Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Blood, language in abysmal "trapped in hospital" thriller.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Disquiet
What's the Story?
In DISQUIET, Sam (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has a lovely wife (Anita Brown) and a baby on the way. But he's also managing a startup and can barely tear himself away from work. While texting and driving, he's hit by a drunk driver and winds up in the hospital. He wakes up some time later, and the hospital seems to be abandoned. A strange man in the bed across the way attacks him, and then disappears. Sam encounters others who seem to be in the same situation as him, but they also come and go. There's no cell phone service, no way to get out of the building, and, outside the windows, it's completely dark. What's going on, and can Sam get back to his life?
Is It Any Good?
An intriguing premise for a thriller is wasted with thin characters, awful dialogue, overly aggressive line readings, and a general sense of confusion as to what this was all supposed to be about. Written and directed by Michael Winnick, Disquiet is filled with clunky, awkward bricks of dialogue that characters hurl at one another with intense force. Characters don't listen to each other, nor do they talk. They just shout. With writing like this, it's no wonder that we have no real idea who Sam or any of the other characters are, nor do we have any idea what's going on. A character called Monica (Elyse Levesque) is in the hospital for plastic surgery, and the movie seems to ridicule her, just as it takes seriously a situation in which a White cop (Lochlyn Munro) shoots an innocent Black man (Trezzo Mahoro). But nothing is quite as confusing as Disquiet's ending, which seems to be going for poignancy but is more likely to leave viewers frustrated and possibly shouting themselves, angrily, at the screen.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Disquiet's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?
What is the movie saying about police violence against Black people?
What is the movie about? What is the purpose of the hospital, and what do the characters actually learn there?
How is driving under the influence of alcohol depicted? What are the consequences?
Movie Details
- In theaters : February 10, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : February 10, 2023
- Cast : Jonathan Rhys Meyers , Rachelle Goulding , Elyse Levesque
- Director : Michael Winnick
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Paramount Pictures
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 84 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence, language and some nudity
- Last updated : April 1, 2023
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate