Unlocked review.
Netflix is back in the game with another new release. Unlocked is a mostly good dip into the stalker/serial killer genre. Pacing issues bog down a third act that fails to pay off the promise of a solid start.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Unlocked
Directed by Kim Tae-joon
Written by Kim Tae-joon
Starring Chun Woo-hee, Im Si-Wan, Kim He-won, Kim Ye-won and Park Ho-san
Unlocked Review
The new Netflix release Unlocked is at its best when the three people it follows are kept apart from one another. We follow the victim of a hacking, her stalker and the detective in charge of catching him. Each person’s story, individually, is great. But the more the plot drives them together…the less interesting Unlocked becomes.
Na-mi (Chun Woo-hee) leaves her smartphone on the bus after a night of partying. The young man (Yim Si-wan) who finds it installs spyware that allows him access to her entire life before returning it to her. At the same time, a police detective (Kim Hie-won) tracks down a serial killer connected to the spyware…and the clues point to his estranged son.
All three characters get plenty of attention in the first two acts of Unlocked. Na-mi having her life torn apart by the mysterious stalker. The stalker integrating himself deeper into her life. The detective wrestling with a heinous series of crimes that lead him back to his son. Each story works. Unlocked works too, until the stories all converge.
The biggest problem with Unlocked is that it doesn’t speed up when it should. It has a deliberate pace that fits the first two acts…as we get to know these characters and they effect each other’s lives. When the third act arrives, the movie is begging to quicken the pace. It never does. Instead a climax of violence and reveals limps along slowly and lacks the impact it should have. It’s a shame given how well it builds to those moments.
Unlocked makes some interesting narrative choices right off the bat. It doesn’t shroud its antagonist in mystery to the viewer, instead making his own actions a part of the overall package. That it then includes the story of the man tasked with chasing him down creates a larger game than just cat and mouse. Cat…another cat and mouse? Maybe there’s a squirrel in there. Either way it offers a fresh dynamic to what could have been a simpler stalker story.
The stalking aspect of Unlocked is a definite highlight. Watching how easily a person’s life can be destroyed by having access to a smartphone is genuinely creepy. Phone cameras and microphones allow someone else to see and hear your every move. Access to the apps you put all your personal information on leaves you vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. Worse, it lets someone get to know you inside and out.
The stalker doesn’t just use this information to hurt Na-mi personally and professionally…it also allows him to infiltrate her life in person. Presenting himself as someone who has the same interests…easily learned from a social media profile. Pretending to work in a field that can help her with this pesky hacker that has put spyware on her phone. The stalker is so many steps ahead that he has positioned himself as the answer to problems Na-mi hasn’t even discovered yet.
That’s why the inclusion of the detective story is so vital to Unlocked. Na-mi is completely overmatched by her cyber bully. While watching him effortlessly compromise every aspect of her life and isolate her from society is interesting…the movie doesn’t work without the threat of being caught. And this villain is guilty of much more than stalking.
Unlocked wisely ups the stakes by showing us exactly what the end game is. This has happened before. Many times, before. Bodies unearthed of previous victims of his specific brand of smartphone manipulation put a ticking clock on Na-mi. A race that must be won by the police detective who suspects that the murderer is his own son. The stakes are raised further by a personal connection…and the feelings of grief and failure that accompany it.
All these stories work. Until they don’t. When the time comes to fully intersect the two pursuits…Unlocked fails to find another gear. When it would most benefit from a fast paced series of twists and turns…it chooses to slow play everything. It’s not that what unfolds in the third act of Unlocked isn’t interesting. It just feels unimportant. Despite building to a crescendo…it delivers a whimper. Interesting moments fail to be entertaining because they drag on for too long. The failure here is not in the story…but in how it is delivered.
It’s still easy to recommend Unlocked on the merits of what it does accomplish. The three leads do a great job with their arcs. The stalker is effectively creepy and dislikable. His deeds are fiendishly calculated and entertaining. Our hero feels powerless but finds the courage to confront the problem head on. And in the background a father is desperate to bring a killer to justice…even if it’s his own blood. A better emphasis on delivering fun in the final act would have given us a great one. Instead, we have to settle for a good one.
Scare Value
Unlocked does a good job building to a climax that doesn’t thrill as much as it should. When all the parties converge the story becomes messier instead of tightening up. Still, solid performances and a concept that delivers combine for a good watch. With a more urgent finish it could have been a great one.
3/5
Unlocked Link
Streaming on Netflix
Unlocked Trailer
If you enjoyed this review of Unlocked, check out reviews for other movies streaming on Netflix: Troll, Re/Member, The Pale Blue Eye, Incantation, Choose or Die, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone and The Invitation
