Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Uncaged’

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are so many wonderful things that happen as you continue to get older and when you are just starting to find out who you really are, you wonder where the time has gone. Each birthday brings new benefits into your life, but eighteen seems to be one of the most important. You officially become an adult and can vote, play lotto and most importantly, pay taxes. Some people could not wait to become an adult, and I being one of them know that I regret nothing from this desire, but I really wish my parents would have warned me about it, because adulting, while being awesome, also really bites.

Freshmen Jack, Turner and Brandon are having the times of their lives in college and would not change a thing. With all of the women and partying without their parents around, what could be better for the three? But Jack has been a little out of it since his eighteenth birthday and keeps thinking back to what his mother told him before he moved in with his cousin Brandon. He is not to be afraid if he feels sick these days, it is just part of growing up, but in Jack’s family, it is something much more powerful than puberty. Getting a letter from his uncle to stay at his house over winter break, Jack, Brandon and Turner jump at the idea and head off to their new home away from home.

Turner has no idea about what has happened in his best friend's past, but Brandon wants to make sure that he knows the family history. While all of the family on Jack’s mother’s side have been involved in some sort of tragic accidents, they are usually the only survivors. While Turner thinks this is just silly information to know, he starts to notice that Jack has not acted like himself over the break. Jack has been waking up outside for the past couple nights with no idea how he got there. Borrowing Turner’s camera, Jack finds out that he may have a family trait that nobody bothered to tell him. Seeing the killing of one man by what appears to be his hands, Jack believes that he may be a werewolf and wants to take precautions, so he does not harm anyone, especially his friends or family. But even with the best laid plans, life throws Jack a couple curve balls and he gets tied up in a situation where being a killer beast would not be the worst thing in the world.

Everyone has a hard time growing up and that is to be understandable, but when your family history involves being werewolves, I would hope they would give you a heads up. Even when Jack is not feeling like himself, he has no idea what a full moon has in store for him, but Brandon does and now is deathly afraid of him. The interactions in this movie are great and when Turner finds out the secret his best friend has been holding out from him, well, he may never trust anyone again. Watching as Jack’s family tests him, I felt sorry for the young man since he had no idea what the future had in store for him. A little forewarning would have been nice, and Jack may have been able to prepare for his nightly outings when the moon was full, but I guess some family secrets are never meant to see the light of day, especially for the family members themselves. Stay Scared.

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