Unearthed (2007)

User Rating:

4.1/10   

Director:

Matthew Leutwyler

Writer:

Matthew Leutwyler (writer)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some secrets should stay buried.

Plot:

An unknown creature terrorizes an archeological dig in the middle of a desolate New Mexico town.

Plot Keywords:

Creature | Alien | New Mexico | CGI | Rattlesnake

Cast

Emmanuelle Vaugier	...	Sheriff Annie Flynn
Luke Goss	...	Kale
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Hank (as Charlie Murphy)
Beau Garrett	...	Caya
Tommy Dewey	...	Charlie
M.C. Gainey	...	Rob Horn
Miranda Bailey	...	Carla
Whitney Able	...	Ally
Russell Means	...	Grandpa
Tonantzin Carmelo	...	Nodin
Deborah Offner	...	Tanya the Waitress
Mark Kelly	...	Frank the Trucker
Isait De La Fuente	...	Luis
Chris Andrew Ciulla	...	Kelly
Ric Barbera	...	Curtis

MPAA:

Rated R for violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

93 min | Germany:90 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | Finland:K-18

Filming Locations:

Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Company:

Ambush Entertainment

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The light in the fridge is still working, despite the power cut due to the tanker accident during the night.

Quotes:

Nodin: [about the highway crash] What happened to the driver?
Sheriff Annie Flynn: [pauses] Didn't find one.

Soundtrack:

Lonely

better than the other reviewers would have you believe

I'm the first to be critical of these types of -monsters on the loose in isolated community films-, but if you can get past the stunningly bad cgi monster there's a reasonable amount to like here. There's nothing original but name me one that is original in the last 20yrs, there aren't any. The stories are the same it's how they're handled that varies.

The story:- Out in the dry wastelands of America an archaeological dig unearths and sets loose an ancient monster not seen for 900yrs. Several outsiders stop for gas which has run out due to the tanker being attacked by said monster en route to gas station. They mix with and are stranded with several locals, all of whom become stranded and spend the night fighting for survival.

On the whole the acting is good but unusually Goss seems to struggle with his dialogue as if his heart's not in it. However I blame that on the director and the script rather than Goss. There's very little in the way of excess, unnecessary or cheesy dialogue, which is always a big plus in my eyes. There is also a totally unnecessary flashback thread running through the film. The camera work is a bit shaky and often too dark which does at times detract from the fun. The musical score is fine. The body count is low because there are few characters but the deaths are nice and gruesome. There's a great Eddie Murphy wannabe who gets wot he deserves (and provides the only laugh).

There are two big problems with this film as far as I can see.

1. The monster effects are on a par with the original Jason and the Argonauts from way back when - seriously they're that bad. The actual design of the monster is rubbish as well, it copies too much from alien and it's head is laughable with eyes and teeth all over the place. If you can imagine an alien working at a circus as a clown you'll get some idea.

2. There's a local biologist who keeps telling everyone she knows nothing but keeps coming up with the answers via massive jumps in her conclusions and it just gets stupid when she finds a Geiger counter lying around and then proclaims 'I've got a uranium extractor back at the house.'

If you can ignore these things, and accept that this was done on a tight budget, this is an okay movie.

I watched this back to back with 'Living Hell' and what confuses the hell out of me is that that piece of total garbage got the thumps up from the IMDb reviewers and an average score of 4.7 while this gets a total roasting from the reviewers and an average of 4.8. I feel 4.8 is fair for this film (coz i'm critical) but only if living hell received 0.0 otherwise this deserves more.