Simon Tate’s 2025 release, The Unlock, is an intriguing, fast-paced psychological thriller that delves into the depths of the human mind while acting as a critique of the lack of ethics in the extrajudicial methods opted for by people in power who commoditize lives on a whim. While the premise and the final resolution aren’t something totally novel, the narrative treatment is intriguing enough to leave an impression on viewers and encourage discussion as well. With a global conspiracy brewing in the backdrop, the scope of the movie is bigger than the budget allocated, but deft handling of the visuals doesn’t let the monetary constraints worsen viewers’ experience by any means. It should be mentioned that before the movie opens, a disclaimer notifies viewers that in order to imbue a sense of authenticity and spontaneity in the acting, the actor playing the role of Stephen, Ciaran Dow Jones, was subjected to isolation treatment. He wasn’t allowed to know anything about the genre and plot of the movie, or even to meet the rest of the cast until the movie ended. It might feel gimmicky at first, but the rawness in his performance as a tortured soul grasping at straws to remember his past keeps you hooked till the end.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Was Stephen Subjected to the Hyperstimulation Method?
The Unlock opens in the midst of an international crisis—one that may very well trigger the Third World War. From the podcast of a conspiracy theorist, Uncle Joe, viewers learn that Russian Foreign Minister Mikhail Petrov has been abducted near the Lithuanian border by the far-right Lithuanian terrorist group Skydas. Given the sorry state of the international relations that exist between NATO member Lithuania and Russia, it goes without saying how troubling this situation is. The terrorist cell has started a ninety-minute countdown after which they will kill the Russian official for the world to see, which will inevitably prompt Russia to invade Lithuania. The United States and the rest of the NATO members will respond in kind, escalating the situation to a global conflict, which in the worst-case scenario will culminate in nuclear armageddon.Â
British ex-military Stephen, who was assigned as the driver of Petrov, was able to flee from the location following the abduction of the minister and currently is in a dazed state. It seems he has sustained a concussion severe enough that his mind has turned into a blank slate, leading him to forget everything about the immediate past and almost everything regarding his life. However, Stephen’s mind holds the key to saving the world itself, as the higher-ups calling the shots believe he knows the location of the place Petrov was taken to.
Disgraced CIA Agent Jay Falcone, whose career is on the line following an operation in Mogadishu where he had killed an unarmed girl, has been given a chance to earn back his honor by prying out the intel from Stephen using any means necessary. Assisting him is Maxine Petkus, a British intelligence agent/medic stationed in Lithuania. Aside from having a blot on her career record due to an unrevealed instance of her indecisiveness, having a troubling past thanks to her abusive ex-husband, Maxine has her own troubles to deal with. She is concerned for her family, who are in the country as well—and she is desperately trying to get them out before the worst happens.
Initially, the possibility of Stephen being a turncoat is considered until a primary interrogation by the two agents reveals clearly that he has no recollection of anything at all. His memories haven’t been obliterated completely; instead, they have been hidden away—and it is up to the agents to extract them to get the intel. With time running out, the agents show no aversion to opting for extreme measures, i.e., using the hyperstimulation method by using visual cues related to Stephen’s past and even bringing people close to him to trigger his brain function.
False Flag Attack Staged By Russia
Jay and Max act out a good cop-bad cop routine to alternate between forcing Stephen into revealing the information or helping him remember until they decide to begin the memory regression process by bringing in Stephen’s family and close ones in gradual progression. At first, Stephen’s ex-wife, Karen, now a cancer patient, is brought in. Stephen is unable to recognize her at first, but as she helps Stephen to recall their past, he remembers that, in order to pay her medical expenses, he took up the job of driving Petrov. The fleeting memories appear disjointed, and to probe deeper into the immediate past, Jay continues to raise the stakes of hyperstimulation—much to Maxine’s dismay. The duo goes back and forth several times while discussing the ethical repercussions of their actions, but Jay is adamant to justify the means by the end result. Jay continues to converse with his handler, Ed, who gives him free rein to obtain the intel and holds the power to reinstate Jay into the force in exchange.
Jay and Max bring in Stephen’s children, Danny and Daisy, and following an emotional reunion with them (he can’t remember them either), Stephen remembers seeing one of the abductors snatching a flag badge from the others’ uniform, which Stephen had carried with him while escaping from their facility. Jay is able to figure out that the ones posing as Lithuanian terrorists are in reality Russian soldiers, as the Russians have staged a false flag operation to use as an excuse to invade Lithuania. Still, the question of where Petrov has been held captive remains unknown, and the agents continue to pry further into Stephen’s life and memories.
This time, Stephen’s army buddy, Phil, is brought into the mix, and Jay begins a heated argument with him—which draws certain reactions from Stephen. To escalate the matter further, Jay stages a tense situation as he holds Daisy hostage, forcing Stephen to spill the beans or see his daughter getting shot to death. Alternatively, if Stephen indeed can’t remember, he has to shoot his best friend to save his daughter’s life, and at the end, Stephen ends up shooting Phil to death. An emotional wreck at this point, Stephen remembers the name of the oil company, a storage depot of which is being used as the black site of Russians where Petrov is held. Maxine isn’t okay with any of this, but she chooses to roll with it anyway, as she is concerned about the safety of her family—and deep down, she too has the troublesome instinct like Jay, to do whatever is necessary to bring results. But in order to pinpoint the exact location, Stephen needs a last trigger—his paternal relationship, which turns out to be the proverbial ace at the disposal of the interrogators.
Did Stephen’s Memory Return At The End?
Stephen’s father, David, was involved with British intelligence, and passed away when he was still young. The loss of his father left a deep impact on Stephen’s mind and guided much of his life choices. Finally, at this point, with merely half an hour to spare till the end of the countdown, Jay brings David in front of Stephen, resulting in an emotional reunion as David reveals he had to fake his death to protect his family. David’s comforting presence brings out the most crucial intel at last, revealing the exact location to be Buriy G. Jay relays this intel to his handler, who sends special agents to flank the Russians posing as terrorists and rescue Petrov just in time to avert a Third World War.
The final twist comes when David ends up freeing Stephen, and while fleeing through the next chamber, the horrid truth about the entire hyperstimulation operation is brought to light. The entire ordeal was staged from the beginning, and Stephen’s wife, their children, and his best friend were paid actors who were playing by the script to implant false memories in his mind to incite a strong emotional reaction.
In The Unlock’s ending, Stephen is captured, and the inexpressible angst, sense of betrayal, and disgust reflected in his eyes will stay with viewers for a long time. The most believable lies are always the ones close to the truth, and Stephen’s real life and his connections with people close to him allowed the agents to stage an elaborate performance. The fact that they could bring all the close ones in Stephen’s life to the facility in no time was already a sly hint at the entire thing being a sham. Perhaps David being Stephen’s father was the only truth in the entirety of it, as he was determined to show his son the truth after he went through so much psychological torture. If the question regarding how false memories can convince someone to open up their mind plagues you, Christopher Nolan’s Inception can be taken as a reference, where the idea of implanting an idea into the subconscious was explored in depth. After all, a lie told often enough becomes the truth.
