‘UNHINGED’ (RATED R)

Solstice Studios, a relatively new entertainment company that produces and releases feature films, has the distinct honor of releasing the first film nationwide in theaters since the coronavirus shutdown.

That Russell Crowe’s Tom Cooper, if that’s even his name, has more anger management issues than a lifetime of therapy could cure is evident from the get-go in the appropriately titled “Unhinged.”

We first see Tom on a rainy late night parked outside a suburban home with a “for sale” sign. He takes some medication, tosses his wedding ring over his shoulder, and lights matches for a reason that will soon be apparent.

Wielding an axe and a can of gasoline, he breaks down the front door of the house, viciously hacks up the couple inside, and sets a fire that quickly turns into an explosive conflagration.

Then the opening credits roll, consisting of grainy news film clips of incidents of rage, from assaults in a courtroom and on public transportation to civil unrest and riots to freeway traffic accidents.

News reports focus on the stress amidst horrible conditions and lament that angry people can lose self-control. “Incivility is a major issue in America. Rudeness can bring more rudeness,” intones an on-air commentator.

The montage of images of anger and frustration unleashed in a barrage of newsworthy soundbites suggest that “Unhinged” just might explore the psychology behind what fuels this ostensible plague of fury and rage. This is not that movie.

It’s all about Russell Crowe’s character, profusely sweating, disheveled and grossly overweight, being a powder keg of foaming derangement that is hell-bent for leather to snap at the least unjustifiable provocation.

Meanwhile, Rachel (Caren Pistorius), a single mom and freelance hairdresser, struggles to get herself and her young son Kyle (Gabriel Bateman) ready for school, while trying not to be late for work.

On this particular day and already behind schedule, Rachel tries to navigate rush hour traffic without much success. Getting stuck behind a large pickup truck where the driver won’t move on the green light just adds to her vexation.

Unfortunately, the driver of the truck is none other than Tom, and he does not take kindly to Rachel leaning a little too hard on the horn. Catching up to her at the next light, Tom suggests that a courtesy tap would suffice and seeks an apology.

Not in a mood when the day has already started off badly, Rachel has absolutely no desire to offer an act of contrition, at least until it dawns on her too late that it might be best to diffuse an ugly situation.

Demented as he is, Tom pursues Rachel in a street race, catching up with her eventually at a gas station where he says nothing other than to glare menacingly such that we know things are about to get much worse.

While Tom may be crazy, he’s clever enough to know how to manipulate his prey with a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Using the cell phone as a weapon, Tom taps into her contacts and targets Rachel’s loved ones and colleagues.

Rachel’s Volvo station wagon is no match for Tom’s massive truck that he’ll use as a battering ram when necessary. The physical threat, though, is at first minor when compared to the mind games that grow more harrowing.

An early scene of gruesome physical violence occurs when Tom shows up at a diner for Rachel’s appointment with a lawyer friend and ends up tormenting the guy while Rachel tries vainly to offer an apology on the phone. Then the situation turns extremely ugly and brutal.

One of the better mind games happens when Tom insists in a phone conversation that no harm will come to Rachel’s family if she picks someone out of her contact list to be murdered as a grim substitute for a loved one.

Does Rachel eventually figure out a way to fight back to save Kyle and any other family members not yet dispatched by the disturbed lunatic? You probably know the answer to this question if you have watched any revenge films.

Russell Crowe has developed a screen persona over the years that makes him very suitable for the role of a vengeful person of unbridled machismo. He’s absolutely the right fit for a deranged psychopath, because apparently Nicolas Cage was unavailable for the part.

South African actress Caren Pistorius is obviously not as well known to American audiences, but she brings the right note to the frazzled loving mother who eventually comes to terms with fighting back against unrelenting harassment and intimidation.

“Unhinged” is a grindhouse film that might have been a low-rent Quentin Tarantino production. As it is, this is a pulpy B-movie that delivers on its premise that nasty stuff happens when road rage goes to an extreme.

With many theaters not yet open, video on demand may not be far behind in bringing opportunity to witness Russell Crowe becoming frightfully “Unhinged,” and at least you won’t have to wear a mask at home.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.