Unruhe keeps the beginnings of season 4 strong. The episode features a deleted scene at the very beginning of the episode, where Mulder is on a phone call where he finds out how is mom was doing, going back to Herrenvolk. Without having watched the audio commentary on that deleted scene yet, I would imagine it was deleted after they moved that episode from being right after the season premiere to fourth in the season. Pruitt Taylor Vince does an outstanding job as Gerry Schauz. He's got this, uh, eye thing going, where is eyes are constantly moving back and forth. It just adds to his dementia. The psychic photography is kind of cool. Scully still tries to find a scientific explanation for the girl screaming in the photo. Won't this girl ever learn? What the computer guy at the FBI was able to do with the photograph was a bit of a stretch. But then again, so are Mulder's leaps in logic. However, Unruhe is a very entertaining episode with plenty of suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat.
12 Reviews
Gillian Anderson is very good in this one
SleepTight6661 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A strong early-Season 4 episodes with one of the most memorable and terrifying bad guys of the show.
Pruitt Taylor Vince, which I think is a strong actor. Plays the psychotic and terrifying Gerry. That dude has the creepiest eyes ever.
What works for the episode is that it's not just another episode, and another case. But it's actually important for the Mulder/Scully relationship as you see how much Mulder truly cares for Scully, and how much he'd risk to save her. I mean, he shot Gerry without any hesitation. I wonder for how many people he would actually do that.
Gillian Anderson is very good in this one, and her kidnap scene is very well done, very realistic and very nerve-wrecking.
I'm giving this episode FOUR stars. A very fine creepy episode that does not rely on gore but just the feeling of being helpless.
Pruitt Taylor Vince, which I think is a strong actor. Plays the psychotic and terrifying Gerry. That dude has the creepiest eyes ever.
What works for the episode is that it's not just another episode, and another case. But it's actually important for the Mulder/Scully relationship as you see how much Mulder truly cares for Scully, and how much he'd risk to save her. I mean, he shot Gerry without any hesitation. I wonder for how many people he would actually do that.
Gillian Anderson is very good in this one, and her kidnap scene is very well done, very realistic and very nerve-wrecking.
I'm giving this episode FOUR stars. A very fine creepy episode that does not rely on gore but just the feeling of being helpless.
"For truly to pursue monsters, we must understand them."
classicsoncall20 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I would not have known about a real condition known as nystagmus if not for one of the prior reviewers for this episode. The fact that actor Pruitt Taylor Vince has it, a condition that makes one's eyes move involuntarily, only added to the creepiness factor of his character Gerry Schnauz in the story. Before I knew that, I was marveling at the control it must have taken for Vince to perform in his role. It's not something I ever noticed in his prior movie appearances.
So this episode involves an aspect of psychic photography in which Gerry Schnauz (Vince) captures images on film of things that are going to happen, most of which he has control over. Mulder's experience with the paranormal suggests the ability to create 'thought-o-graphs' or 'scotographs', so that's the direction he's going in to solve this X-File. Still, that's a pretty far cry from Schnauz's history as a paranoid schizophrenic who beat his father with an ax, landing him in a mental institution for six years.
With partner Scully making the save on her partner's butt in the prior episode 'Teliko', Mulder repays the favor here with a last minute deduction of Schnauz's whereabouts in a trailer he used for Scully's kidnapping. True to his dubious psychic nature, Schnauz produced an image on film of his death, a prediction as unlikely as the one Clyde Bruckman foresaw in a fan favorite third season episode.
So this episode involves an aspect of psychic photography in which Gerry Schnauz (Vince) captures images on film of things that are going to happen, most of which he has control over. Mulder's experience with the paranormal suggests the ability to create 'thought-o-graphs' or 'scotographs', so that's the direction he's going in to solve this X-File. Still, that's a pretty far cry from Schnauz's history as a paranoid schizophrenic who beat his father with an ax, landing him in a mental institution for six years.
With partner Scully making the save on her partner's butt in the prior episode 'Teliko', Mulder repays the favor here with a last minute deduction of Schnauz's whereabouts in a trailer he used for Scully's kidnapping. True to his dubious psychic nature, Schnauz produced an image on film of his death, a prediction as unlikely as the one Clyde Bruckman foresaw in a fan favorite third season episode.
Ice-pick lobotomies are not fun.
Sanpaco1328 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Unruhe is one of the stronger episodes of Season 4. Dealing with a man who is able to do thought-ography where his visions of what is going to happen are psychically imprinted onto film so that when a picture is taken it shows the future. Gerry Schnauz is one of the creepier criminals we encounter in the entire series in my opinion. I think its the way his eyes wiggle so that you are never quite sure where his focus is. There's something unnerving about that. The character Gerry was put into a mental hospital for several years due to his feelings of depression and "unrest" or something like that. Due to his abusive father who caused his sister to commit suicide, he has been trying to help others who are dealing with unrest by carrying out a gruesome procedure on them which he no doubt learned about in the mental ward, ice-pick lobotomies. I never ever want to get one of those! He uses his creepy drywall tools to punch holes into people's heads and turn them into walking veggies. Disturbing. 10 out of 10.
