Unseen is a survival thriller with an interesting premise. Sam (Jolene Purdy) is a gas station attendant who works as a gas station attendant. She is constantly disrespected and forced to handle things without any support, but she is doing her best to get by. She soon receives a call from a woman named Emily (Midori Francis) who is on the run from her abusive ex-boyfriend. Her glasses have been broken, leaving her vision severely impaired. With the help of a video call, Sam must become Emily’s eyes.
It is a fine premise for a scene, but much more difficult for an entire movie. In order to be engaging, there has to be characters to root for or else audiences will not be able to suspend disbelief. Even worse, a poorly written character can lead to people losing interest. Unseen tries to handle this issue immediately by introducing two leads that are dealing with two toxic situations that are vastly different, but still points out the bond the two strangers share.
It is a strange mix of humor and high drama that continues throughout Unseen with mixed results. It does a great job of creating empathy for the pair, but it also never allows anyone watching to settle in. As the plot progresses, things reach an over the top level at the gas station that does lead to to some funny moments, but also takes away from the more serious matter at hand. Simply put, the writing tries too hard to have it both ways.
Wisely, director Yoko Okumara keeps things short allowing for the tension to reach maximum levels while never allowing the story to run out of steam. Purdy and Francis have great chemistry, with the use of split screen working surprisingly well. The two wildly varying tones can be jarring, but Unseen is definitely worth seeing.
Unseen comes to On Demand and Digital March 7
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