Ever since I saw Traffic (which is one of my all-time favorite films), I usually try to keep a close eye on anything Steven Soderbergh works on. I would’ve never guessed his latest film, Unsane, would be shot on an iPhone, but leave it to him to make a thriller film work on it. While it might not be his best, there’s still plenty of well placed chills and thrills here that will make you question what’s real and what’s not.
The film stars Claire Foy as Sawyer Valentini, a young woman that does her best to get her life together after being stalked by a man for two years. After relocating from Boston to Pennsylvania, things seem to be going okay until she talks with her therapist who think she should check into a behavioral center to closely monitor her mental state. As with most of these movies that take place in a mental institution, she ends up getting an extended stay when the doctors and nurses claim she’s mentally unstable. Things are made even worse when she learns that one of the employees is the stalker that’s been haunting her, and now she’s got to fight her way out, if she doesn’t slip into madness first.
While I was surprised Steven Soderbergh shot this on an iPhone, it actually works pretty well here, as the film kept me guessing on what was really going on while putting out some nice thrills in the process. Since the later iPhones can shoot 4K footage, the picture and sound translate well to 4K Blu-ray with HDR that makes sure every detail jumps out at you, which is perfect for a thriller such as this. Sadly there’s not much in the extras department besides some various behind the scenes footage that’s meshed together. It would’ve been nice to have had audio commentary by Soderbergh and have him talk about what made him film on an iPhone, his experience crafting the movie together using the device, and more.
If you’re looking for a good thriller to watch, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Unsane, though you might lose your sanity to the intense chills you’ll get here. It’s a bit lacking in the special features department, but the nicely done 4K presentation along with the film itself is enough to keep you invested in this insanely well done thriller.