Unnamable, The (1988)

Trying to pick up on the H.P. Lovecraft craze in the '80s, writer/director Jean-Paul Ouelettes adaption of Lovecrafts story, "The Unnamable," doesn't quite succeed the way Stuart Gordon did with his wacky adaptions of "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond." Even if Ouelette has modernized the adaption into a standard "teens visit haunted house" slasher film, it all still makes for fun times since he finds a way of getting some good laughs and shocks out of you, and "The Unnamable" itself is a scary sight to behold.

We're introduced to Randolph Carter (Mark Kinsey Stephenson), the brainy know-it-all at Miskatonic University, who informs us and his two buddies about an abandoned mansion next to their campus that is supposedly haunted by some kind of beast who has been locked up since the 1600s. No one has visited the place since a murderous event, but this starts to garner interest in two fraternity students, who take two girls along with them in hopes of getting laid. As they start to discover something isn't right with the house, Randolph and a shy student (Charles King) get together to try and save the unsuspecting teens from possible danger.

One of the things that make this movie work was that Ouelette does the smart thing by keeping "The Unnamable" hidden throughout the movie (although it isn't much of a surprise if you see the cover box). He gets chills alone off of its piercing scream that echoes through the house. The backstory about "The Unnamable" is very fascinating itself, but its too bad the film often undermines it by often going for cliches. The cliches somehow didn't bother me too much; a few of the extended cheap pop-out scenes are tired, but it makes up with tension and it has some genuine moments of uncomfort since we never know when the beast is going to make an appearance on an unsuspecting teenager.

The acting isn't likely to leave any impression, but for what they're given, they do a fairly decent job. Stephenson plays Randolph as superficial as possible, but I did got a kick out of a few of his line readings and how relaxed his character acts in the scariest of situations. King is a little annoying at the start, but has a dopey charm that grows on you as the film progresses and you can't help but root for him to make it out. Alexandra Durrell and Laura Albert are okay as the damsels in distress, but thanks to Ouelette for getting Albert to show off a little T&A for the male crowd.

For a low budgeted horror film, it does pack some pretty impressive moments of grueling gorework, including gooey severed heads, torn throats and heart ripping. Hats off go to R. Christopher Briggs (Nightmare on Elm Street 4) creature design for "The Unnamable," which would likely make H.R. Giger proud. As creepy as the appearance is, there's something undeniably exotic about the creature.

The film does take some missteps, including a sometimes dull mid-section and a dumb-as-nails finish, but if you can get past that, it makes for an enjoyable enough diversion into the horror genre that delivers the goods for fans. Ouelette had released a sequel in 1992 with Stephenson back around in the lead role, which I have yet to see, but the casting of Penthouse pet Julie Strain taking on the role of The Unnamable sound like it could just be a worthwhile sequel.

Rating: *** 1/2 out of *****

Review by Adam Eshack - (c) 3/01/02