steinmann		(as Peter Foleg)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael L. Grace		writer
Danny Steinmann		uncredited

Produced by
Anthony B. Unger	....	producer

Original Music by
Michael J. Lewis

Cinematography by
Roberto A. Quezada

Film Editing by
Jonathon Braun

Production Design by
Dena Roth

Art Direction by
Maria Rebman Caso

Makeup Department
Craig Reardon	....	makeup supervisor

Art Department
Tommy Estridge	....	property master

Special Effects by
Harry Woolman	....	special effects

Stunts
Sonny Shields	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
James J. Gilson	....	gaffer
Jim Grce	....	electrician

Distributors

• World Northal (1981) (USA) (theatrical)
• Les Films Jacques Leitienne (1982) (France) (theatrical)
• Creswin Distribution (1983) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Code Red DVD (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• VidAmerica (1988) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

Spain:90 min | UK:83 min | USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) | France:-12 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | Norway:16 (video premiere) (1984) | Norway:(Banned) (1981-2003) (cinema release) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Piru, California, USA

Trivia:

Carl Weathers was originally considered for the role of Tony Ross.

Quotes:

Ernest Keller: I wonder what junior's fate would be... I wonder... Seems obvious to me my dear they would not treat him so kindly. He would suffer greatly

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lo squartatore di New York (1982)

Don't look in the basement.

A trio of babelicious newswomen (played by Barbara Bach, Karen Lamm and Lois Young) arrive in the town of Solvang, CA, where the locals are holding a festival to celebrate their Danish ancestry. Unable to find a hotel with a vacancy, the tasty threesome accept the offer of a room for the night from Ernest Keller, a kooky museum curator (Sydney Lassick) who not only shares his large, creepy house with his timid sister Virginia (Lelia Goldoni), but also a fugly homicidal hulk named Junior (Stephen Furst), the result of the strange siblings' incestuous relationship.

Originally scripted by Kim 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' Henkel, and subsequently re-written by then-unknown make-up artists Stan Winston and Tom Burman, this entertaining shocker features surprisingly little in the way of gore or graphic nastiness. It does, however, still manage to be quite disturbing thanks to its delightfully twisted premise, a convincing performance from Furst as the mentally disabled, man-child lurking in the basement (a great achievement, since he is acting under heavy make-up by Craig Reardon), and a chilling turn from character actor Lassick, who proves to be the real monster of the film—a mean spirited bully who rules his household through fear, intimidation and violence.

Goldoni, Lamm and Young also give solid support (with the latter providing the obligatory T&A during a bath scene), but unfortunately star Bach is rather forgettable in a role that requires her to do little other than look good, bicker with her superfluous on-screen ex-boyfriend (played by Douglas Barr, The Fall Guy's Howie Munson), and scream hysterically at Junior, who—as movie monsters go—really isn't all that scary.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.