UNSANE

Business woman Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) moves to a new job in a new city to escape her stalker of two years. Upon visiting a counsellor she inadvertently signs papers which have her committed into a health facility. Her commitment is continually lengthened, but her real ordeal commences when she sees… or thinks she sees… her stalker as a staff member.

Intensely arresting this psychological horror film should have audiences at the edge of their seats throughout, as they attempt to unravel whether this woman is actually being stalked or just mentally unstable.

Is this wretched woman a danger to herself and others or is she also being held against her will in a private health facility who lock up sane people for economic gain?

Story development is deliberately and effectively slow, but momentum builds in the final quarter as violence and gore are unleashed upon unsuspecting audiences like a good old-fashioned slasher flick.

Filmed entirely on an iphone, this process has dramatically enhanced the creepy and horrific nature of the movie, through the imperfect picture quality and the ultra-darkness of certain scenes in the hospital.

All is not as it seems in this chilling and unnerving film which also serves as a commentary on mental illness and on the legitimacy of ‘alleged’ health facilities. (MMo)

★★★1/2