Unit 234 Film Review: Tension-Filled Thriller

In Unit 234, a suspenseful action thriller, Isabelle Fuhrman plays cat and mouse with a villainous Don Johnson at a storage facility.

When the man wakes up, he has no idea how he got in the storage unit. Now, that is quite the set up for a movie, and Unit 234, the new thriller directed by Andy Tennant from a screenplay by Derek Steiner, has complete confidence in the strength of its premise, keeping it as lean, tight and whittled down to the essentials as a b-movie noir from the 40s or 50s. The economy of storytelling perfectly matches the claustrophobic cat-and-mouse premise, and gives Unit 234 a gripping, propulsive urgency. 

A fine arts and philosophy major, Laurie took over the storage unit after her parents were killed in a car accident. Stuck in the middle of the podunk Florida, surrounded by antiques, with few customers and fewer friends, and a boyfriend upset by her inability to visit him in Nashville, Laurie is resigned to a life of boredom and stagnation. Perhaps, with time and distance, Laurie will describe the events of Unit 234 as the most important of her life. They certainly shake her out of her doldrums. Like the Final Girl in a horror movie, Laurie is pushed to discover previously undetected strength and courage inside of herself as she sets out to save the man’s life and protect the storage facility.

Fuhrman, best known for her astounding child performance in 2009’s Orphan, makes for a resourceful, easy-to-root-for lead. In the midst of a career resurgence with his supporting roles in Knives Out and last year’s Rebel Ridge, Johnson is mesmerizing as the villain, giving him a pitifulness that makes him all the more frightening. Having a small, contained plot, such as Unit 234, makes having compelling characters all the more important, and both the movie’s hero and villain are sharply, recognizably defined. 

As a director, Andy Tennant is not known for his acumen with thrillers, having helmed romances such as Ever After, Sweet Home Alabama, and Hitch, but with Unit 234 he shows an understanding of suspense and audience expectations. There are moments as tense as a horror movie, an impression underscored by the shadowy locations and blustery weather. The pacing of the movie is rollercoaster fast without feeling frenetic and hyperactive, with clues and revelations building off one another in engaging ways. Tennant also takes great care to set up the geography of the storage facility, helping the viewer to feel further immersed in the world and action. 

Perhaps Unit 234 has too many surprises at the end, revealed in such quick succession that the audience doesn’t have time to sit with them, but by the time we got to that point I was too invested, too worried for Laurie for that to matter. What I will say in the ending’s favor is that I   was unable to guess many of the twists and turns. Unit 234’s weaknesses are few, and its strengths are many. It is an entertaining, tautly crafted b-movie noir that proves once and for all just how exciting a storage unit can be.

Unit 234 will be released in U.S. theaters and on demand on May 9, 2025.

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