Disquiet Review: Lifeless Thriller
Sam (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a married workaholic who laments ignoring his wife as he is transported to the emergency room after being hit by a drunk driver, provides some brutal narration in the opening of Disquiet. He is confused when he awakens in a hospital bed since it appears as though the entire facility has been abandoned and no one has come to answer his call. The only other person he can see is an elderly man in another bed who appears to have been unconscious for some time based on his long, wispy hair and unsettling fingernails. However, the other bed is abruptly vacant when sam finally succeeds in standing up. If not, it isn't.
Then the elderly man assaults sam with rapid, zombie-like energy. sam fights back and prevails, but his attacker then vanishes and reappears in his bed. Wherever sam has ended up, it's not exactly reality, and as he makes his way through the hospital, he discovers that he isn't the only solitary victim of evil powers. They must work together to find a way out, but it is evident that there is more at stake than just getting away. If sam wants to make it home, he must learn the truth about his circumstances.
Disquiet is organised much like a puzzle movie, with the audience being urged to solve the riddle of Sam's limbo. This is not to its advantage. The only level of meaning that can exist in this script is the surdata-face, and the movie's references and allusions make this painfully clear. One character (Rachelle Goulding) introduces herself to sam in an especially offensive line of dialogue by saying, "Lily or Doctor, but not Lilith. That name bothers me, "Just in case everyone doesn't automatically presume Lily is short for the name of the primaeval she-demon from Judaic legend.
With all of this working against them, it was difficult for the performances to come out undamaged, and nobody makes a very good impression, with the possible exception of Chalk's Virgil, who occasionally reminds viewers of Major Briggs from Twin Peaks. The cinematography and set design, which combine to make the hospital halls into frightening, unnatural locations, are the only true pluses. This mood occasionally succeeds in building tension, but it is ultimately undermined by the inconsistent tone, which illustrates a general lack of control over how to make the audience feel at any given time. That underlying flaw undermines what might have been the final enjoyment of viewing Disquiet, making it simple to suggest skipping this one.