PLOT: When a group of criminals comes to collect the contents of a storage unit, the woman running the storage facility has to play a game of cat and mouse to escape with her life.
REVIEW: Sometimes movies have to overcome really bad posters in order to get a fair shot. That’s certainly true when it comes to Unit 234, a thriller about a woman who’s stuck in a storage facility and has to escape the criminals who want the contents of a specific unit. But the poster tells me nothing other than it stars, and a dead body on a gurney. What is supposed to intrigue me about that? Especially when the film itself is a fun little thriller with an ending you won’t see coming?
Unit 234 follows Laurie (Isabelle Fuhrman) as she has to stay and watch over her storage facility instead of going on the trip she planned with her boyfriend. During her shift, a group of criminals shows up at the facility, trying to break into a specific unit. She discovers a man, seemingly in the midst of having his organs stolen, and decides she needs to protect him against those who wish him harm. It’s a nice cat-and-mouse thriller as she tries to escape the criminals while saving the man they’re after.
I’ve enjoyed Fuhrman since Orphan, and she really impresses when given the opportunity to. Laurie is pretty basic in her presentation, but there are so many ways it could have gone wrong. With a weaker actor, the character could have been very frustrating. Don Johnson seems to be having a blast as the head of the criminals taking over the facility. He has a lot more to work with than initially expected. And Jack Huston proves how valuable he is in any role, bringing so much to the table, and ultimately making the narrative work.
While I really enjoyed the many twists and turns of Unit 234, it’s hard to ignore some of the asinine ways the story progressed. The reasoning behind Laurie having to stick around the storage facility is very weak. While the intention is to show that Laurie will take any excuse not to visit her boyfriend in Nashville, it just comes across as poor writing to keep her around for the festivities. And Johson’s coughing up of blood leads nowhere, making its inclusion a bit baffling. Many things happen circumstantially or due to sheer luck. It can be very convoluted but it never diminishes the entertainment value of the story.
I would usually complain about the number of offscreen deaths, but it’s definitely intentional here. They’re trying to hide an element of the kills to help with the reveal later on, so it worked for me. What didn’t work was how certain moments were brushed over. I would usually blame this on director inexperience, but Andy Tennant has been in this game a long time, so it could just be a stylistic choice I didn’t vibe with. Even the ending just sort of happens, wrapping up way too quickly, and avoiding a satisfying conclusion, despite having all the pieces in place for it. I was just hoping for some moments to breathe a bit.
Unit 234 does a good job of playing with expectations and doing something a bit different. But it can also be a bit formulaic and generic at times. On a technical level, I was constantly impressed. This was clearly a very talented crew, and they were able to stretch the dollar pretty far. It can be hard to keep a film set in one location interesting during the entire runtime. They pull it off quite well, and the film is never boring. It’s just not as impactful as it should be, which is too bad, as the performances are fun, and it wraps up in a cool way.
UNIT 234 RELEASES TO THEATERS AND ON DEMAND ON MAY 9TH, 2025.
