The first The Unnamable was released at the end of the 80s when it was all the rage to make films loosely based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. But it manage to avoid getting into the kind of trippy sci-fi territory some other Lovecraft adaptations did (I’m talking to you, From Beyond!), giving this franchise a much more mainstream horror feel. It’s pretty much good old creature feature stuff…and what an awesome creature she is.
THE UNNAMABLE (1988)
The Unnamable really waters down to a conventional horror flick, with a bunch of college kids breaking into an old scary house to party…and being hunted down by the freaky monster that has been locked away in there for ages.
Naturally, there’s a backstory to why the creature was locked away, and a couple of the characters know it. But the movie is more about atmosphere: dusty old rooms, dark hallways, shadows created by candlelight, and the unseen monster roaming the halls.
The Unnamable definitely gives off a Night of the Demons vibe even though there’s just one monster. But she’s really the most memorable part. The stuff of nightmares, she’s also kind of the stuff of adolescent wet dreams, because she’s got some major T&A. But her ear-splitting screeching noises can kill any horror horniness. There’s your standard R-rated gore, hints of humor, and some good monster POV to add to the creepiness.
THE UNNAMABLE II: THE STATEMENT OF RANDOLPH CARTER (1992)
Seriously. The Unnamable II would have sufficed for the title. The sequel picks up right where the first film ended, with several of the original characters returning, as well as the director. It also has a lot more storyline and a lot more monster! And that’s a good thing because she’s so fricking cool.
So the survivors of the first film decide to go right back to the house and find and destroy the monster once and for all. But instead…they make her even angrier.
B-movie queen Julie Strain squeezes her curvaceous bod into the monster costume this time. And her existence is split in two by a magic spell—a beautiful young woman is released and the goal of the main characters is to keep her away from the monster. So she runs around totally naked for quite a while. The gore is also upped drastically in this one, in a good way.
For a while, it seems like just cops are going to get killed—numerous cops. But eventually, the monster makes her way to a college dorm and it’s good old “kill the teens” time! There are also a whole lot of chase scenes.
The weakest moment in the sequel? Dude kills the bitch with a chair. No, really.
