Unhinged (1982)

Unhinged is a 1982 psychological slasher film directed by Don Gronquist and written by Reagan Ramsey.

Plot
Three friends, Terry, Nancy, and Gloria, travel to a music festival in the fictional town of Pinewood, Washington. On the way there, they hear about a pair of missing twins, Leslie and Stacey Montag, who were last seen in the woods. While the girls are distracted by some heavy rain, they crash their car into a ravine, knocking all of them unconscious.

Terry wakes up in a bedroom and is greeted by Marion Penrose, the owner of the house, and Norman Barnes, the local doctor. Norman tells Terry that Nancy is doing fine, while Gloria is in a coma. Norman leaves and Marion invites Terry to dinner. She meets up with Nancy downstairs while Marion brings her mother into the room. Marion's mother begins to rant about men before she is stopped by Marion. After dinner, Terry and Nancy are brought to their rooms.

That night, Terry wakes up to the sound of a man masturbating above her. The next morning, Terry tells Nancy about what she heard while their taking a shower, not knowing that someone's watching them through a peephole. Nancy tells Terry that she'll try to walk into town. While walking towards town, she is confronted by someone dressed up as a grim reaper. The figure then slashes Nancy to death with a scythe.

During dinner that night, Marion's mother once again rant about men. The two of them argue while Terry worry about Nancy's disappearance. Later that night, Terry is awoken by something by her window. She sees a man staring at her through the window. Terry runs downstairs screaming but is confronted by Marion. Marion reveals that the man is her mentally disabled brother Carl. She states that he is creepy, but completely harmless.

The next day, Terry sees Norman outside. Norman warns her not to go into the woods alone, since people are disappearing. Terry remembers the Montag twins' disappearance and trusts him. That night, Gloria wakes from her coma and Terry talks to her about the strange situation they're in. After Terry leaves, Gloria is hacked in the head with a hatchet.

Terry goes outside for a breath of fresh air, only to be chased by Carl. She hides in a tool shed, where she discovers the mutilated bodies of countless of different victims. She runs into the attic where she finds an old rusty pistol. Terry shoots Carl in the head, killing him.

Marion rushes upstairs only to see Carl's body. Terry tries to explain that Carl tried to attack her. Marion's voice suddenly deepens, and reveals that Carl had nothing to do with the murders. He reveals that he's actually Carl's brother, but since his mother hated men, she neglected one of her sons and forced the other one to dress up as a girl. After revealing his true identity to Terry, Marion grabs a machete and slashes her to death while raving about the horrible struggles that was forced onto Marion. After Terry bleeds out, Marion's mother calls for him. Marion changes her voice back to a higher pitch and answers her.

Cast

 * J.E. Penner - Marion Penrose
 * Laurel Munson - Terry Morgan
 * Sara Ansley - Nancy Paulson
 * Barbara Lusch - Gloria Small
 * Virginia Settle - Marion's Mother
 * Bill Simmonds - Carl Penrose
 * John Morrison - Norman Barnes
 * Francine Molter - Mrs. Morgan

Production
The film was shot around Portland, Oregon in the span of 19 nights. Most of the cast and crew were Portland natives, including a young Gus Van Sant, who would later direct the remake of Psycho. The Penrose Resident was actually Pittock Mansion, a historical French château in Portland, Oregon. The film was originally going to be a remake to "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" but was changed to be a more original film. The film has a lot of references to Psycho, like the main setting and some of the characters' names.

Reception
The film's main complaint is it's pacing, which can be rather slow at times. In modern times, the film is praised for it's twist ending and suspense throughout.

Censorship
Unhinged was banned in the UK and was considered a "Video Nasty" In the Australian version of the film, some of the slow-motion scenes were sped up so the camera wouldn't linger on the gore for too long.

In Popular Culture

 * The video case for Unhinged was seen in the 1991 film There's Nothing Out There.
 * The scythe was used in Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.