In any movie that brags about a body count, there is bound to be a plethora of underdeveloped characters. Such has become a staple of the slasher genre, when our killer needs to slash his way through victim after victim we’re hardly going to get the time to know all of them. This has become one of the genre’s major weaknesses for anyone that wants to feel the tension of wondering if the character they’ve bonded with is going to make it. The thing is, people only bond with the victims if they are interesting, sympathetic, or at the very least funny, which none of the characters are in Unsheltered.

While combing through the devastation that was Hurricane Irma, investigators begin to suspect that the reason for the recent disappearances may be foul play as more evidence begins to surface. The possible victims were five students whose last known whereabouts were within the evacuations zone, they were expected to have left their residence to find shelter. Unknown to investigators was that these students started off with a dead car and ended up meeting a dead end.

Underdeveloped characters is a problem that plagues so many movies especially for first time creators, this film featuring not only a first time director but also two first time writers. While this is easily forgivable considering the fact that that it is always a miracle when anything gets put out by a first time team, what isn’t as forgivable is how slow this movie moves. Unsheltered doesn’t overdevelop the characters as much as make them painfully unlikable and/ or make their solo attribute their only characteristic. This would be fine if we were meant to enjoy this as just a slasher mowing down terrible teens but the movie doesn’t even deliver on that.

The poorly written characters and the slow plot ends up hand in hand in Unsheltered when the first kill, or even the first moment of anything “horror” related, doesn’t happen until the 55 minute mark. That is 55 minutes spent poorly developing some of the most shallow and bland characters put to screen. Those looking to take solace in there at the very least being a bonkers blood bath in the final 30 minutes will instead find 20 minutes of pathetic subpar kills that make the censored Jason movies look good and a bizarre ten minute epilogue that is baffling.

For the general movie fan that is open to seeing a wide variety of genres and types of films, some that are bound to be less thrilling and have more of a drowsy tone. These movies usually support their tones with strong characters or simple stories that are a slice of life that most folks will only experience in that film. Where you don’t want a sleepy slice of life story is in your slasher movie, and Unsheltered is an absolute snooze fest. This might be perfect for an introduction to horror, something mild for your friend who is not as daring, but will be a disappointment for the hardened horror fan.

5 out of 10