A film about failing small businesses in the US countryside, well that's the the first hour after that prepare for rushed nonsense for the last 20 minutes. A lot of dead air throughout this movie, at the start make sure to come equipped with a notepad so you can figure out who all the characters are and their relationships with one another, because it's not explained. After zero hints that it's going this way a random pathogen appears in the last 20 minutes for something to happen??? That something I still can't explain. Characters show up who have never been seen before to contribute very little. Don't change the entire plot of the movie in the last act.
61 Reviews
Imperfect, but I enjoyed it.
Teetui19 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Admittedly the movie is a mess, and there's no arguing that. However, I disagree with others that the movie didn't know whether it wanted to be a drama or a horror flick. It started as a farm drama that turned into terrifying unexpected body horror. It was the sudden transition that made it so effective, in my opinion.
The sound was very interesting, and no one has commented on this. At one point, one of the characters remarks that there is no sound of animals or insects. Then as the infection progresses, there are very strange background sounds. I'm not sure if this is the hallucination of the characters or if it's the local fauna that have mutated ala Lovecraft.
Finally, I didn't understand the ending. After most of the characters die, the farm is productive again with the remaining characters, and there seems to be a happy ending. Is that a hallucination they are having as they are dying?
The movie was different. I liked it. But again, not without a lot of problems. Thanks for your time, guys. This is my first review on IMDB.
The sound was very interesting, and no one has commented on this. At one point, one of the characters remarks that there is no sound of animals or insects. Then as the infection progresses, there are very strange background sounds. I'm not sure if this is the hallucination of the characters or if it's the local fauna that have mutated ala Lovecraft.
Finally, I didn't understand the ending. After most of the characters die, the farm is productive again with the remaining characters, and there seems to be a happy ending. Is that a hallucination they are having as they are dying?
The movie was different. I liked it. But again, not without a lot of problems. Thanks for your time, guys. This is my first review on IMDB.
Others Watched This Movie So You Don't Have To
kingsinuk18 August 2021
Trust me, there's infinitely better uses of your time. Plodding, with "dread" music playing from start to end. It's amateurish to play "dread" music before there's the slightest clue WHAT to fear! Too bad the rest of the movie wasn't up to the acting level, which was quite good. You know the editor(s) needed to wield the scissors when you can fast forward without fear of missing anything ANYTHING.
.
.
A Slow Moving, Torturous heap 'O C**p
caf-195 January 2022
Pretty much as bad as bad can get. Sometimes, really bad Sci-Fi's make fun of themselves, as in the classic 'Tingler', it's at least letting everyone in on the joke so we all can giggle and snicker at our group silliness.
But this steaming heap of bad film is beyond bad. It's just really astoundingly bad, and seems to go on forever in its terrible, boring, poorly lit, poorly acted badness. Here's what is bad about this movie: The director, the script, the timing, the pace, the dialogue (that basically doesn't exist) the editing, the lighting, the wobbly cameras, all of the acting, and the director. Did I mention him twice? That's because he deserves two thumbs down.
I'm pretty sure the caterer was bad.
Apparently, there are people so rich that they need to throw away good money after bad just to hide income so they dump a couple mill into unprofessional, lost cause films as a 'producer'.
But this steaming heap of bad film is beyond bad. It's just really astoundingly bad, and seems to go on forever in its terrible, boring, poorly lit, poorly acted badness. Here's what is bad about this movie: The director, the script, the timing, the pace, the dialogue (that basically doesn't exist) the editing, the lighting, the wobbly cameras, all of the acting, and the director. Did I mention him twice? That's because he deserves two thumbs down.
I'm pretty sure the caterer was bad.
Apparently, there are people so rich that they need to throw away good money after bad just to hide income so they dump a couple mill into unprofessional, lost cause films as a 'producer'.
Interesting concept wasted on a slow boring movie
treborbasset27 December 2021
This movie moves at a glacial pace. Most of the movie is about a few small family farms in Pennsylvania. The plot creeps along for the first hour or so. I didn't care about these characters.
Eventually there are some horror elements, but I had no idea what was going on. It was confusing to the point of frustration, and this made me care about the characters even less. I just wanted it to be over.
