Rated: MA15+
Directed by: Kate Whitbread
Produced by: Kate Whitbread
Written by: Darren Markey
Starring: Cassandra Magrath, Kevin Hofbauer, Lee Mason, John Voce, Nicholas Denton, Susan Vasiljevic, Francesca Waters.
We’ve been waiting for you
The mood of, The Unit is like the reflection of a forest on a lake. Impenetrable.
Ominous.
Until a girl answers her mobile while being driven through the forest with, ‘Hey, what’s up?’
The comment just didn’t fit the mood, awkwardly dispelling the build of tension.
But as the film continued I stopped taking notes because they’re times the story scratches at the door of scary.
Cassie (Cassandra Magrath) is a cop on the edge after witnessing the suicide of a local boy (Nicholas Denton).
The mystery of his death is revealed as the film follows Cassie back to her childhood home in Blackwood after a call from her uncle Clifford (John Voce).
There’s been a death.
Her father.
Cassie is not feeling right with the world.
Cassie tells her boyfriend (Kevin Hofbauer) she has to go home to find answers.
Where it doesn’t take long to realise, The Unlit is a witch heritage story.
Yet there’s mystery because Cassie is followed by the trauma of understanding why the young kid committed suicide in front of her.
And when she finds letters written by her uncle about her mother, Cassie discovers there’s more to her mother then she realises or remembers. She discovers her mother’s obsession with the forest while in an asylum. Her mother. Presumed dead.
Yet still haunting the town of Blackwood.
The haunting is shown in the dark smudge across the eyes of the women who still live there, amongst the absence of men and children. The absence, or what isn’t said, noted by writer Darren Markey (at the recent Q&A screening at Lido Cinema) as an essential part of the structure of the story.
So there’s mystery but more than anything, there’s atmosphere, created by director, Kate Whitbread in 13 days of shooting.
What made me sit up was the scene set amongst the twisted pines just behind Lorne’s (Victoria) main beach. A fantastic setting to tap into the mood: a woman stood-too, questioned under the twisted branches of pine, otherworldly.
The trees and ocean are used well to speak like the voices of the dead as the mystery of Cassie and her heritage deepens.
There’s some clever here. But also some gloss. Or smudge, like the dark under the eyes of the haunted women of Blackwood is contrived, breaking that careful tone of mystery; like the use of a lamp to create atmosphere fails because, why wouldn’t you use the flashlight on your phone? Which is in hand, and used for just that function later?
There were times I wondered if the ominous trees were going to be the best part of the film.
So yes, The Unlit is a low budget film.
But as the story progressed the writing shone with some great acting: lead, Cassandra Magrath holding her nerve searching those haunted dark rooms, Nicholas Denton as the dead young Luke a powerful spectre and Nikola Dubois as the haunted friend absorbing in her twisted monologue.
The highlight for me was when John Voce as the uncle speaks of people not being sick, just knowing things we don’t. Goosebumps.
So, the film doesn’t always suspend reality and is a little obvious at times, but some of the scenes that play out the dark dialogue really tap at the door making, The Unlit, worth a watch.