TL;DR – It understands that when you cast Don Johnson, you give the man a monologue.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was sent a screener of this film.

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Unit 234 The Lock Up Review –

One of the more interesting shades of drama out there is the surprise trapped. You are going about your day, and then all of a sudden, bam, through the machinations of others or nature, now you are fighting for your life. These are films that live and die on the believability of the scenario and how the characters respond to them. It is in that space we dabble tonight.

So, to set the scene, Laurie Saltair (Isabelle Fuhrman) works, well, is more stuck working for her family’s old storage unit facility. It is a job she inherited, but it is not great for her work/life balance. But what she doesn’t know is that her self-storage unit is about to be at the centre of some regrettable circumstances: a mighty storm is about to hit the coast of Florida, she just crushed her mobile phone in a fall, and some idiot stashed the one thing the wealthy and powerful construction tycoon Jules (Don Johnson) needs in one of her units. What could be in there that he wants so much, and why is there a warning alarm going off?

The one thing I think you do need to suffer through a bit with this film is that some of the surrounding characters do some pretty stupid things. The first example of that comes in almost the first scene when an idiot tries to negotiate with the clearly dying big bad who has no time to waste. Then, there is a police officer who has only themselves to blame. Usually, these sorts of things would be a death knell for a film like this. However, thankfully, they are not. Mainly because the core cast always acts rationally, given the information they know.   

Once we get down to the core three, the film really comes into its own. Isabelle Fuhrman does an excellent job of portraying someone who is a decent human being and is trying to do the right thing. Now, we, as an audience, know more than what she does, but she shines through that. It helps that she is a genially nice person, so it is easy to barrack for her. This is also a film that understands that if you cast Don Johnson, you need to give him a monologue, and monologue he does. I did like his character and what it brought to the proceedings. Finally, we had Clayton (Jack Huston), the poor fool, strapped to a medical gurney. I liked the way he played his character through the twists and turns of the narrative.

Overall, I felt that they made the most out of their setting, a storage unit facility. Many films in this genre don’t make use of the opportunities their location gives them, but not so much here. While there are not that many action scenes, they are competently constructed, with at least one ‘oh damn’ moment. There are a couple of moments when you can feel the budget holding them back a bit, and it is just missing a touch of polish here and there, but not in a detrimental fashion.

In the end, do we recommend Unit 234 The Lock Up? Look, I think I ended up liking it more than I expected, likely because it nailed its ending, but maybe not all of the stuff that it took to get there. The sort of film that I ended up thinking was quite good, but I am not sure it left an impression. Have you watched Unit 234 The Lock Up? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Unit 234 The Lock Up, we would recommend to you Drop.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Unit 234 The Lock Up
Directed by – Andy Tennant
Written by – Derek Steiner
Music by – George Fenton
Cinematography by – John Pardue
Edited by – Piper Kroeze
Production/Distribution Companies – Productivity Media, Type Street Productions, Red A Entertainment, Round Larry Productions, Brainstorm Media & Eagal Entertainment
Starring – Don Johnson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jack Huston, James Dumont, Christopher Baker, Manny Galan, Juvian Marquez & Anirudh Pisharody
Rating – Around an Australia: MA15+