Vince's eye movement
roderick-3119 October 2008
Both posters above referred to the actor's visible eye oscillations as interesting, although no mention in the show was made of it. This is a visual impairment called nystagmus. Without doubt the actor suffers from it, it simply can't be faked. The camera techniques were clearly designed to allow you to easily view this, although Scully and Mulder do not seem to directly take notice of it. I mention this also because this impairment seriously limits vision and the kinds of jobs those who have it can get. Hats off to Pruitt Taylor Vince for doing so well. Check out the link to him on IMDb where many other people comment on his nystagmus and offer their own perspectives.
An exciting, macabre classic episode.
Sleepin_Dragon31 July 2022
This has to be one of the most macabre and disturbing episodes of them all, I have to say that this fourth series so far has been truly fantastic, and this is yet another classic.
I had definite memories of this one, the scene where Scully receives that phone call, a tremendous moment, of course the highlight here being that pulse racing ending, that conclusion was quite something.
It makes you think outside of the box, how do we as individuals deal with the bad things in our lives, do we hide them away, confront them, or try to justify them in some way, this episode hammers that point home.
Very well acted of course, very well produced, it looked fantastic throughout, the camera work and filming were so natural.
There's something so bleak about a lobotomy, that scares the hell out of me.
Classic, 9/10.
I had definite memories of this one, the scene where Scully receives that phone call, a tremendous moment, of course the highlight here being that pulse racing ending, that conclusion was quite something.
It makes you think outside of the box, how do we as individuals deal with the bad things in our lives, do we hide them away, confront them, or try to justify them in some way, this episode hammers that point home.
Very well acted of course, very well produced, it looked fantastic throughout, the camera work and filming were so natural.
There's something so bleak about a lobotomy, that scares the hell out of me.
Classic, 9/10.
Good episode with one of best endings
zoran_kamen14 March 2021
Not much more to add due to previous perfect reviews. It starts like regular x-files episode but after quality is gradually increasing till the perfect ending climax. Even more so than action part there is deep psychological part where we might learn a lot about human psyche. What if negativity that we perceive in others as monsters are actually our own monsters we fail to see. Would the world be actually a better place for all of as if we do healing on ourselves instead of judging and hating others ? What if only difference between sane and insane person is former abilty to look into themselves with pure awareness while later fail to do so and thus become paranoid instead of loving human being ? 10/10
Howlers are coming
devonbrown-9064910 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Tense episode that explores the life of a schizophrenic killer who wants to take away the pain of the howlers from young women. They casted the perfect person for Gerry with the cross eyes he fitting the role beautifully. This antagonist was one of the best in x files for me.
Gerry really seemed to hate sigmund frued. I guess he learned about him during his mental asylum break. It was strange how he used his power and managed to escape out of policy custody then capture an FBI agent. He was really good at his craft. Leaving nothing but pictures of his mind behind.
Kudos to mulder for deciphering the mental maze of a monster and tracking him down just in time before scully became the last victim he "saved"
Gerry really seemed to hate sigmund frued. I guess he learned about him during his mental asylum break. It was strange how he used his power and managed to escape out of policy custody then capture an FBI agent. He was really good at his craft. Leaving nothing but pictures of his mind behind.
Kudos to mulder for deciphering the mental maze of a monster and tracking him down just in time before scully became the last victim he "saved"
Dana Scully: For truly to pursue monsters, we must understand them. We must venture into their minds. Only in doing so: do we risk letting them venture into ours?
bombersflyup8 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Unruhe is about the investigation of women being lobotomized by a psychopath, who unknowingly projects his vision through psychic photography.
An excellent episode, continuing the start of season four's really high standard. The opening teaser up there with some of the best of the show. A young woman getting her passport forgets her wallet, walking in the rain with an umbrella has no sight of her surroundings, man follows her out injects her from behind, kills boyfriend in car, she staggers to car park, he takes her away. Shop clerk sees passport photo of killer's vision. Brilliant! The next best scene, in the same locale. Where the killer played by Pruitt T Vince, superb in the role, injects Scully in the foot, Mulder sees photo of Scully, runs after her. The photo of the cop with the bullet to the head was awesome too, gotta say. Scully's very bold and calm here much like in "Home." Would of preferred if Gerry had of let Scully go here instead of Mulder saving her, as she had already convinced him that it's in his head.
An excellent episode, continuing the start of season four's really high standard. The opening teaser up there with some of the best of the show. A young woman getting her passport forgets her wallet, walking in the rain with an umbrella has no sight of her surroundings, man follows her out injects her from behind, kills boyfriend in car, she staggers to car park, he takes her away. Shop clerk sees passport photo of killer's vision. Brilliant! The next best scene, in the same locale. Where the killer played by Pruitt T Vince, superb in the role, injects Scully in the foot, Mulder sees photo of Scully, runs after her. The photo of the cop with the bullet to the head was awesome too, gotta say. Scully's very bold and calm here much like in "Home." Would of preferred if Gerry had of let Scully go here instead of Mulder saving her, as she had already convinced him that it's in his head.
