Unrest (film)
Encyclopedia
Unrest is an independent horror film
. It was shown at the horror film festival 8 Films To Die For
during the 2006 fall season.
At the 2006 International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival
it was awarded Best Picture for Horror, and the lead actress, Corri English, won Best Actress.
who seems to bring misfortune on those who come in contact with it.
Although there is very little corporeal manifestation of the ghosts, people seem to die when they enrage the spirit which is linked with a special cadaver - by disrespecting it or otherwise. The story takes place mostly inside a hospital, where a young female med student, Alison Blanchard, comes to learn anatomy. By observing the cadaver she was assigned, she discovers that the body had self inflicted wounds and also had a child. She soon discovers that there is something wrong with the cadaver, which they have nicknamed "Norma." Mysterious deaths occur in the hospital, which include the fiance of one of Allison's team members and several hospital employees.
It is revealed that the cadaver is a person named Alita Covas, who once led an archaeological expedition on an Aztec
sacrificial site
. There she uncovered 50,000 bodies which were offered to Tlazolteotl
, the Aztec god of fertility and prostitution. Afterwards, she herself became a prostitute, and started showing symptoms of mental imbalance. Later in her life, she committed murders and was subsequently put in a mental asylum where she died - presumably by her own hand.
Once Alison learns of the true nature of the cadaver, she decides the corpse must return to Brazil to satisfy the Aztec god. After a series of gruesome events, Alison and her classmate/love interest take Alita's now dismembered corpse and cremate her in the hospital. In the end, Alison heads to Brazil
to spread the ashes in an attempt to put the spirit at rest; however, it is suggested in the final scene that the spirit remains in the hospital.
, where the cast experienced some haunting dreams. The trailer
claims that real bodies were used. However, this is not the first film to use real bodies. In the 1982 film Poltergeist, in the scene where the mother falls into the pool and the skeletons attack her, the skeletons used were real, and were buried in the spot of the set. Likewise, in the 1987 Hong Kong
film Men Behind the Sun, a genuine child's body was used for an autopsy scene.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
. It was shown at the horror film festival 8 Films To Die For
8 Films to Die For
After Dark Horrorfest is an annual horror film festival featuring eight independent horror movies, sometimes with "secret" bonus films, all distributed by After Dark Films in the USA...
during the 2006 fall season.
At the 2006 International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival
International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival is a film festival dedicated to the genres of horror and science fiction that is held annually in Tempe, Arizona, United States...
it was awarded Best Picture for Horror, and the lead actress, Corri English, won Best Actress.
Plot
The film revolves around a cadaverCadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....
who seems to bring misfortune on those who come in contact with it.
Although there is very little corporeal manifestation of the ghosts, people seem to die when they enrage the spirit which is linked with a special cadaver - by disrespecting it or otherwise. The story takes place mostly inside a hospital, where a young female med student, Alison Blanchard, comes to learn anatomy. By observing the cadaver she was assigned, she discovers that the body had self inflicted wounds and also had a child. She soon discovers that there is something wrong with the cadaver, which they have nicknamed "Norma." Mysterious deaths occur in the hospital, which include the fiance of one of Allison's team members and several hospital employees.
It is revealed that the cadaver is a person named Alita Covas, who once led an archaeological expedition on an Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
sacrificial site
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture
Human sacrifice was a religious practice characteristic of pre-Columbian Aztec civilization, as well as of other mesoamerican civilizations such as the Maya and the Zapotec. The extent of the practice is debated by modern scholars...
. There she uncovered 50,000 bodies which were offered to Tlazolteotl
Tlazolteotl
In Aztec mythology, Tlazolteotl is a goddess of purification, steam bath, midwives, filth, and a patroness of adulterers. In Nahuatl, the word tlazolli can refer to vice and diseases. Thus, Tlazolteotl was a goddess of filth , vice, and sexual misdeeds...
, the Aztec god of fertility and prostitution. Afterwards, she herself became a prostitute, and started showing symptoms of mental imbalance. Later in her life, she committed murders and was subsequently put in a mental asylum where she died - presumably by her own hand.
Once Alison learns of the true nature of the cadaver, she decides the corpse must return to Brazil to satisfy the Aztec god. After a series of gruesome events, Alison and her classmate/love interest take Alita's now dismembered corpse and cremate her in the hospital. In the end, Alison heads to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to spread the ashes in an attempt to put the spirit at rest; however, it is suggested in the final scene that the spirit remains in the hospital.
Production
The film was shot in a real morgueMorgue
A morgue or mortuary is used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification, or removal for autopsy or disposal by burial, cremation or otherwise...
, where the cast experienced some haunting dreams. The trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
claims that real bodies were used. However, this is not the first film to use real bodies. In the 1982 film Poltergeist, in the scene where the mother falls into the pool and the skeletons attack her, the skeletons used were real, and were buried in the spot of the set. Likewise, in the 1987 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
film Men Behind the Sun, a genuine child's body was used for an autopsy scene.
External links
- Trailer at apple.com