Director: Yoko Okumura
A phone screen becomes a lifeline in "Unseen," director Yoko Okumura's 2023 horror-thriller about two women connected only by a video call and a stretch of dark woods between them.
What is Unseen about?
Emily is running through the woods at night, nearly blind and terrified, being pursued by a man from her past who wants to hurt her. With no other option, she calls Sam, a stranger working an overnight shift, and asks her to become her eyes through a video call, guiding her step by step away from danger using nothing but a shaky camera feed and her voice. The film builds its tension almost entirely around that one-sided view: Sam can see fragments of the woods around Emily but not the threat itself, and every decision she makes from a distance could either save Emily or put her directly in harm's way. It's a lean, real-time survival setup that turns a phone call into the only weapon either woman has.
Cast & crew
Jolene Purdy and Midori Francis lead as Sam and Emily, with Missi Pyle, Ren Hanami, Michael Patrick Lane, Nicholas X. Parsons, and Brett Baker in supporting roles.
Context & significance
Released in 2023 and running a tight 76 minutes, "Unseen" leans into its short runtime to keep the pacing relentless rather than padding out the premise. Director Yoko Okumura frames much of the story through screens and video calls, a choice that mirrors how much modern connection and modern danger both now pass through a phone. The film carries a 5.8 audience rating and sits comfortably among compact, single-location horror-thrillers that rely on tension and voice work rather than large sets or effects.
Where & how to watch
"Unseen" is available on K-Time with both Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, on a platform built around a Farsi-first experience for Persian-speaking viewers wherever they live. This page can be read for free; watching the film itself requires logging into a K-Time account.