And then it does just end... without any explanation. I have no idea what happened. Pointless. I really had to force myself to finish it but I needn't have bothered. What a complete waste of time.
Eventually there are some horror elements, but I had no idea what was going on. It was confusing to the point of frustration, and this made me care about the characters even less. I just wanted it to be over.
And then it does just end... without any explanation. I have no idea what happened. Pointless. I really had to force myself to finish it but I needn't have bothered. What a complete waste of time.
Boring Drama
bgmagic229 December 2021
This is really bad.
chuckinparis1 June 2022
Put it back into the ground....quickly!
beav33-119 September 2021
Strange and unbalanced
johannes2000-119 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This is a strange and unbalanced movie. It is billed as a horror story, but for over more than an hour nothing even remotely scary happens, in fact: nothing much happens at all. We see two neighboring dysfunctional families struggle with poverty on their dilapidated farms and barren lands, with as a result some sort of depressing social drama, a bit East of Eden-like. And then, in the last 20 minutes, the story totally tilts, all characters successively turn into ferocious killing monsters who go rampant. The end.
What on earth (no pun intended) is supposed to have happened?!? One of the families leases out their land to a gas winning company who starts drilling. There is some innuendo that all this drilling has stirred up some ancient evil looming in the earth, but real answers aren't provided.
It a pity, since the acting of all concerned is pretty good, with Adrienne Barbeau (with impressively aged features) as the unrelenting mater familias, they all had deserved a more convincing and solid story.
What on earth (no pun intended) is supposed to have happened?!? One of the families leases out their land to a gas winning company who starts drilling. There is some innuendo that all this drilling has stirred up some ancient evil looming in the earth, but real answers aren't provided.
It a pity, since the acting of all concerned is pretty good, with Adrienne Barbeau (with impressively aged features) as the unrelenting mater familias, they all had deserved a more convincing and solid story.
Slow drama, satisfying body horror finale
chilversedward10 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I found this film was a slow atmospheric depressing drama depicting the struggles of a couple of poor farming families and would have got a very low rating. However it earns its drama/horror title with its last half hour as the rural citizens all got turned into what seemed like grotesque fruiting bodies which I assume was from a subterranean primordial fungus the fracking disturbed allowing them all to breathe in the spores which gave them all a very nasty tickly cough indeed. Whatever ancient biology it was deep within the earth that had them sprouting and oozing, I warrant it was probably best left well alone within earths rocky bowels.
It felt like the slow burn somber atmosphere might yield a nice shiny horror reward and I wasn't left disappointed. Maybe not enough for all horror fans but felt like enough icing on the cake for me.
It felt like the slow burn somber atmosphere might yield a nice shiny horror reward and I wasn't left disappointed. Maybe not enough for all horror fans but felt like enough icing on the cake for me.
Real. Patient. Horror.
dabostaph26 July 2021
As a horror fan, I really do enjoy a good slow burn movie. With Unearth, quite a bit of time is taken with the build up, the story, and the development of the characters, whereas in other films, the eventual horror may feel playful or cathartic, Unearth's patience denies you this, and instead takes an unflinching look at how bad things happen to people. Not good people, or bad people. Just people. There's no big morality play here. Sure, it serves as a cautionary tale about our planet and our relationship to it. Yet, in Unearth, these people don't "get what they deserve", and which is even more harrowing. Because more often than not, that is exactly how life plays out.
This is a film about character, something too many horror films get panned for skimping out on. Way too many reviews read: "We feel nothing for these characters, so we don't care when bad things happen to them". The opposite is true here. The film spends an inordinate amount of time sketching out these people, who they are, and how they live their lives. It's a huge investment that the directors obviously want us to make, as they commit two-thirds of the runtime to said investment, and to be frank; I think it's worth it.
Adirenne Barbeau redefines the role of a family matriarch in this film. Crude. Overbearing, and played to perfection. I got flashes of her performance from Creepshow at times, but where that role had zero nuance, playing exclusively for camp; this performance replaces that with weight and a deep sense of family devotion, loyalty, and love. She knows what's right. She knows what needs to be done. Is it the easy thing to do? No. Does she go about doing it or saying it in the right way? Absolutely not. It's these types of characters that make for fascinating stories.
