Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, language in dark horror-comedy that misses mark.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
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Unhuman
What's the Story?
In UNHUMAN, Ever (Brianne Tju) and Tamra (Ali Gallo) are two high school best friends on their way to school to take a field trip for extra credit. Joining them on the school bus are bullied teens Randall and Steven (Drew Scheid) and their jock tormentors led by Danny (Uriah Shelton). After the bus driver takes a wrong turn, the windshield appears to be splattered with blood, causing the bus to careen out of control until it crashes in the nearby woods. While everyone seems to be unharmed, the radio warns of some kind of chemical attack, and when a disheveled mystery man whom the chaperone allows onto the bus in the interests of helping him ends up biting the face of the chaperone, the teens run out the back of the bus and for their lives. The surviving teens, including Ever, Tamra, Randall, Steven, and Danny, try to take shelter in a nearby rundown apartment building, but it doesn't take long for them to realize that the classmates and adults who didn't make it there have turned into zombies. Or so it seems. After fending off the "undead," Ever makes a shocking discovery and must find a way to tell Tamra and the others before they fall victim to an elaborate scheme that has run off the rails.
Is It Any Good?
This is a teen horror-comedy that doesn't quite hit the mark. Unhuman starts off like a standard-grade teen zombie horror movie that's a little too on the nose. It's quite aware of the tropes and clichés of movies like these, and with all its commentary on bullying, fitting in or not fitting in, and whether or not high school and adolescence mean much once teens are no longer teens, the "big reveal" doesn't seem surprising so much as weird and unwieldy. The only real mystery is to figure out who's behind it, and even that isn't terribly surprising.
It's a disparate combination of the John Hughes teen movies of the '80s and perhaps the '90s self-awareness of the Scream franchise. Some of the plot contrivances are required to do a lot of heavy lifting, and even with the absurdist humor element that's a part of this, it doesn't entirely add up. There are many talented actors involved in this movie, which makes it all the more disappointing.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about horror-comedies like Unhuman. How does this movie try to combine elements of the horror and comedy genres into one movie? Does it work?
What is the movie trying to say about bullying, high school, cliques, etc.? Do you agree or disagree with the messages?
How does the violence, blood, and gore compare to that of other horror movies you've seen? Was it necessary? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 3, 2022
- Cast : Drew Scheid , Brianne Tju , Uriah Shelton
- Director : Marcus Dunstan
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Epix
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : School ( High School )
- Run time : 87 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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