Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

The Unnamable Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 26, 2019

If you either go to a monster movie in a theater, or buy or rent a monster movie to watch in the comfort (and safety?) of your own home, do you want to actually see the monster? That preference may play into how much patience you have for The Unnamable, an interesting if kind of slow adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story that teases the existence of something horrifying in its opening sequence, but which then waits a good, long while before offering even a fleeting glimpse of the entity. Now in reading about Lovecraft’s source story, it turns out that the creature in Lovecraft’s original formulation was evidently beyond “the reach” of our normal five senses, which may account for at least some of the kind of discursive approach the film version takes, but there’s only so much momentum The Unnamable can generate off of hints and (unseen) things going bump in the night.

Note: I have provided two screenshots of the film's demonic creature in positions 7 and 8 in this review, which means you'll need to click on the Screenshots tab to see them. Spoiler-phobes are forewarned.

What’s maybe a little bit odd about all of this (or perhaps not so odd, given the vagaries of marketing) is how prominently the demon of this film is featured in key art. Unfortunately for those wanting a lot of screen time for this particular wraith, its appearance is limited to a climactic moment where lighting isn’t optimal to begin with and the edits are rather frequent, meaning getting an actual glimpse of the thing may be a bit of a challenge.

The film begins with a brief sequence documenting that aforementioned something being kept locked up in an attic like space in what kind of looks like a Puritan era mansion. The film of course segues forward into “current” time, with a group of students deciding to go the horror movie cliché route and attempt to spend a night in the mansion, with predictable results.

There are a few isolated scares in The Unnamable, along with at least a couple of moments of gore which may satisfy the “blood and guts” crowd, but the film probably tries too hard to coast for too long on mood.

The Unnamable Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Unnamable is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed FIlms and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release touts that this is a "newly restored 4K transfer", without specifying the element or elements utilized. I hedge a bit on singular or plural, because while this is a pleasing and well detailed presentation for the most part, there are sudden moments where clarity falters, grain increases and detail levels can lapse (see screenshot 9 for one of the less pleasing moments, and then compare it to several others accompanying this review). With those allowances made for variabilities, while often quite grainy (to the point that fine detail can be masked in some more dimly lit moments), this transfer offers a commendably organic appearance while supporting good detail levels when lighting conditions allow. The palette looks generally well saturated. There are no major signs of any age related wear and tear, though there is some noticeable wobble during the credits sequence.

The Unnamable Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Unnamable features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, a remastered LPCM 2.0 track, and what's advertised as the "original grindhouse" LPCM 2.0 track. There is some very peculiar phasing and echoing going on in the surround track with regard to a lot of the effects (as in the demon's shriek) that I frankly can't account for, but which is extremely distracting (especially in the climax), making this track probably unlistenable for many. The remastered stereo track is fine with regard to all effects, as is the slightly more hiss heavy "grindhouse" version. Both 2.0 tracks offer fine fidelity and substantial dynamic range, with good support for all dialogue.

The Unnamable Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Charles Klausmeyer, Mark Stephenson, Laura Albert, Eben Ham, Camille Calvet, and R. Christopher Biggs


• Interview with actors Charles Klausmeyer and Mark Kinsey Stephenson (1080p; 1:18:33) is the first of several interviews that look like they may have been webcast. They're presented here with interviewer Jay Kay of Horror Happens Radio in one video chat box, and the interview subject in another video chat box.


• Interview with actor Eben Ham (1080p; 30:55)


• Interview with actress Laura Albert (1080p; 46:16)


• Interview with Mark Parra (1080p; 33:66)


• Interview with R. Christopher Biggs, special makeup effects artist, and makeup artist Camille Calvet (1080p; 1:00:03)


• Photo Gallery (1080i) hasn't been authored with a timecode but it does feature auto advance, so have your pause button handy if you like any given image. There are a lot of views of the beast in this gallery, for those who are interested.

Note: The Trailers section (seen as a Menu option in screenshot 10) does not include the trailer for this film.

The Unnamable Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Unnamable offers a decently effective mood, but it's awfully derivative a lot of the time, and its arguably overhyped "monster" (in terms of key art and the like) is virtually nonexistent, which may disappoint some diehard horror fans. Video here is generally solid, but the surround mix has some very odd issues.