Likewise, Marc Blucas is not an actor I am well acquainted with, but just like Barbeau, his performance here is deliciously layered. Where Barbeau knows what is right but isn't couth enough to make it happen, Blucas's portrayal of her neighbor, a single father to a teenage mother, has no idea what is right and what is wrong anymore. He is out of choices. So he makes the only one left to him. It's a brilliant contrast between the two.
P. J. Marshall and Monica Wyche were the other stand outs to me. Aching for something more, something else, and making what choices they can in a world made to crush them. I have known too many people like this, and as refreshing as it can be to see such reality paint itself across the screen, it can also be heart wrenching.
The directors were obviously careful in making sure the setting reflected the characters they were placing within them. Growing up in rural PA, I have always had a soft spot for films that felt like places I have been, seen, and grew up in, with Winter's Bone being a wonderful example of this. Here Lyons and Swies opt for that same feeling. The cars are rusty, the tractor has seen better days, homes are constructed out of blankets for walls, and three decade old couches as living room centerpieces. These homes are hot and full of dust in the summer, and likewise they are drafty and smell of burning wood in the winter.
The tension and atmosphere in this, especially towards the final third of the film, reminded me of The Dark and The Wicked. A film that redefines what "bleak" can mean in a film. Relentless. Unstoppable. And unsympathetic. It's shocking without gratuity. It hurts because it doesn't care. There's no motivation here. And for some, this makes for uneasy viewing. I have a few qualms with the ultimate ending, as I don't think it quite delivers once the genie is out of the bottle and we have seen the terrible repercussions. The final minutes just left me cold, which is a shame, because what immediately precedes it is grueling.
I do wish the inevitable, lurking threat would have been hinted at sooner, and that the film could have hit its "horror" stride a bit sooner. But then again, if Lyons and Swies had skimped on their characters, would we have cared as much for them, or would we have cared for what this film is ultimately trying to say?
This is a film about character, something too many horror films get panned for skimping out on. Way too many reviews read: "We feel nothing for these characters, so we don't care when bad things happen to them". The opposite is true here. The film spends an inordinate amount of time sketching out these people, who they are, and how they live their lives. It's a huge investment that the directors obviously want us to make, as they commit two-thirds of the runtime to said investment, and to be frank; I think it's worth it.
Adirenne Barbeau redefines the role of a family matriarch in this film. Crude. Overbearing, and played to perfection. I got flashes of her performance from Creepshow at times, but where that role had zero nuance, playing exclusively for camp; this performance replaces that with weight and a deep sense of family devotion, loyalty, and love. She knows what's right. She knows what needs to be done. Is it the easy thing to do? No. Does she go about doing it or saying it in the right way? Absolutely not. It's these types of characters that make for fascinating stories.
Likewise, Marc Blucas is not an actor I am well acquainted with, but just like Barbeau, his performance here is deliciously layered. Where Barbeau knows what is right but isn't couth enough to make it happen, Blucas's portrayal of her neighbor, a single father to a teenage mother, has no idea what is right and what is wrong anymore. He is out of choices. So he makes the only one left to him. It's a brilliant contrast between the two.
P. J. Marshall and Monica Wyche were the other stand outs to me. Aching for something more, something else, and making what choices they can in a world made to crush them. I have known too many people like this, and as refreshing as it can be to see such reality paint itself across the screen, it can also be heart wrenching.
The directors were obviously careful in making sure the setting reflected the characters they were placing within them. Growing up in rural PA, I have always had a soft spot for films that felt like places I have been, seen, and grew up in, with Winter's Bone being a wonderful example of this. Here Lyons and Swies opt for that same feeling. The cars are rusty, the tractor has seen better days, homes are constructed out of blankets for walls, and three decade old couches as living room centerpieces. These homes are hot and full of dust in the summer, and likewise they are drafty and smell of burning wood in the winter.
The tension and atmosphere in this, especially towards the final third of the film, reminded me of The Dark and The Wicked. A film that redefines what "bleak" can mean in a film. Relentless. Unstoppable. And unsympathetic. It's shocking without gratuity. It hurts because it doesn't care. There's no motivation here. And for some, this makes for uneasy viewing. I have a few qualms with the ultimate ending, as I don't think it quite delivers once the genie is out of the bottle and we have seen the terrible repercussions. The final minutes just left me cold, which is a shame, because what immediately precedes it is grueling.
