Director: Hank Braxtan
Writer: Arch Stanton, Ron Carlson (Screenplay)
Starring: James Remar, Sherilyn Fenn, Ron Carlson, Grahan Greene, Ray Wise, Allegra Carpenter
Plot: Global climate change prompts a scientific corporation to genetically modify Alaskan polar bears with horrific and deadly results.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Forgettable Creature Feature
Story: Unnatural starts with a global warming warning and something going wrong at a research lab, we go onto meet Martin (Remar) who has bought a photographer and his models to the snow filled location in Alaskan for a photoshoot. We also get the warning of polar bears create by the locals who use them as a warning, or in this case a myth.
When a creature eats one of the models and a guide, Martin must protect the remaining members of the photoshoot including photographer Brooking (Carlson) and stranger Dr Hanna Lindval (Fenn) from the threat outside, a mutated polar bear.
Thoughts on Unnatural
Characters – Martin is the expert in the area where the photoshoot takes place, he knows the wildlife and how to deal with any threats that come his way and must protect the people who are not used to the threat. Dr Lindval was part of the research team that created the polar bear, she is desperate to survive once it is free but does know more than she is letting on. Brooking in the photographer on the shoot, he does lack the guts to defend himself from the threat. We also have the models but they are here to look pretty through the terror.
Performance – James Remar is clearly the biggest draw in this film and he is good without being his best, when you look into the other performance we get the mystery from Fenn and the annoying wimpy guy from Carlson hitting the marks we are expecting to see in the film like this.
Story – Group of people in Alaska with no escape must rely on one expert to keep them safe against an unknown creature for a set amount of days, well this is easy enough to go with and stops a lot of pointless discussion about trying to get help when there isn’t any, we also have the characters getting picked off in the random order like you would expect which is fine too.
Action/Horror – The action is mostly running from the attacks from the creature which isn’t the most impressive either.
Settings – The setting is the highlight as we have the group trapped with nowhere to run for the 3 days before the next plan arrives.
Special Effects – The effects look mostly practical as we barely get to see the monster apart from in the shadows.
Scene of the Movie – The first attack is a fun moment.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We don’t see enough of the creature.
Final Thoughts – This is a forgettable creature feature that tries to ask bigger questions but doesn’t seem to want to try and answer them.
Overall: Not one of the best.
Rating
