Scorpion Releasing goes back into the basement with their 2018 Blu-ray upgrade of THE UNSEEN.

Anxious to get away from tension with her husband Tony (Doug Barr, DEADLY BLESSING), a football player who has suffered a debilitating knee injury, reporter Jennifer (Barbara Bach) heads to the Danish-influenced town of Solvang, California with her crew – Karen (Karen Lamm, TRACKDOWN) and Vicki (Lois Young) – to do a story on the annual festival. Upon arrival, they discover that their reservations have been lost and that every local hotel and motel is fully booked. Driving to the nearby ghost town of Los Alamos, they meet eccentric but genial museum owner Ernest Keller (Sydney Lassick, CARRIE) who invites them to stay at his creepy Victorian mansion outside of town. Keller's meek wife Virginia (Lelia Goldoni, ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE) does not seem to share his enthusiasm for guests, which makes sense once Karen and Vicki mysteriously vanish while Karen has stayed behind in Solvang to rehash her marital troubles with Tony. Returning to the house during a dark and stormy night, Jennifer soon discovers what the Kellers are hiding in the basement and it what it does to its comely playmates.

The mainstream debut of Danny Steinmann after the porn film HIGH RISE, THE UNSEEN was obviously intended to be a higher quality horror film with the backing of producer Tony Unger (DON'T LOOK NOW), a script conceived by effects artists Tom Burman (CAT PEOPLE) and Stan Winston (PUMPKINHEAD) and adapted by now uncredited Kim Henkel (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE) – the latter three would all part the production early on bad terms with Steinmann – but the end result is a potentially tasteless but rather ordinary story buoyed by good performances and production value. In spite of the forced symbolism of the abortion subplot and the dreary relationship scenes, the film's structure is as simple as stranded girls accept hospitality of a creepy house and die ala UNHINGED. Up until the last forty-five minutes or so, it is really only Lassick's scenery chewing and Goldoni's largely physical performance that engender both quirkiness and suspense (along with the classy scoring of THE LEGACY's Michael Lewis). Once things go below ground, however, Bach's scream queen takes a back seat to the dialogue-free performance of Stephen Furst (ANIMAL HOUSE) before a rather predictable finale. Repeat viewings prove more rewarding, however, as the cruelty under Lassick's jovial demeanor not only make the audience question who is the bigger monster in the film, but also if some behavior was learned by example rather than genetics. The Solvang and Los Alamos locations provide a picturesque backdrop, including the Victorian mansion used as the Keller residence (it is now a bed and breakfast). The film was shot by Roberto Quezada, a gaffer who had previously lensed FROZEN SCREAM and had just come off of PHANTASM, and one of his electricians was future DP Steven Posey who lensed Steinmann's SAVAGE STREETS and FRIDAY THE 13TH: A NEW BEGINNING. The crew also features a number of HALLOWEEN alumni from co-producer Don Behrns (JASON LIVES: FRIDAY THE 13TH VI), camera operator Ray Stella (THE FOG), and production manager Barry Bernardi (ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK). Steinmann took his name off the film as writer and director – subsequently credited as "Peter Foleg" – so he may not have been involved with the "additional photography" credited to DPs James L. Carter (DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE) and Irv Goodnoff (JENNIFER). While not a slasher, THE UNSEEN might best be paired with SILENT SCREAM.

Released theatrically by World Northal although perhaps more seen on VidAmerica's early eighties VHS, THE UNSEEN first came to the digital realm from Code Red in 2008 as a two-disc set with an anamorphic transfer, commentary by producer Unger and star Furst, and a handful of interviews. Although this transfer from the original IP inserted a brief deleted scene which caused a jump cut since there was no reverse angle for it, this version turned out to be two minutes short of the version on the original negative (91:45 versus 94:11) when Scorpion Releasing upgraded the film to DVD and Blu-ray in 2013 from the original negatives under the Katarina's Nightmare Theater banner with a new video interview with Unger conducted by Katarina Leigh Waters. Scorpion's Ronin Flix-exclusive 2018 Blu-ray is derived from a brand new 2K scan of the original negatives. While we do not have the earlier Blu-ray on hand, the new transfer is not only a leap over the DVD but a transfer that milks the original elements for all they are worth. However relatively low the budget, THE UNSEEN is a professionally-made film, and this may be one of the best-looking Scorpion Blu-rays of an 1980s production so far. Colors are rich and the locations have a palpably rustic feel, while textures in clothing impart a feeling of comfort that pays off with a shock involving a scarf, and greater detail in close-ups of the actors adds another level to Lassick's facial performances and assessment of the film's prosthetics. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track sounds quite clean, with the dialogue and scoring coming through nicely (even without the 5.1 bump-up given to Scorpion's recent remastered HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW and DEATH SHIP releases). Optional English SDH subtitles are also included. The film can also be viewed with Katarina's Nightmare Theatre intro and post-script.

Ported over from the earlier editions is an audio commentary by producer Unger and star Furst moderated by Lee Christian in which Unger reveals that they wanted Carl Weathers for the role of Tony, but executive producer/sales agent Howard Goldfarb (MISSION: KILL) advised the production that European markets might not like the interracial angle. Weathers and Bach had previously appeared in Unger's FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE, and the further revelation that they intended to cast Bach's younger sister Marjorie (aka Mrs. Joe Walsh) explains why Lamm's character shares the same surname as Bach's character in the end credits even though it is apparent nowhere else that they are supposed to be siblings. The track also makes mention of Lamm's erratic behavior, her wedding Dennis Wilson twice, and her early death. On the other hand, there is also much praise for Lassick – who was apparently so insecure about his work as a character actor that he maintained his day job as a truck driver – and Goldoni. Furst provides some humor while also discussing the difficulties of working under the prosthetic make-up, but he also reveals that Winston and Burman were involved up to initial make-up designs as he met with them for a cast of his face. Unger is a bit more diplomatic than others on the disc about how difficult Steinmann was as a collaborator.

While the Scorpion DVD and Blu-ray added a new "Kat's Eyes" interview with Unger (25:21) – which consists of remarks on his other credits before and after THE UNSEEN including FORCE 10 FROM NAVERONE, DON'T LOOK NOW, DON'T LOOK NOW, and TAM LIN (for which he credits director Roddy McDowall with the ability to make beautiful pictures but not directing actors in addition to the miscasting of Ian McShane and Stephanie Beacham reluctant to show her bosoms) as well as SILENT RAGE with Chuck Norris – the 2018 Blu-ray includes a new interview with editor Jonathan Braun (18:35) in which he notes supervising editor Richard C. Meyer (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) increasingly farming out the editing of the film to him, and working around the lack of coverage in the scene involving Keller's father. Braun went onto editing realities shows, including THE APPRENTICE and makes no bones about Trump's racism (including his desire to declare two winners during the season in which a black man was the final contestant). He also recalls being asked to sync dailies for Orson Welles' THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and making the mistake of going further and editing the footage based on notes that came with the reels, which initially incensed Welles but would lead to a collaboration that would last three years until the actor's death.