I do wish the inevitable, lurking threat would have been hinted at sooner, and that the film could have hit its "horror" stride a bit sooner. But then again, if Lyons and Swies had skimped on their characters, would we have cared as much for them, or would we have cared for what this film is ultimately trying to say?
Cheap and dull
Leofwine_draca16 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Another cheap and dull slice of digital horror. An environment plot a little similar to THE COLOR OUT OF SPACE but lacking the intrigue, the mystery, the exoticism of that story and its many adaptations. This time around we're with a cast of dirt-poor farmers (whose lives make the film exceedingly dull) who allow frackers on to their land; disaster ensues. The horror aspects are extremely limited and go nowhere and even former scream queen Adrienne Barbeau's presence fails to lift the spirits.
A truly awful film
zBirdman5 July 2022
If you're looking for supernatural horror, this ain't it. This movie made me feel like I needed a shower.
It's essentially nothing but setup. There's no payoff. There's no twist. There's nothing. You watch the movie... the credits roll... and you wish you could unsee it... at least I do.
On the upside, no need to worry about spoilers... There's nothing that could spoil this film any more than it already is.
It's essentially nothing but setup. There's no payoff. There's no twist. There's nothing. You watch the movie... the credits roll... and you wish you could unsee it... at least I do.
On the upside, no need to worry about spoilers... There's nothing that could spoil this film any more than it already is.
Horror and fracking don't mix.
nitrohead-5949211 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Another so called horror movie filled loud bursts of sound, animal screeching or growling effects (with no sound explaination of where they eminate from), unviewable camera movement in nearly every scene, and an ending with no ending. Are they dead? Are they alive? Was this a goo dream? Another flop of a politicized topic mixed with horror. Don't bother.
Hipsters, leave movie making to adults
jamietreetalker823 April 2022
Hipster films, with no plot, no dialogue, no emotions, literally nothing but pretty pictures that occasionally move aren't movies. They're called paintings, or perhaps optical illusions. Character study films exist, and some are quite good, but they have more substance than this house plant of a film.
drama between 2 families struggline and 15 minutes of horror at the end
kaefab27 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
If you can call this horror, no the acting is really not bad, if you want to check out a movie that is more dramatic then horror.
The horror component comes in play around 1h and 15 minutes of the movie, other then that its 2 families struggling to keep there farm, being screwed by an oil company and so on.
So i cannot recommend this movie pass it on its really boring and nothing to offer.
The horror component comes in play around 1h and 15 minutes of the movie, other then that its 2 families struggling to keep there farm, being screwed by an oil company and so on.
So i cannot recommend this movie pass it on its really boring and nothing to offer.
Slow paced atmospheric pseudo-horror...
paul_haakonsen30 April 2021
I didn't know what I was getting myself into here when I sat down to watch the 2020 horror drama movie "Unearth". In fact, I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down in 2021 to watch it. But it being a horror movie was more than sufficient to make me want to watch it. Plus the fact that it was a movie that I hadn't already seen before, and also it having an interesting cover, definitely helped seal the deal.
And it should be said that the storyline told in "Unearth", as written by writers Kelsey Goldberg and John C. Lyons is rather slow paced. Now, the storyline itself definitely was interesting enough, but the pacing of the movie just restrained the movie to reach its full potential. And you have to keep focused on the movie, because this is a very confusing storyline. Directors John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies definitely do good jobs at keeping the audience in the dark, and never really knowing what is actually going on and what is just imaginary.
That kind of storyline and approach to a movie doesn't really sit well with everyone in the audience, so "Unearth" could be somewhat of an acquired taste. I enjoyed it well enough, but I feel that the movie could have been a lot more entertaining if it had been properly paced, and also if there was actually a clear and distinct way of knowing what was actually going on.
I sat through the entire movie, and as it ended I was left with a sense of 'okay, what was that all about?', it makes for a somewhat anti-climatic movie and I feel somewhat bereft out of a proper movie experience.
It should be said, though, that the atmosphere in the movie was spot on. I definitely enjoyed that, and there were some elements of a Lovecraftian-inspired sense of cosmic dread to the movie.
