Fact check: Is the movie Unhinged based on a true story? Explained

Modified Oct 21, 2024 09:13 GMT

A still from the psychological film Unhinged (Image via Tudum by Netflix)

Unhinged is an action thriller film written by Carl Ellsworth and directed by Derrick Borte. It stars Russell Crowe and Caren Pistorius in lead roles. Lisa Ellzey, Andrew Gunn, and Mark Gill serve as the film's producers. Unhinged was released theatrically in the United States on August 21, 2020.

The film's official synopsis reads:

"Rachel is a single mother whose bad day gets even worse when she beeps her horn at a fellow driver during rush-hour traffic. After an exchange of words, she soon realizes that the mysterious man is following her and her young son in his truck."

It continues:

"The initial case of road rage quickly escalates into full-blown terror as Rachel discovers the psychopath's sinister plan for revenge."

Derrick Borte's action thriller is a work of fiction, Unhinged is not based on a true story.

Unhinged is a fictional story by Carl Ellsworth

Rachel and Kyle seen in an image from the film Unhinged (Image via Tudum by Netflix)

Unhinged is a fictional story of a road rage incident gone too far. The film's writer Carl Ellsworth said in an interview with Rue Morgue that he was influenced by Steven Spielberg’s 1971 thriller, Duel while writing the movie.

In the same interview from August 2020, Carl said he was "fascinated" with stories about "road rage incidents" and wanted to dive deep into the psyche of Russell Crowe's character:

"What I was intrigued by was painting the picture of what might be going on in The Man’s life that could culminate in him snapping at this woman he doesn’t even know."

It continues:

"It was an exploration of, what if these two people are both not having the greatest mornings, and one just happens to be a little further ahead of the other, but the other one is still having a bad enough morning that it results in her setting the guy off."

Carl has written for television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and films like Red Eye, Disturbia, Red Dawn, and The Last House on the Left.

Plot summary

Unhinged showcases how Russell Crowe's Tom Cooper (or The Man) devolves into increasingly monstrous behavior following a minor incident with Rachel Flynn (Caren Pistorius) at the traffic signal.

While driving her son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school, Rachel honks at Tom for stopping at a green light during rush-hour traffic. When she refuses to apologize, Tom gets ticked off and decides to teach her a lesson.

He tracks down her house and begins killing her loved ones one by one. Things come to a head when Tom goes after Kyle, leaving Rachel no option but to fight him off alone.