World Northal, 1980

starring: Barbara Bach, Sydney Lassick, Lelia Goldini, and Douglas Barr

directed by: Danny Steinmann

the plot: What should be an easy assignment—covering a German heritage festival in a remote California town—turns into a nightmare for television reporter Jennifer Fast (Bach). There are no rooms available in town for Fast and her camera crew, which consists of her sister Karen and their friend Vicki. And so the three women are forced to accept lodging from Ernest Keller (Lassick), the proprietor of a local museum and an all-around creepy guy. Keller brings the women to his home and introduces them to his wife Virginia (Goldini). As Jennifer and Karen head to the festival, Vicki remains behind and is immediately attacked by a sinister creature living in the Kellers’ home. Meanwhile, Jennifer’s ex-boyfriend Tony (Barr) has followed the girls to the festival in a desperate bid to patch things up with Jennifer. But while Jennifer is busy fending off Tony’s advances, Karen disappears. Jennifer returns to the Keller homestead in search of her friends and comes face to face with the monster in the house. As she learns, it’s no ordinary monster—and it’s a secret the Kellers will kill to protect.

why it’s good: Titling a horror movie can be tricky business, and nowhere is that difficulty better displayed than in “The Unseen.” Yes, the titular “Unseen” remains concealed for most of the movie’s interminable 90 minutes, but during the last half-hour, the audience gets to spend a lot of time with the “Unseen”—enough time to see where he sleeps, his hobbies, and his favorite toys. Yes, the “Unseen” plays with toys. That’s because the “Unseen” is a deformed man with the mind of an infant, played by Stephen Furst, better known as Flounder in “Animal House.” Furst, wearing a flimsy diaper and hidden under makeup that’s way too good for such a shoddy production, gurgles, bellows, and smashes his way through the last act of “The Unseen,” a fact he gleefully reveals in his introduction on the DVD edition of “The Unseen.” It’s a shame Furst spoils this, because it’s the only good thing about the movie, which is otherwise filled with awful acting, unpleasant characters, ludicrous murders, and, for some reason, a bowl of fruit that makes it into dozens of scenes. Okay, so veteran TV character actor Sydney Lassick does a fine job as the wheezing and giggling Ernest Keller, but Keller is so unpleasant and loud (he repeats all his orders and important information by yelling three times) that his presence onscreen is a major burden. The rest of the cast might as well not have shown up. Bach’s icy, blank-faced delivery is the best thing going on. Director Danny Steinmann reportedly had his name taken off the film after seeing the finished product, and it’s no wonder. “The Unseen” is less a description of the movie’s monster than an extremely apt self-fulfilling prophecy.

why you should own it: “The Unseen” is an exercise in patience that’s worth watching only for the frank DVD commentary from Furst, producer Tony Unger, and film historian Lee Christian. Unger recounts the various tensions on set (including Steinmann’s temper and co-star Karen Lamm’s substance abuse), while Furst cracks jokes and gripes about his long hours in the makeup chair.