The movie had a fairly strong ensemble of actors and actresses to portray the various roles and characters throughout the course of the movie. And they definitely put on good performances. It was just a shame that they weren't allowed to go to the full scope of what could be done, given the limitations of a slow paced story and a very confusing storyline.
"Unearth" wasn't an impressive horror movie, but it definitely was a good atmospheric movie - if there is such a thing.
My rating of the 2020 movie "Unearth" lands on a four out of ten stars. A shame really that this movie wasn't allowed to become more than it turned out to be, because it had all the contents necessary to make for a truly great atmospheric horror movie. If you are in for an evening of proper horror, then your money is not well spent on "Unearth".
And it should be said that the storyline told in "Unearth", as written by writers Kelsey Goldberg and John C. Lyons is rather slow paced. Now, the storyline itself definitely was interesting enough, but the pacing of the movie just restrained the movie to reach its full potential. And you have to keep focused on the movie, because this is a very confusing storyline. Directors John C. Lyons and Dorota Swies definitely do good jobs at keeping the audience in the dark, and never really knowing what is actually going on and what is just imaginary.
That kind of storyline and approach to a movie doesn't really sit well with everyone in the audience, so "Unearth" could be somewhat of an acquired taste. I enjoyed it well enough, but I feel that the movie could have been a lot more entertaining if it had been properly paced, and also if there was actually a clear and distinct way of knowing what was actually going on.
I sat through the entire movie, and as it ended I was left with a sense of 'okay, what was that all about?', it makes for a somewhat anti-climatic movie and I feel somewhat bereft out of a proper movie experience.
It should be said, though, that the atmosphere in the movie was spot on. I definitely enjoyed that, and there were some elements of a Lovecraftian-inspired sense of cosmic dread to the movie.
The movie had a fairly strong ensemble of actors and actresses to portray the various roles and characters throughout the course of the movie. And they definitely put on good performances. It was just a shame that they weren't allowed to go to the full scope of what could be done, given the limitations of a slow paced story and a very confusing storyline.
"Unearth" wasn't an impressive horror movie, but it definitely was a good atmospheric movie - if there is such a thing.
My rating of the 2020 movie "Unearth" lands on a four out of ten stars. A shame really that this movie wasn't allowed to become more than it turned out to be, because it had all the contents necessary to make for a truly great atmospheric horror movie. If you are in for an evening of proper horror, then your money is not well spent on "Unearth".
Fracked Up
srhosterman3 October 2020
The pacing was very small town. The people were believable desperate farmers & family. But the symbolism was my favorite part of this film out of all other aspects! Because we all have repressed emotions somewhere, and eventually it can eat away at us. And these families embodied that, and got super 'fracked up'. Seeing how each character's hidden fears took form, as their desperation grew, was terrifyingly relatable. Also, although fracking is known to produce pollution, this film has us wondering what or who is creating a toxic environment. The ground? The air? The people speaking their opinions about us and our lives? Was it the chicken or the egg? You can take this film literally... But do yourself a favor and dig deeper. (Though please, hold off on any fracking).
Pure garbage!
alekxya23 May 2022
Show Fungi Some Love!
renovatio-512353 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Excellent movie about what happens when we acquiesce to industry a bit too much. There are two species on this planet organics and the fungi. You best understand the fungi have been around longer thab us by a few billion years and have been responsible for cleaning up the earth after every planetary life ending event. In short - it consumes, decomposes and returns fertility to the area around it.
So a Frakking company gets between two broke, sad, and fueding farming families. They let their guard down and the company manages to lease one of the families land to drill.
The frakkers dig deep inadvertently releasing an all consuming incredibly fast, sound and lumens reacting flesh eating fungus. The same one that cleaned up Earth after the dinosaurs were wiped out by the meteor.
The farmers soon realize that their squabbling was foolish and they should have stood their ground as the fungus literally consumes their bodies while they go insane from the spores. Everything is consumed slowly and horribly including all wild life (birds, cattle..etc). Nothing is spared except for the fauna and trees natually. The mycillin keeps the fungus from going haywire hehe.
Warning: there is a scene where even the baby is not spared from being digested horribly by the fungi. It's what it does. Meanwhile the Frakking company moves on after realizing the damage.
