1. Some people can't watch "shaky camera" scenes. It makes us sick. In this case there was no reason for it. If you want people to not be able to watch your movie, why even make it? Shaking the camera is not a substitute for special effects2. Painfully loud is not scary. It's not dramatic. When the conversation scenes and the action scenes differ by 100 decibels, it's just painful and unpleasant.When I have to spend the entire movie making drastic changes to the volume, I'm not being entertained.

This movie was part of the Afterdark Horrorfest? That was very hard to believe. But then again, some of the Afterdark movies are simply phenomenal, while others are ... well, not so much! "Unearthed" fall into the latter category.The story is about some alien creature terrorizing a small desert community called Hat Creek. And it is up to sheriff Annie Flynn, couple of residents and some out-of-towners to deal with this alien menace. End of story summary! I think this movie's plot and story must have worked out well on script paper, but it translated poorly into an actual movie. The story was linear, which was good, so it was easy to follow. Problem was that it was just too much, and too unbelievable. And the characters were just randomly picked and thrown into the lot, without having any connection to anything.The creature in "Unearthed" was actually really nicely made, though it was so painstakingly a copy of the creature from the "Alien" movies. And that really brought down the movie a notch. Couldn't they have come up with something original instead of almost copying these aliens from the other movies down to every detail, except for the acidic blood? It was just so lame.As for the acting in the movie, then they had really managed to put together a good enough ensemble of actors and actresses for the roles. And the people were doing good jobs with their roles. The movie was carried by Emmanuelle Vaugier (playing sheriff Annie Flynn).One major problem with "Unearthed" was that it was just too dark. Almost every single frame was shot during night and it was even done so in near-non-existing-light conditions. So it was really difficult to make out stuff most of the time, and lots of details in the frames and the scenery were lost in oblivion. That brought down the movie experience tremendously. It was like watching a horror movie from the late 70s."Unearthed" is a very uninteresting movie, though it did try its best to be something unique. It was brought to its knees by the lack of light and the copied alien creature design. I usually like the Afterdark Horrorfest movies, but this one was just too much, bordering on almost being a downright waste of time. I actually caught myself dozing off several times during the movie because of the lack of lighting.So if you enjoy horror movies, like I do, stay well clear of "Unearthed", unless you are die-hard fan of Afterdark Horrorfest (and just got to see them all) or unless you are a big fan of any of the performing actors or actresses in this movie. There are far better horror movies available out there.

In 2004, director Matthew Leutwyler's first feature 'Dead & Breakfast' received praise for some circles; none of which included me. Unfortunately three years on and while at least he's moved away from rubbish zombie films; he has unfortunately gone on to rubbish sci-fi/horror films, and this desert-set rendition of Alien is just that. It's a shame that this film is so terrible because the plot actually sounds like it could turn into something quite decent. The film takes place in New Mexico and focuses on a small town. A bunch of cows have been found dead and naturally the local farmers believe that a wolf is to blame. The farmers send for a Sheriff to deal with that, and a big truck accident that's blocking the road...but things take a turn for the unexpected when the Sheriff discovers that there's been an archaeological dig in the area, and that an Indian has accidentally released a giant CGI alien creature into the town. Then a bunch of people end up getting stuck and the alien picks them all off one by one.OK, so let's break it down. Acting - terrible, special effects - terrible, plot - clichéd, death scenes - routine...so it really doesn't have all that much going for it. Emmanuelle Vaugier is the lead actress and she's very good looking, but doesn't have enough about her to carry the film. Luke Goss, one half of the awful eighties pop group 'Bros' also appears in the film (luckily, the other half isn't in it, and even luckier is the fact that he doesn't sing). The plot is turgid and uninteresting and basically gives us a little bit of info, followed by a death scene, followed by a bit more info. The central creature doesn't appear all that often - and that's really a good thing because it when it does appear, it's just disappointing CGI nonsense. The action sequences are no good either, mainly because director Matthew Leutwyler has opted for the MTv style quick cuts that never fail to ruin a movie (even, it would appear, one that is already ruined). Overall, this is a dreary and boring horror film that definitely isn't recommended.

You mention similarity to the film Relic but it seems to me that Unearthed is a slightly altered form of the story line of the popular film Tremors. The doughty townsfolk of a small, isolated town band together to battle creatures that suddenly appear from underground. The town is conveniently cut off by something blocking the only road. The creatures seem to be of this earth but unknown until now. But where Tremors had humor and excitement and great special effects, this film has nothing. While watching Tremors it's easy to believe these creatures are real. While watching Unearthed I was constantly jarred by changes in sound level and inexplicable changes in mood from a psychological study of a young, female sheriff to a typical monster slasher film with odd bits of Indian legend and modern science thrown in. Add the dark, fuzzy action scenes and you have a real mess. It's like a stew made by an inept cook. Go rent a copy of Tremors and avoid watching Unearthed. You'll be glad you did.