Unsane (2018): Cast, Ratings, Box Office & Ending
Unsane is a 2018 horror thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Joshua Leonard as David Strine, Claire Foy and Amy Irving. It runs 1 hour 38 minutes and earned $14.3 million worldwide on a $1.5 million budget. It earned 1 award nomination, including Low Budget – Comedy or Drama at the Artios Awards 2019. Critics gave it 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and 63 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 6.4/10.
- Released
- Runtime
- 1h 38m (98 min)
- Director
- Steven Soderbergh
- Original language
-
English
- Studio
- 20th Century Fox
- Budget
- $1.5M
- After the credits
- No No extra scene
What Is Unsane About?
The premise of Unsane without spoilers. The whole story and the ending explained are in the plot summary further down.
Fleeing a terrifying stalker in Boston, a woman seeks refuge but finds herself unexpectedly committed to a psychiatric facility in Pennsylvania. As she struggles to discern reality from delusion, she battles to prove her sanity and expose the person she believes is pursuing her, even from within the institution's walls. Her desperate fight for survival becomes a harrowing test of what is real and what is not.
Unsane Themes & Keywords
· 50 tags- psychiatric ward
- stalking
- stalker
- insurance scam
- stabbed in the eye
- confinement
- camera phone
- obsession
- medication
- medical restraints
- nurse
- doctor
+38 more Show fewer
- deeply disturbed person
- video call
- psychiatric hospital
- police
- injection
- flashback
- shower
- murder
- finding a dead body
- harassment
- restaurant
- torture
- traumatized protagonist
- no one believes the protagonist
- female protagonist
- tied to a bed
- sexual harassment
- woman told to strip
- interrupted rape
- tied feet
- reporter
- shank
- cornrows
- running through the woods
- giallo esque
- one word title
- google search
- internet search
- bar
- kiss
- psychiatrist
- 911 call
- police officer
- telephone call
- funeral
- toilet
- drugs
- notebook
Unsane Cast & Characters
Joshua Leonard leads the cast as David Strine, with Claire Foy as Sawyer Valentini and Amy Irving as Angela Valentini. Directed by Steven Soderbergh; 21 actors are credited in all.
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Director Steven Soderbergh
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Joshua Leonard as David Strine -
Claire Foy as Sawyer Valentini -
Amy Irving as Angela Valentini - Sarah Stiles as Jill
Also Starring in Unsane
· 17 more- Jay Pharoah Nate Hoffman
- Juno Temple Violet
- Gibson Frazier
- Myra Lucretia Taylor Counselor
- Colin Woodell Mark
- Zach Cherry Dennis
- Marc Kudisch Bank Manager
- Aimee Mullins
- Polly McKie Nurse Boles
- Sol Marina Crespo Female Patient
- Lynda Mauze Dolores
- Erin Wilhelmi
- Ursula Triplett
- Laura Rothschild
- Matt Mancini
- Michael Mihm
Show all 21 cast members Show fewer cast members
More from Steven Soderbergh
More films directed by Steven Soderbergh, best-rated first: sex, lies, and videotape, Traffic, The Christophers and King of the Hill.
Unsane Reviews & Ratings
Critics gave Unsane 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and 63 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 6.4/10. Our Echo Score gives it 69/100, strongest in character & emotion (71) and weakest in rewatch factor (60).
Unsane Echo Score Breakdown
In overall, Unsane delivers a compelling lead performance and a distinctive visual approach but struggles with narrative cohesion and suspense consistency. Critics and viewers alike praise Claire Foy’s intense portrayal and Steven Soderbergh’s immersive iPhone cinematography, while noting uneven pacing and a revealing screenplay that undercuts its thematic mystery. The film’s atmosphere remains potent, though its abrupt tonal shifts and underdeveloped subplots limit its lasting impact. Ultimately, Unsane is engaging yet intermittently faltering.
Our own 0–100 rating, built from five aspects: art, character, story, the sensory experience and how well a film rewatches.
- Art & Craft 70
In terms of art and craft, Unsane’s iPhone-based cinematography introduces an intimate, grainy texture that underscores the protagonist’s claustrophobia. Steven Soderbergh’s direction experiments with dynamic camera angles and tight framing, creating visual immediacy. However, the DIY aesthetic occasionally feels inconsistent, with abrupt visual shifts that detract from overall cohesion. The craftsmanship is inventive but uneven.
- Character & Emotion 71
When it comes to character and emotion, Claire Foy anchors the film with a nuanced, gradually unhinged performance. Supporting players, notably Jay Pharoah, offer moments of understated calm, yet many secondary figures lack sufficient depth. The emotional resonance is primarily driven by Foy’s conviction, leaving ensemble relationships comparatively thin and limiting broader character engagement.
- Story & Flow 60
In terms of story and flow, Unsane presents a compelling premise of psychological entrapment that initially sustains suspense. Pacing issues emerge as the narrative lags in the central act and leans on predictable clichés. The climactic twist, while aiming for a Hitchcockian turn, feels unearned and leads to a rushed resolution. The plot is intriguing yet uneven.
