Director – Martin Guigui (Cattle Call, Swing)
Starring – Elijah Nelson (The Sasquatch Gang, Colony), Natasha Henstridge (Ghosts of Mars, Species), and Kayla Carlson (Why Women Kill, CSI: NY)
Release Date – 2020
Rating – 3/5
I just spent a week working through seven films from Florida filmmaker William Grefe along with a documentary about his life and career. It was fun watching these classic late 60s and 70s horror and exploitation classics and the documentary but I’ve spent a little too much time in decades passed. I wanted to watching something a little newer so I turned to a new Scream Factory release.
The Unhealer is a dark drama starring Elijah Nelson and Natasha Henstridge. I was curious about this one when I saw that Lance Henriksen was in it but the poster was turning me off. Regardless, I went into this one with an open mind and enjoyed it to some degree.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows the shy and timid teenager Kelly (Nelson) who has an eating disorder and is often bullied by the other kids in his high school. His body is malnourished because he only eats foam and pencil erasers so his mother turns to a religious healer (Henriksen) to cure her son. However, he dies during the process and bestows an ancient Native American power that reverses trauma from him and applies it back to those that tries to hurt him. He uses his new powers to get revenge on those that bully him. However, they retaliate and accidentally kill Kelly’s mother Bernice (Henstridge). This sends Kelly over the edge and he goes on a killing spree murdering anyone that was associated with the his mother’s death. **Spoiler Alert**
I knew from the poster and title that this was going to be goofy but I still enjoyed it. It was a solid film over all but I did find myself rolling my eyes from time to time. It’s an interesting idea but it felt like it was written by a teenager or someone that was hoping to sell it to a distribution company that deals exclusively with mockbusters.
The acting in this one is very uneven and not the level of commitment that you would expect from the cast. Henriksen is only in the film for around 10 minutes or so and his performance at that time is very underwhelming. I like his character and the set up for the story that they laid before him but his short appearance and lack of screen time really is disappointing when you consider how much his name is plastered all over the promotion items for the film. I did like Henstridge’s performance. Her character was very likable and she did a fantastic job as the mother. You really believe that she loved Kelly. As for the film’s lead. Elijah Nelson was great as Kelly but some of the later scenes where he is becoming power hungry and violent he doesn’t feel genuine. His performance is awkward to watch and it’s difficult to take him seriously. It’s almost as if he was being directed to act that way by someone who has never seen an actual movie.
The story for this one has some very interesting aspects along with some out of place portions that are a little cringy and goofy. The eating disorder angle is very grounded and serious which does add some depth to the film. However, having him eat trash was pushing something serious to the point it was almost comedic. Watching him eat foam takes away from the actual impact of that part of the story. I did love the Native American lore that was mixed into the story but I feel like it was not explored to it’s fullest potential.
Finally, the film does have some bloody moments with some impressive make-up effects and the viewer gets to enjoy them full. We don’t get a quick shot of it before it moves away. Instead, it’s the main focus of the scene and we get to appreciate the make-up effects. Overall, The Unhealer is a film that could be the butt of viewer’s jokes but I liked it. I don’t see myself revisiting it again but as a first time watch it was entertaining. Check it out with an open mind and maybe a few beers.
