Steven Soderbergh Shot a Horror Movie on an iPhone, and It's Scarier Than You Think

August 2024 · 7 minute read

The Big Picture

Back in the day, it was a special privilege to make a movie. The top-quality film cameras were expensive and difficult to come by, and homemade technology was primitive and a glaringly inferior product. Now, anyone can direct a film like Unsane, a gripping, mean, and tight-as-a-drum psychological horror-thriller shot on an iPhone. The average person is unlikely to reach the same heights as the 2018 film, as it was directed by one of the greats, Steven Soderbergh. A major league director in Soderbergh going to the proverbial minor league by deploying independent filmmaking tactics seems like an unnecessary stunt, but his overlooked horror film, starring the exceptional Claire Foy, proved that, with a precise vision behind the handheld camera, iPhone photography can be just as visually dynamic as traditional film or digital photography.

Unsane
HorrorThriller

A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where she is confronted by her greatest fear - but is it real or a product of her delusion?

Release Date February 21, 2018 Director Steven Soderbergh Cast Joshua Leonard , Claire Foy , Sarah Stiles , Marc Kudisch , Amy Irving , Colin Woodell Runtime 98

Steven Soderbergh's Never Been Afraid to Experiment With Movies

Steven Soderbergh is the Academy Award-winning director of Traffic who has helmed a trilogy of blockbusters in the Ocean's Eleven series. In the last 30 years, only a handful of filmmakers are more accomplished than him, yet he still carries himself with the spirit and maverick tendencies of an indie director. In between tentpole projects, Soderbergh cashed in one of his "one for me" checks and made off-kilter experiments like Full Frontal and Bubble, which have the visual aesthetic of a home movie. In most of his films, Soderbergh serves as his own editor and cinematographer, credited under the pseudonyms Mary Ann Bernard and Peter Andrews, respectively. Where his contemporaries, such as Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, have extended gaps between films, Soderbergh churns out projects at a prolific rate. At 61, his youthful approach to experimentation is often ahead of its time, even if the public is slow to appreciate his work.

It doesn't take a film major to identify that something about the visual aesthetic of Unsane looks peculiar. Shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus with the FiLMic video app, Soderbergh's psychological horror film follows Sawyer Valentini (Foy), a woman distressed by her previous encounter with a stalker as she tries to move on with her life. One day, she schedules an appointment with a counselor and unknowingly commits herself to a psychiatric ward against her will. Sawyer eventually discovers an orderly, George Shaw (Joshua Leonard), working at the facility, but she is convinced that he is her previous stalker, David Strine, posing in this alternate identity to continue terrorizing her. Soderbergh was not the first filmmaker of note to experiment with iPhone cinematography, as Sean Baker beat him to the punch in 2015 with Tangerine. Soderbergh returned to the smartphone a year later with High Flying Bird, a drama set in the world of sports management for Netflix.

The iPhone Has a Startling Effect on 'Unsane'

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On the surface, the film, which follows a familiar but satisfactory premise for a horror picture, does not require avant-garde formalism. According to Soderbergh in an interview for the film, shooting on a smartphone was not a last-ditch effort to comply with budget restraints, but rather, it was a creative decision. "This movie would be well served by my ability to put a lens anywhere I wanted in a matter of seconds," he said, noting that Unsane required a "physicality" that could only be captured by a mobile device. He identified that the visual aesthetic of iPhone imagery created a sense of intimacy with the character and story, as the look of photos and videos captured on an iPhone is ubiquitous. Soderbergh's commentary crystalizes the practical nature of the iPhone cinematography. Because the film is voyeuristic in spirit, using a device that we all carry in our pockets is justifiable. As a result, the film never feels gimmicky or cheap.

'Unsane's Visuals Don't Overpower the Movie

While never too obtrusive, the visual aesthetic is the driving force behind Unsane. Inside every location, the offices of Sawyer's occupation, the halls of the ward, and the cells inside the facility, a voyeuristic sensation exists within each scene. There's a feeling that you are invading Sawyer's privacy, and because she is in an emotionally precarious state, this sentiment becomes more unnerving. This is particularly evident when Sawyer is placed in solitary confinement, as the iPhone photography evokes an eerie aura inside this nondescript room. The iPhone's portability allows for Peter Andrews, a.k.a. Steven Soderbergh, to place the camera in tight windows and unconventional angles. The Kubrickian Steadicam shots bode well for iPhone cameras, which can smoothly glide through the halls of the facility. Generally speaking, the flatness of digital photography doesn't hold a candle to the richness and depth of film, but digital's pristine visual aesthetic complements the clinical setting of Unsane.

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There is some cause for concern about the practicality of making contemporary films due to the omnipresence of smartphones in everyday life. Watching people text and look at digital screens is inherently uncinematic, with Soderbergh himself even stating that phones were "the worst thing that’s ever happened to movies." However, a film with insightful commentary on the digital world like Unsane can make the presence of smartphones an asset. David often stalks Sawyer digitally, as he calls her multiple times before she must block his number.

In a flashback, Sawyer seeks consultation from Detective Ferguson (played by the king of the cameo, Matt Damon, in one of his most inconspicuous appearances). Ferguson provides Sawyer with some harsh realities: if she wants to be protected from David, she must live an incognito life on social media. She needs to be paranoid about any photos being taken of her, as David is capable of tracking her whereabouts from one tagged post on Facebook or Instagram. Social media and paranoia ostensibly go hand-in-hand, with user privacy being a pressing issue with all the top platforms. By shooting the film on an iPhone, Soderbergh captures the feeling of being constantly spied on by an amorphous entity in the 21st century.

Claire Foy's 'Unsane' Performance Is Mesmerizing

Beyond the distinct formalism of Unsane, the film excels as an intense and chilling thriller.Carried on the shoulders of Claire Foy, it demonstrates the harrowing consequences of trauma and its impact on one's emotional stability. Soderbergh treats this subject delicately while deploying it for visceral dramatic effect. Foy commands the screen at all times, whether she's boldly standing her ground against the domineering facility or fearful of the impending threat of David's psychological abuse. When Soderbergh broke out during the independent cinema boom of the late '80s and early '90s, few would've imagined that he would pivot to the world of genre B-movies. To his credit, Soderbergh has never been fussy about his filmography. He brings an auteurist sensibility to pulpy crime films like No Sudden Move and thrillers like Kimi without compromising their genre roots.

Certain Soderbergh touches, such as its astute casting, separate Unsane from the pact. Casting Joshua Leonard, the star of the bygone cultural relic in The Blair Witch Project, as the antagonist is an intuitive reflection on the horror genre. Soderbergh loves reclaiming actors from the past that you may have forgotten about, such as Amy Irving, playing Sawyer's mother, and he frequently deploys comedic talent to boost the story with a rush of levity and charm, with Jay Pharoah filling that role in this film. Of course, the ultimate mark of a Steven Soderbergh film is an abrupt Matt Damon cameo, which will make any viewer jump out of their seat in surprise. Upon release, most Soderbergh films are taken for granted. While this is a shame because he is one of our most curious filmmakers working today, it allows audiences to uncover a hidden gem like Unsane.

Unsane is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

Rent on Prime Video

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