PLOT: When a gaggle of criminals comes to gather the contents of a storage unit, the lady operating the storage facility has to play a recreation of cat and mouse to flee along with her life.
REVIEW: Typically films have to beat actually dangerous posters in an effort to get a good shot. That’s actually true with regards to Unit 234, a thriller a couple of lady who’s caught in a storage facility and has to flee the criminals who need the contents of a particular unit. However the poster tells me nothing aside from it stars, and a useless physique on a gurney. What is meant to intrigue me about that? Particularly when the movie itself is a enjoyable little thriller with an ending you gained’t see coming?
Unit 234 follows Laurie (Isabelle Fuhrman) as she has to remain and watch over her storage facility as a substitute of happening the journey she deliberate along with her boyfriend. Throughout her shift, a gaggle of criminals exhibits up on the facility, making an attempt to interrupt into a particular unit. She discovers a person, seemingly within the midst of getting his organs stolen, and decides she wants to guard him towards those that want him hurt. It’s a pleasant cat-and-mouse thriller as she tries to flee the criminals whereas saving the person they’re after.
I’ve loved Fuhrman since Orphan, and she or he actually impresses when given the chance to. Laurie is fairly primary in her presentation, however there are such a lot of methods it may have gone fallacious. With a weaker actor, the character may have been very irritating. Don Johnson appears to be having a blast as the top of the criminals taking on the ability. He has much more to work with than initially anticipated. And Jack Huston proves how priceless he’s in any function, bringing a lot to the desk, and in the end making the narrative work.
Whereas I actually loved the various twists and turns of Unit 234, it’s exhausting to disregard among the asinine methods the story progressed. The reasoning behind Laurie having to stay across the storage facility could be very weak. Whereas the intention is to indicate that Laurie will take any excuse to not go to her boyfriend in Nashville, it simply comes throughout as poor writing to maintain her round for the festivities. And Johson’s coughing up of blood leads nowhere, making its inclusion a bit baffling. Many issues occur circumstantially or attributable to sheer luck. It may be very convoluted but it surely by no means diminishes the leisure worth of the story.
I’d often complain concerning the variety of offscreen deaths, but it surely’s positively intentional right here. They’re making an attempt to cover a component of the kills to assist with the reveal in a while, so it labored for me. What didn’t work was how sure moments have been brushed over. I’d often blame this on director inexperience, however Andy Tennant has been on this recreation a very long time, so it may simply be a stylistic selection I didn’t vibe with. Even the ending simply form of occurs, wrapping up method too rapidly, and avoiding a satisfying conclusion, regardless of having all of the items in place for it. I used to be simply hoping for some moments to breathe a bit.
Unit 234 does job of enjoying with expectations and doing one thing a bit totally different. But it surely may also be a bit formulaic and generic at instances. On a technical stage, I used to be continually impressed. This was clearly a really gifted crew, they usually have been in a position to stretch the greenback fairly far. It may be exhausting to maintain a movie set in a single location fascinating throughout the whole runtime. They pull it off fairly effectively, and the movie is rarely boring. It’s simply not as impactful correctly, which is simply too dangerous, because the performances are enjoyable, and it wraps up in a cool method.
UNIT 234 RELEASES TO THEATERS AND ON DEMAND ON MAY 9TH, 2025.
