Unit 30 (2009) Review

Tuesday, 23 March 2010 00:00

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Mystery/Comedy
Rating: NR

Film Credits Director: Taryn Hough
Starring: Sandra McCurdy, Taryn Hough, Eric Pirooz, Ben Blair, Jaclyn Carmichael

Dystopiates may remember when we ran the exclusive for the short film, Dead Creek, directed by Mike Turner. Well, the film has since won awards at film festivals across the continent and starred a lovely young actress named Taryn Hough.

Since then, Ms. Hough had had many other acting gigs, but I got to see a copy of her film Unit 30; written, directed and starring herself. This campy little mystery/comedy that she made opened to rave reviews at the Media Film Festival in Pennsylvania this February.

The short 21 minute film was well worth seeing and had this horror fan giggling at the blend of tongue-in-cheek horror and playful music...

The movie begins as a pair of roommates, Mulder (Taryn Hough) and Scully (Sandra McCurdy) move into the perfectly planned community. (Though there's no direct relation to the X-Files characters, I thought it a fun choice of names) Still trying to get the upper hand in a sea of moving boxes, a delivery man (Ben Blair) arrives, looking for Unit 30. After trying to help this young man find the address, to no avail, Mulder decides that it is worth investigating.

After meeting some creepy and quirky neighbors, the mystery only deepens for the gals, but soon they will wish that they hadn't poked their noses where they didn't belong. Trying to solve the mystery may prove downright deadly... You see, their new neighbors don't care for renters...

I have to say how much I enjoyed this fun little film. While watching, the viewer can see just how much these actors are enjoying themselves and it's contagious for the viewer. Ms. Hough did a nice job of directing this short-film and I was impressed by how much story-line and laughter she was able to pack into a mere 21 minutes; that cannot be an easy task! Original and refreshing, Unit 30 definitely has that be-careful-what-you-wish-for feeling at the end. A playful mystery with an ending that may have you considering buying instead of renting next time around...

Look for Unit 30 at your local film festivals; it's definitely worth catching!

Overall Rating: 4

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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 March 2010 11:12 )