- Sensory Experience 69
When considering the sensory experience, Unsane offers a haunting soundscape with dissonant score cues that heighten tension. The intimate sound design amplifies isolation, and the visual style—marked by raw color palette and tight compositions—immerses viewers. Yet sudden tonal shifts and occasional visual inconsistency limit sensory cohesion, yielding moments of effective dread alongside less polished sequences.
- Rewatch Factor 60
In terms of rewatch factor, Unsane’s strong lead performance and unsettling atmosphere provide enough intrigue to merit subsequent viewings. The film’s intimate visuals and thematic focus on paranoia invite closer inspection. However, its uneven pacing, underdeveloped subplots, and an abrupt finale diminish its lasting appeal, making repeated viewings less uniformly rewarding than initial impressions.
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IMDb 6.4 /10
See on IMDb -
Rotten Tomatoes 80% Tomatometer
Popcornmeter 59%
See on Rotten Tomatoes -
Metacritic 63 Metascore
User score 6.2
See on Metacritic -
TMDB 63% User score
See on TMDB -
Letterboxd 3.3 /5
78 ratings
See on Letterboxd -
Movie Insider 3.5 /5
See on Movie Insider
Unsane Plot Summary & Ending Explained
What happens in Unsane from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events and the ending explained. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.
Spoilers ahead
The film begins with David Strine (Joshua Leonard) expressing his fondness for a woman in blue, recalling their first meeting when she wore that color. The story centers on Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy), who works as a sales representative in Pennsylvania. One day, she believes she spots David at her workplace, sending her into a state of fear. Living alone, her only friend at work is Jill (Sarah Stiles), while she frequently communicates with her mother, Angela (Amy Irving), who resides in Boston.
Full summary
The whole story of Unsane, scene by scene, with the ending explained
Unsane Box Office & Budget
Unsane grossed $14.3 million worldwide on a $1.5 million budget, 9.5 times what it cost. $7.7 million came from the US and Canada and $6.6 million (46%) from the rest of the world.
Worldwide gross
$14.3M
9.5× its budget
- US & Canada
- $7.7M
- International
- $6.6M
- Budget
- $1.5M
Unsane Awards & Nominations
Unsane earned 1 award nomination, including Low Budget – Comedy or Drama at the Artios Awards 2019.
1 nomination1 ceremony
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Artios Awards 2019 1 nomination- Nominated Low Budget – Comedy or Drama
Unsane Trailers & Videos
9 videos: 1 trailer, 4 teasers and 4 clips.
- Teaser UNSANE | "Definition"
- Teaser UNSANE | "Head"
- Teaser UNSANE | "Never Safe"
- Teaser UNSANE | "Two Sides"
How Well Do You Know Unsane?
10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.
Question 1 of 10
- Question 1: not answered
- Question 2: not answered
- Question 3: not answered
- Question 4: not answered
- Question 5: not answered
- Question 6: not answered
- Question 7: not answered
- Question 8: not answered
- Question 9: not answered
- Question 10: not answered
Who is the main character haunted by her past stalker?
Cars in Unsane
8 cars on screen, including the 1988 Ford LTD Crown Victoria and the 2016 Kia Optima.
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1988 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Minor role -
2016 Kia Optima Minor role -
2016 Nissan Altima Minor role -
2000 Chevrolet Suburban Background role
Unsane Also Known As
28 alternative titles, including “Unsane - Ausgeliefert” and “Distúrbio”.
- Also known as
-
- Unsane - Ausgeliefert
- Distúrbio
- Perturbada
- 언세인
- Не в собі
- Paranoïa
- Unsane: Ausgeliefert
- Не в себе
- 瘋人院
- 失心病狂
- Niepoczytalna
- Dérangée
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- לא שפויה
- 瘋·魔
- Божевільна
- Tébolyult
- อันเซน เธอบ้าหรือไม่บ้า
- Не на себе си
- Nepříčetná
- Saplantı
- Nesava
- アンセイン 狂気の真実
- Nepríčetná
- Neprāts caur telefona kameru
- Ảo Giác
- Neprisebna
- Poremećena
- Tulburare
Seen Unsane?
Movies Like Unsane
Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including Unhinged, Insane Like Me? and Insaniac.
Unsane FAQ: Cast, Box Office & Awards
Runtime, release date, director, cast, box office, ratings, awards and post-credit scenes of Unsane, each answered in a sentence.
How long is Unsane?
Unsane runs 1 hour 38 minutes (98 minutes).
When was Unsane released?
Unsane was released on March 23, 2018.
Who directed Unsane?
Unsane was directed by Steven Soderbergh.
More films by Steven Soderbergh Who is in the cast of Unsane?
Unsane stars Joshua Leonard as David Strine, Claire Foy as Sawyer Valentini and Amy Irving as Angela Valentini, among 21 credited actors.
How much did Unsane make at the box office?
Unsane grossed $14.3 million worldwide ($7.7 million domestic, $6.6 million international) on a budget of $1.5 million.
How is Unsane rated?
Unsane has 6.4/10 on IMDb, 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, 63 on Metacritic and 63% on TMDB.
Was Unsane nominated for any awards?
Unsane received 1 nomination across 1 ceremony.
Does Unsane have a post-credit scene?
No. Unsane has no extra scene during or after the credits.
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