The Unfamiliar (2020) | Film Review

Back from a tour as a British Army physician in Afghanistan, Izzy (Jemima West) is the one in need of a mend. Shocked and awed from her experiences, PTSD has seeped into her psychosis. Yet once she returns home to her husband and three children, Izzy takes notice of strange happenings around the homestead. She can’t quite figure it out, and her attempts to do so are what fuels The Unfamiliar.

One could argue, having three kids would be enough to drive anyone mad, and you would be spot-on. However, Izzy believes there is something supernatural afoot, yet at every turn her speculation is met with a physical justification. Izzy believes her daughter Emma impales herself, yet a camera she set up tells a different story. She believes spirits have invaded the home, so she arranges a séance that complicates matters even further. Her son Tommy seems to be talking to someone who isn’t there…well, maybe there’s more to that one. These are common tropes for a film such as this, but the script does offer a few fairly reasonable explanations for her experiences.

At its roots, The Unfamiliar is a standard demonic tale: our hero identifies an evil amiss despite no one believing her and hunts down the mystery behind her suspicions. Adding PTSD to the fire gives the audience a nice alternate angle to appreciate, though we all know basically where this story is headed. Izzy’s husband Ethan’s (Christopher Dane) recent trip to Hawaii also imbues the proceedings with hints of fresh curiosity and menace.

While the entire remainder of the cast are hit-and-miss (one actor’s struggle with an accent is particularly troubling for a pivotal moment in the third act), Jemima West is giving it her all. Throughout the entirety of The Unfamiliar’s 90 minutes, I never doubted Izzy’s struggle was real, and that alone is a testament to West’s performance. Izzy is the pack leader, the driving force of this family, and a wonderful middle finger to traditional casting tropes (yes, moms can be badass too, Hollywood). West proves that she deserves a bigger canvas; she has the goods.

Director and co-writer Henk Pretorius has a kernel of a great film here. Aside from his lead, the third act does have an interesting perspective on Polynesian culture and the appropriation of such. There are moments where the possibilities of The Unfamiliar take hold – a sly reveal here, an intriguing twist there, a hint of AH-HA! – yet the film never quite settles in to enough of a groove to truly take off. Too often, a genuinely taut sequence finds the tensions squeezed out by a lacking performance or a rushed turn-of-events that deserved more screen time.

Though horror fans might find it worthy of a midnight watch, The Unfamiliar is ripe with ideas that are never fully fleshed out. Despite a solid leading turn from Jemima West, the film concludes with that ole’ horror feeling we are all a bit too used to, one of familiarity.