‘Unwelcome’ is a horror film that follows Maya and Jamie, a young married couple looking to escape to the country after they are assaulted in their home in the city. After relocating to rural Ireland however, the pair are faced with a new kind of unwelcome guests.
The film is purportedly a horror movie, yet the visual stylistic choices, - the use of over-saturated and bright colour palette throughout the feature, suggest a more fantasy type fare. The film leans into horror during its opening scene where Maya and Jamie are attacked, and later where Maya experiences PTSD of the attack. But besides the two snippets relating to the attack, the film is more often comedic in tone. The film also does not manage to sustain a humorous through-line however, and the final product delivers a mix of different tones, resulting in a lack of focus and not quite delivering on any of the genres and styles it touches upon.
The premise is straightforward and well established, in that Maya and Jamie are looking to escape the city to feel safer. The film initially leans towards promising that the couple will have to face off against the forest dwelling Red Caps – magical little people that inhabit the woods nearby. This route is later abandoned as Maya and Jamie have a falling out with the Whelan family, who they had hired to repair their house.
During the final showdown Maya goes to the little people to ask for help and protection from the Whelan’s, suggesting the price she’ll have to pay for it would be to give up her newborn child. With the child being taken from the couple, Maya goes to bargain with them and is ultimately taken in by the Red Caps to serve as their matriarchal leader.
The film suffers from establishing a potent threat in either the Red Caps or via the Whelan's. The patriarch of the family, “Daddy” Whelan and his eldest son do pose a threat to Maya and Jamie but are thwarted and eventually subdued by the Red Caps and Maya. The chase and fight sequences play to a more comedic execution, and show the Red Caps to be largely ineffective as a potential threat. The movie also suggests the Red Caps to be capable to some magical abilities, yet this is not explored or explained, providing for a somewhat confusing and muddled story.
‘Unwelcome’ suffers from an over-saturation of genres. The film fails to fully engage and focus on a single tone, be it scary, funny or mystical, thereby delivering a jumble of various sequences that leave the film feeling more like a pastiche rather than a single coherent story.
The film also does not manage to engage through its main characters. Somehow both Maya and Jamie, played by Hannah John-Kamen and Douglas Booth respectively, end up going through transformative and traumatic experiences, yet there is little by way of growth, leaving the characters unexplored and underdeveloped. The finale of the film also serves to be more confusing rather than an unexpected twist. As we are given little lore regarding the Red Caps, Maya becoming their leader leaves no lasting impression as the implications of that remain unclear.
‘Unwelcome’ delivers a solid foundation to what could have been a great horror creature-feature or a fantasy film exploring the world of the Red Caps. The final product does not manage to deliver on either however. The movie lacks a distinct though-line and tone, delivering a medley of various styles, failing to establish itself as any one of them. Raising a lot of intriguing questions, and failing to explore any of them fully, ‘Unwelcome’ does not create for a worth while or enjoyable experience, delivering a confused and frustrating film.
Score: 1/4
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