Flesh of the Unforgiven (2024)


REVIEWER RATING: 
6/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


When the fate of your soul is based on your will to survive, I’m inclined to jump in this game and see who can take down the dreaded death dealer first. Unfortunately, his existence is limited to an unknown prerequisite of self-destructive lives dealing with infidelity, betrayal, abuse and suicide.  

Sienna is tormented through violent nightmares that juxtapose into her already tumultuous reality as she tries to subjugate her failing marriage with blocked writer, Jack. They decide to settle into their cabin in a wintered “tundra” where both hope to rekindle that flame, they fear is lost.  

As Jack buries himself into writing, he receives a mysteriously titled “Violent Love” VHS with an attached one-worded note: Inspiration. Curiously with the assumption it was forwarded by his publisher, his eagerness for motivation becomes short lived as he views a borderline snuff film featuring a masked couple who sadistically beat on one another. Physically AND mentally. How inspiring!  

While managing through a turbulent relationship, consistent night terrors featuring this death dealer devil and the possibility of being sucked into a demented purgatory dimension, we are now hit in the face with another spirit claim – the self-destructive Vivian.  

Vivienne (the remarkably talented August Kyss) is a beautiful but shattered young woman who chooses her despair over optimism during one hopeless night. Dolled up in a glamorous gown with impeccable make-up and hair, Vivienne makes the desperate decision to relieve her pain. Immediately in that moment, her need for peaceful mortality is shaken with the appearance of the soul-stealing monster renaming her as his own little jezebel.  

Through glimpses into his dark dimension, the gathered players in this hellish game beg for more time to save themselves. Torture increases to a Lorena Bobbitt level which is not only surprising in this fundamental horror film, but shockingly graphic in nature. It’s not unacceptable, but definitely unexpected. During the course of piecing the puzzle together, a cackling dime-store hooker-looker demon was nothing short of a perpetual irritation. I would sooner sit through nails on a chalkboard than welcome her presence back on screen for another 5 seconds. Yes, it was that excruciating. But as it goes throughout the thematics of Flesh of the Unforgiven…nothing is what it seems.

OVERALL: 
A decent script, believable performances and an adequate amount of bloody mutilations are provided in this low budget flick. Unfortunately, that does not eliminate the off-kilter dialogue during one particular scene that made me scowl with confusion midway through the film. Sienna and Jack discussing their plaguing trust issues for the umpteenth time felt contrived and exhausting…which eventually lead to a stale display of awkwardness. Combined with a weird montage mash-up of revisited happiness and illusions of violent death sequences had my head spinning for semblance. While the cast worked, the special effects did not. But don’t lose hope…stick around for the eye-patched bartender’s monologue. He can sure serve it up anytime!


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