Tags:
Film: Uncontained
Year: 2025
Director: Morley Nelson
Writer: Morley Nelson
Starring: Morley Nelson, Nicole Nelson and Jack Nelson
Review:
This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Alex from Simply Legendary Publicity. It was included on a press release of films that were coming to Screambox, which is a service that I am subscribed to. After confirming that this was in the horror genre and a 2025 film, I figured I would check this out.
Synopsis: a mysterious drifter struggles to protect an abandoned boy and his little sister from an infection that turns people into a feral-like state.
We start getting a lay of the land as to where this takes place. It is isolated and a wooded area. It is also snowy. This then shifts to the ground. We see something digging its way out. It is from here that a mysterious man appears. We learn later that his name is Dan (Morley Nelson). He is shirtless and covered in snow. Nearby are his things. He gets dressed and starts walking.
This then shifts over to a house that is also isolated. The boy and girl from the synopsis live here, Jack (Jack Nelson) and Brooke (Brooke Nelson). They are playing in the snow. Something of note here is that the boy is carrying around a large gun. We learn that it is a dart gun that he has loaded with tranquilizers. Both of them are also young.
Their play gets interrupted by Donny (Brett Zimmerman). He drives a truck with a plow. Something has happened in this world and he is checking on the children, asking where their parents are. They don’t answer and Jack stands his ground. Donny comes back later with his wife, Melanie (Courtney Blythe Turk). The children’s parents still aren’t home so the adults are staying to watch over them.
Now I’m not going to spoil what has happened but there is a lockdown due to an infection. We see the first night people looking in the window at the children while they play. They come back the night that Donny and Melanie are there. Something takes her and then him. The children continue to go about their lives when Dan shows up. Jack is cold toward him as well, but Brooke takes a liking to Dan. He does help get their power back on. He also protects them from an infected person. The issue here is that these sick people might not be the only thing to worry about. Brett Carson (Peter O’Meara) is breaking the stay at home order to find her daughter.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start here is by saying this is an infected individual film. You could call it a zombie film, which would be the bigger overarching genre, but it falls in line with something like 28 Days Later. There are these people who are infected and attack others. This does develop its own lore around it and that was something that I appreciated. I wouldn’t say the most original, but with how oversaturated these movies got, it is difficult at this point.
Now that I’ve set that up, where I’ll start is by saying I didn’t realize that the star of the film is also our writer/director. I’m guessing that the two children are his real kids. It seems that the mother is also his wife. Casting them in all these roles was probably out of convenience, but I also don’t think they were bad either. The two children aren’t great, but they felt like kids to me. That’s all I ask for. Jack has a harder go here since he has to be defiant to protect his younger sister. Nelson has a good look as our lead and I like the mysterious nature that he has. Nicole doesn’t show up until later, but she is good with her performance. She’s also quite attractive. I just wanted to give credit to this family for this aspect of the project.
It then makes sense to finish out with the rest of the acting. Now no one else has much screen time since it is just being in this house, watching Nelson trying to figure out what to do next and protecting these children. I did think that O’Meara was good in his role. He is built as a villain, but he just wants to find his daughter who is missing. There are interactions there with a local sheriff where he seems like he could be a troublemaker. That was a subtle way to build his character. Turk is attractive in her minor role. I like Zimmerman with her when they show up at the house. It makes them seem like they’re going to do something bad. Other than that, we have a roaming group of hunters that are trying to survive. I thought they did well along with anyone who was playing an infected person.
Let’s then shift back over to the story. We do have good elements here. This doesn’t have the largest budget but they take advantage of doing a movie that is set during a lockdown. We learn through subtle lines that martial law is in place. They’re trying to protect people by having them stay inside. The house that the children are living in is high-tech and there’s an explanation as to why there. It has these large windows which make for good scenes at night. They do well with having it set well outside of town since that hides things. It makes it feel like the start of the apocalypse.
I think then I’ll shift over to filmmaking since what I need to discuss next falls into that. This is an interesting blend of types of movies. It sets the stage with horror by isolating these children and we see there’s something outside wanting to get in. It then becomes a drama as Dan tries to figure out what to do, getting to know the children in the process. There are elements of tragedy with different things that get revealed and happen. It then goes into action as Dan tries to save everyone. The cinematography does well to capture all this. I do like getting that isolated feel, that helps with the atmosphere. There are shots that are framed well where we see something, but our characters don’t. The effects are limited. They looked to be mostly practical, which I’m always a fan of. I’d say that the sound design and music also fit what was needed here.
In conclusion, this is a solid independent take on the infected film. It does well with capturing that beginning of the apocalypse feel with being mostly inside a house in the woods. There is a limited cast, making it seem like there aren’t a lot of people left. The acting was solid to give the characters personality. This is led by what I’m guessing is the Nelson family. I’d also credit O’Meara as well. This is made well enough. The cinematography, framing and effects lead the way there. This is one that I rather enjoyed, even if I do have slight issues here. None of them are glaring. I would recommend it to fans of this subgenre for sure.
My Rating: 7 out of 10