In the end the land is fertile again and a new bumper crop is being seen harvested. Problem is - the one surviving protagonist has the "itch" and you can see 2 more frakking sites set up at the mouth of a river just before the camera goes dark. Love it.
..we never learn..
The Earth (Fungi) will turn us all into compost if we cant figure out how to care for it.
Great movie. Would recommend it to anyone.
So a Frakking company gets between two broke, sad, and fueding farming families. They let their guard down and the company manages to lease one of the families land to drill.
The frakkers dig deep inadvertently releasing an all consuming incredibly fast, sound and lumens reacting flesh eating fungus. The same one that cleaned up Earth after the dinosaurs were wiped out by the meteor.
The farmers soon realize that their squabbling was foolish and they should have stood their ground as the fungus literally consumes their bodies while they go insane from the spores. Everything is consumed slowly and horribly including all wild life (birds, cattle..etc). Nothing is spared except for the fauna and trees natually. The mycillin keeps the fungus from going haywire hehe.
Warning: there is a scene where even the baby is not spared from being digested horribly by the fungi. It's what it does. Meanwhile the Frakking company moves on after realizing the damage.
In the end the land is fertile again and a new bumper crop is being seen harvested. Problem is - the one surviving protagonist has the "itch" and you can see 2 more frakking sites set up at the mouth of a river just before the camera goes dark. Love it.
..we never learn..
The Earth (Fungi) will turn us all into compost if we cant figure out how to care for it.
Great movie. Would recommend it to anyone.
Bleak but rewarding environmental horror
maxwellsnake2429 June 2021
Part social commentary part body horror fable, 'unearth' joins a list of recent horror flicks that take the slow burn route to deliver their shocks. ' saint maud' and 'relic' proved that the patient approach to movie storytelling can be fruitful, with both receiving critical accolades and swiftly growing cult followings.'unearth' may not leave the viewer in quite the same state of shock as the those two aforementioned movies and may drag in places, but when it comes to effectively creating a palpable sense of dread it stands shoulder to shoulder with them. Two neighbouring farmsteads experiencing financial hardship , struggle with the woes of rural living and some dark personal secrets. When a gas fracking company offers to buy one of the cash strapped neighbour's spare land, tensions arise between the two families and what appears to be a financial lifeline, reveals itself to something far more sinister. 'unearth' is a bleak movie , with an almost downbeat indie drama feel for most of its running time, so those looking for regular short, sharp shocks will likely be disappointed, if you have the patience however , this movie's shocking denouement will pay off handsomely.
Fracking bad so is this movie
blaymore4 February 2022
where's the movie....
flippie-7130328 July 2021
This title isn't hardly a movie....it's all about talking without any purpose of making anything into a story....don't know why they made this 'story' into something to tell to anyone....one of the worst things i ever seen in awhile....avoid this crap!!!
It is a fracking movie so ease up on the ratings!!
zoolife26 April 2021
I would if it wasn't so fragmented while going nowhere.
The environment definitely needs protecting but see little reason to protect this movie with an inflated rating. It's an unbalanced film and in so doing removes the 'suspension of disbelief'. I may as well been watching a mockumentary but as far as I can tell that was not its intention.
The environment definitely needs protecting but see little reason to protect this movie with an inflated rating. It's an unbalanced film and in so doing removes the 'suspension of disbelief'. I may as well been watching a mockumentary but as far as I can tell that was not its intention.
Tries too hard to be a horror/thriller with too many disjointed scenes...
transientdreams29 June 2021
Awesome premise, and a good start. Adrienne Barbeau kicks ass, and the acting is good all around. But then comes the angst, and solitary angst, and then the group angst and unresolved grief and personal opportunism. Then just more and more disjointed suffering and trauma that no one is doing anything about while no questions are being asked about anything. After the first half, it just become a 45 minute 'trailer' of nonsensical grief and greed scenes that make very little sense to anyone who can reason and who has the most basic of common sense. Nothing is ever explained. In all honesty, I would barely call this a "movie". It seemed it was going to be a nice, tight little drama, but no such luck. With 2 writers and 2 directors, SOMEBODY screwed this little pooch sideways in the second half. I think the actors deserve an apology...
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