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Cast: Aden Young, Camille Sullivan, Julia Sarah Stone, Ben Cotton

Director: Geoff Redknap

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

Year: 2016

Rating: N/A

In a modern retelling of the classic The Invisible Man, The Unseen is about Bob Langmore (Aden Young) a former hockey player, now a struggling mill worker who years earlier mysteriously abandoned his family and isolated himself in a small northern town. He returns for one last chance to reconnect with his troubled daughter Eva (Julia Sarah Stone), but must partner with Crisby (Ben Cotton), a strung-out animal trafficker, to finance the trip. When he discovers Eva is missing, Bob will risk everything to find her including exposing the secret that he is becoming invisible.

My second review from the Fantasia International Film Festival 2016 is a real gem. "The Unseen" tells the story of Bob Langmore, one day he just left his wife and daughter without giving a reason. He also gave up a promising hockey career as well. It has been eight years since he last saw his daughter, his wife has since moved on and has a new partner but his daughter, Eva is struggling with her life and is getting into trouble. After talking to with his ex she suggests for him to come back home to see his daughter but he has to make a deal with an animal trafficker in order to get his truck fixed so he can make the trip back.

Once back he finds it hard to reconnect with his daughter who is still bitter about him leaving them alone. Things go from bad to worse when Eva goes missing shortly after Bob returned home. Now he will do anything to find Eva and bring her home safely even if it means exposing the truth about himself becoming invisible.

Writer/Director, Geoff Redknap is no stranger to film making but this is his feature film directorial debut and it is a fine one at that. Geoff takes the Invisible Man story and makes it his own. Combining family drama with a thriller and adding a dose of horror to make an original, clever and unique film.

It only took a few minutes of the film to get me engaged and invested in Bob's and his family's story. The film doesn't hide the fact that Bob is losing his visibility chunks at a time but the story is much more complex than just that and there are several twists to the story as well which kept me glued to the screen. "The Unseen" was obviously done on a low budget but you would never know it by watching the film. The cinematography and sound are amazing and although the use of effects are kept to a minimum the ones that are use are very impressive. The location of the Northern Town also adds its own atmosphere to the film and it gives it a gritty feel as well.

And now on to the acting, everyone in the film did an amazing job playing their roles including, Aden Young who is terrific as Bob, he brings out all the emotions needed to a man who is literally losing everything. Julia Sarah Stone is also amazing as his daughter, Eva and Camille Sullivan is also great as Darlene, Bob's ex. I also must mention Ben Cotton who is very good as Crisby, the animal trafficker. Like I said before everyone in the movie is fantastic so they all deserve an applause.

"The Unseen" does a great job bringing lots of new ideas to the table and making the story of the Invisible Man its own but there is more to it than that which is why the film is so special. The family drama alone makes the film worth watching but toss in a thriller and some amazing special effects and you have one of this year's rare gems that deserves to be seen. Thankfully that is going to happen when it has its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, in Montreal July 17 at 9:45pm at J.A. De Seve Theatre, with an additional screening July 22 at 12:45pm at Concordia Hall Theatre. I really enjoyed "The Unseen" and would love to see a continuation of the story in the future but for now I cannot recommend seeing the film enough. This is what film making and story telling is all about.

Released by Telefilm Canada/Goonworks Films

**** Out Of *****

The Unseen_Official Teaser for Fantasia 2016 from Geoff Redknap on Vimeo.