Scully, the FBI Director told me if you get kidnapped just one more time, no more female agents forever.
frankelee31 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's just so bad. They start off well enough. Using the idea of psychic photography imprinted by a murderer. The stuff about him giving bad lobotomies, and weird demons, it's goofy, but okay.
But, is this what we should expect from professional TV writers? How does the serial murderer man get out of jail? What incredibly clever yarn have you bards weaved this time to explain so crazy a circumstance??? Well you see, all 37 other officers are rushing to the place he dumped the body of his last victim, you see because none of them have ever seen a dead body before, so all 37 of them have to go, including those officers responsible for operating the jail cells and securing prisoners, they all had to go too, because it's a dead body. So then you have one guy left behind to book the murderer, we arrested him for murder hours ago, but now we gotta book him, you don't book him until you've interrogated him all afternoon and got him to admit to a bunch of murders and tell you were he dumped the bodies. Only then do you get his fingerprints for the fingerprint records, so we can check them against his last fingerprint records from the last time we arrested him for beating his father to death, and then that way we can cross reference them to make sure he isn't using new fingers. But the guy booking him was all bummed out and confused he didn't get to see the dead body, and so he didn't have his head on right, so he's like, okay you walk over here, and now walk over here, and now walk over here, and touch this thing, and now I'm gonna walk over here, oops I left you unhandcuffed and you stole my gun while I was makin' copies, you rascal murderer!
If only we had left a second guy behind! Well, live and learn, it's hard being a cop.
And then Mulder's like, Scully, head on down to dark alley row to get our car I parked 10 miles from here, so we can get back to hunting down this dangerous psychopath who hunts women walking by themselves in this area, and be quick about it too sweetcheeks, I gotta stand here and wave this Polaroid around so it'll develop faster. And so Scully gets abducted again.
If I was the showrunner on this show, if I ever made Scully the damsel in distress, bound and gagged for some serial murderer's pleasure, I would make it a big event. Like this is the episode one of the heroes is in real danger! In reality though, we're in double digits at this point for Scully kidnappings, aren't we? She's seconds away from being another statistic how many times now? And is saved only because Mulder rushes in to rescue her ever time? Not very subtle messaging about the suitability for women being in law enforcement here, what's the average number of times a girl can expect to be stalked, overpowered, bound and gagged per year according to The X-Files? About 4.2 times per year? Yeah that sounds about right Chris Carter, good work.
But, is this what we should expect from professional TV writers? How does the serial murderer man get out of jail? What incredibly clever yarn have you bards weaved this time to explain so crazy a circumstance??? Well you see, all 37 other officers are rushing to the place he dumped the body of his last victim, you see because none of them have ever seen a dead body before, so all 37 of them have to go, including those officers responsible for operating the jail cells and securing prisoners, they all had to go too, because it's a dead body. So then you have one guy left behind to book the murderer, we arrested him for murder hours ago, but now we gotta book him, you don't book him until you've interrogated him all afternoon and got him to admit to a bunch of murders and tell you were he dumped the bodies. Only then do you get his fingerprints for the fingerprint records, so we can check them against his last fingerprint records from the last time we arrested him for beating his father to death, and then that way we can cross reference them to make sure he isn't using new fingers. But the guy booking him was all bummed out and confused he didn't get to see the dead body, and so he didn't have his head on right, so he's like, okay you walk over here, and now walk over here, and now walk over here, and touch this thing, and now I'm gonna walk over here, oops I left you unhandcuffed and you stole my gun while I was makin' copies, you rascal murderer!
If only we had left a second guy behind! Well, live and learn, it's hard being a cop.
And then Mulder's like, Scully, head on down to dark alley row to get our car I parked 10 miles from here, so we can get back to hunting down this dangerous psychopath who hunts women walking by themselves in this area, and be quick about it too sweetcheeks, I gotta stand here and wave this Polaroid around so it'll develop faster. And so Scully gets abducted again.
If I was the showrunner on this show, if I ever made Scully the damsel in distress, bound and gagged for some serial murderer's pleasure, I would make it a big event. Like this is the episode one of the heroes is in real danger! In reality though, we're in double digits at this point for Scully kidnappings, aren't we? She's seconds away from being another statistic how many times now? And is saved only because Mulder rushes in to rescue her ever time? Not very subtle messaging about the suitability for women being in law enforcement here, what's the average number of times a girl can expect to be stalked, overpowered, bound and gagged per year according to The X-Files? About 4.2 times per year? Yeah that sounds about right Chris Carter, good work.
If you're that stupid you deserve to die...
mrwb7714 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A reasonably decent episode to start, then gets let down by two pieces of ridiculous writing.
How stupid is the police officer booking him in? Really, then scully gets kidnapped with absurd ease, again! Mulder to save the day, again.
The writing in season 4 been much worse than the prior years so far.
How stupid is the police officer booking him in? Really, then scully gets kidnapped with absurd ease, again! Mulder to save the day, again.
The writing in season 4 been much worse than the prior years so far.
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