''The Unseen'' is a 2016 Canadian

psychological horror film Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgen ...

directed by Geoff Redknap and starring

Aden Young Aden Young (born 30 November 1971) is a Canadian-Australian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Daniel Holden in the SundanceTV drama ''Rectify'', for which he was twice nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor ...

Camille Sullivan Camille Sullivan (born July 7, 1975) is a Canadian actress. She has starred in various films and television series. Among her notable television appearances are ''Rookie Blue'', ''Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''Intelligence'' and ''Shattered''. She won a ...

Julia Sarah Stone Julia Sarah Stone (born November 24, 1997) is a Canadian actress. She began studying theater at the age of six, and appeared in a number of school plays over the following years. After booking a small part in an independent short film in 2009, sh ...

, and

Ben Cotton Ben Cotton (born July 26, 1975) is a Canadian film and television actor. His most notable roles are on the TV series ''Stargate Atlantis'' playing scientist Dr. Kavanagh, his portrayal of "Leon Bell" in the game Dead Rising 2, Shane Pierce, the ...

. It was released in 2016."Film Review: ‘The Unseen’"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', August 6, 2016.

Plot

Bob Longmore (

) is suffering from a mysterious disease which is causing his body to slowly become invisible. Having abandoned his family eight years earlier when the condition began emerging, he lives in a logging town in the far north of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, isolating himself as much as possible and keeping his body carefully covered whenever he does have to interact with people. When his ex-wife Darlene (

) calls him to discuss their troubled teenage daughter Eva (

), he resolves to return to the city, but is forced to deliver a supply of drugs for Crisby (

) in exchange for the repair of his vehicle; the visit becomes further complicated when Eva disappears soon after his return, forcing him to juggle the drug delivery with trying to find his daughter."'The Unseen': Fantasia Review"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', July 19, 2016. jbbk

Reception

Critical response

'' film critic Dennis Harvey wrote that the film "is ultimately middling as a quasi-sci-fi/horror suspense drama, but it has authentic grit as a story about one man’s struggle with alcoholism and depression." Writing for ''

'', John DeFore found the drug smuggling subplot unnecessary, but gave the film a favourable review overall and interpreted the invisibility plot as "a metaphor for a working class increasingly left out of society's decision-making processes".

Awards

At the

Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2016 The nominations for the 17th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2016 in film, 2016, were announced on December 16, 2016. ''Manchester by the Sea (film), Manchester by the Sea'' led with six nominations, when ''M ...

, Stone was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film. The film was nominated at the

5th Canadian Screen Awards The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017. Awards in many of the technical categor ...

in 2017 for

Best Sound Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...

and Best Visual Effects. It also received nine nominations at the 2017

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

, including Best Direction, Screenwriting and Cinematography.“Nominees announced for 2017 Leo Awards”
Vancouver Courier, May 1, 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unseen, The 2016 films 2016 horror films 2010s psychological horror films Canadian psychological horror films Canadian supernatural horror films English-language Canadian films 2010s supernatural horror films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films