You don’t want to run into Tom Cooper when he’s having a bad day.

Unfortunately for Rachel Hunter, she crosses Cooper’s path when he’s having a very bad day.

And Cooper is hell-bent on spreading his bad day around.

That’s the premise of “Unhinged,” a heart-pounding psychological thriller.

The movie is the first motion picture in wide release in movie theaters in the United States after the shutdown of movie theaters in an attempt to mitigate the community spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“Unhinged” was seen in the AMC Theatres at The Promenade mall in Center Valley. The AMC lobby, theaters and bathroom were spic and span. Staff and movie-goers, including this reviewer, wore masks. It was a comfortable movie-going experience.

In “Unhinged,” Russell Crowe plays Tom Cooper, who has been let go from his job at the local factory. Cooper is on a revenge killing spree. In the opening scene, he murders a family and torches their house.

Rachel Hunter (Caren Pistorius in a break-out role) is running late to drive her teen-age son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) to school. Rachel leans on the horn of her car because Cooper’s pickup truck doesn’t move forward when the intersection traffic light turns green.

Cooper rolls down the window in his older Ford 250 crew cab. Hunter’s son rolls down the window of his mom’s 1990s Volvo 960 station wagon. Cooper glowers (as only Crowe can do).

Cooper calls over to Hunter, demanding she apologize to him. He explains to her son that his mom should have given him a “courtesy tap,” rather than honking the car horn.

Cooper says, in effect, “That’s where we are in this world. We seem to have developed an inability to apologize for anything.”

What follows is one hour or more of a nearly nonstop intensely-violent cat-and-mouse game between Cooper and Hunter.

Cooper’s malevolence becomes a test of wills between himself and Hunter, a kind of twist on “Ten Little Indians” (1989), based on Agatha Christie’s 1940 novel, “And Then There Were None,” whereby one after another person disappears. In “Unhinged,” Hunter’s family members and friends are stalked by Cooper.

“Unhinged” also draws comparisons, favorable comparisons, to other films: the car chases in “The French Connection” (1971); the road rage menace of “Duel” (1971); the sheer terror of a victim in “Misery” (1990), and the mother protecting child theme of “Panic Room” (2002).

“Unhinged”’ director Derrick Borte (“American Dreamer,” 2018; “The Joneses,” 2009) brings a crisp, no-nonsense, powerful style to the minimalist story.

The screenplay by Carl Ellsworth (screenplays, “Disturbia,” 2007; “Red Dawn,” 2012; “Red Eye,” 2005) gives just enough context to Cooper so that we understand somewhat the reasons for his pain and anger.

The screenplay effectively utilizes cell phones, texting, and internet tracking, mapping and location techniques to advance the plot.

The story references Fortnite, the online video game where players compete to be the last person standing.

The cinematography by director of photography Brendan Galvin is unflinching.

The score by composer David Buckley is percussive, electronic and compelling.

The car chases and vehicle crashes appear to be done old-school with a minimum of CGI.

Russell Crowe (Oscar recipient, actor, “Gladiator,” 2000; Oscar nominee, actor, “A Beautiful Mind,” 2002; Oscar nominee, actor, “The Insider,” 1999) creates a sense of enormous suppressed rage in his role as Cooper. Crowe has grown to pre-“The Conners” TV show John Goodman girth. His deep-set, deer-in-headlights stare and quick turns of violence create one of the cinema’s all-time villains.

Caren Pistorius (“High Ground,” 2020; “Mortal Engines,” 2018; “Cargo,” 2017; “Show West,” 2015) gives a believable turn as Rachel Hunter, the mother under siege. She transitions from disorganized, to frozen with fear, to action.

Gabriel Bateman (“Playmobil: The Movie,” 2019; “Saint Judy,” 2018; “Lights Out,” 2016) as Kyle the son conveys the sense of a youth who isn’t completely secure with a mother going through a divorce.

“Unhinged” deals in a cursory manner with the stress of 21st century life, the effect of job displacement, a lack of kindness in society and, of course, traffic jams, aggressive driving and road rage.

And now for a Public Service Announcement, akin to what you might hear from the National Traffic Safety Institute. Drive patiently to the multiplex to see “Unhinged.” Obey the speed limit. Be courteous to other drivers. Don’t tailgate. And don’t blow your horn.

Credit Readers Anonymous:

“Unhinged” was filmed in Kenner and New Orleans, La.

“Unhinged,”

MPAA rated R (Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.) for strong violent content, and language throughout. Genre: Action, Thriller; Run time: 1 hr., 30 min. Distributed by Solstice.

Movie Box Office,

Aug. 21-23: “Unhinged” moved up to No. 1 from No. 2 with $4 million; $5 million, two weeks, dropping “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” from No. 1 to No. 2, $550,000; $1.4 million, two weeks. 3. “Words on Bathroom Walls,” $419,173, opening. 4. “The Goonies,” $260,000, $825,000, seven weeks. 5. “Cut Throat City,” $243,379, opening. 6. “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back,” $230,000; $1 million, seven weeks. 7. “Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula,” $213,415; $549,417, three weeks. 8. “Jurassic Park,” $180,000; $1.3 million, 10 weeks. 9. “Back to the Future,” $140,000; $247,000, four weeks. 10. “The Tax Collector,” $123,177; $814,713, three weeks. Box office results from Showtimes.com

Unreel,

Sept. 4:

“Tenet,”

PG-13: Christopher Nolan directs John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh in the Science-Fiction Action film. The secret word is Tenet. What does it mean? For one thing, a journey into international espionage and beyond time.

“Bill & Ted Face the Music,”

PG-13: Dean Parisot directs Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Kristen Schaal and Samara Weaving in the Science-Fiction Adventure Comedy. Two wannabe rock musicians from San Dimas, Calif., are now middle-aged dads. They’re still rocking, but perhaps they’re rocking chairs now.

This column is dedicated to Chadwick Boseman (Nov. 29, 1976 - Aug. 28, 2020), who in his all too brief movie career brought African-American icons to the screen, including Jackie Robinson, “42” (2013); James Brown, “Get On Up” (2014), and Thurgood Marshall, “Marshall” (2017), and fictional African icon, T’Challa-Black Panther, “Black Panther,” (2018), while battling colon cancer for four years.