You know that feeling when you finish a movie and just sit there in the dark while the credits roll because you’re trying to process what you just saw? That’s usually the vibe with The Unseen. It isn't just about the plot or the atmosphere; it’s the people on screen. When people search for the cast of The Unseen, they’re often looking for the 2016 Canadian cult hit directed by Geoff Redknap.
It’s a gritty, grounded take on the "invisible man" trope. No capes. No supervillain monologues. Just a guy literally fading away while trying to reconnect with his family.
The weight of the film rests almost entirely on Aden Young. You might recognize him from Rectify, where he played Daniel Holden with this incredible, simmering stillness. In The Unseen, he plays Bob Langmore. Bob is a former hockey player—which is a very specific kind of Canadian archetype—who is working a dead-end job in a mill. He’s isolated himself because he’s physically disappearing. Not all at once, but in patches. It looks like a disease. It looks painful. Young plays it with this heavy-lidded exhaustion that makes you feel the literal weight of his disappearing skin.
Aden Young and the Burden of Bob Langmore
Honestly, Young’s performance is what keeps the movie from becoming a B-movie creature feature. He treats the invisibility like a chronic illness. Most actors would play "becoming invisible" with a sense of wonder or maybe high-pitched terror. Young goes the other way. He plays it as a burden. It’s a chore. He has to wrap himself in bandages not to be a monster, but just to stay "there."
The chemistry he has with Camille Sullivan, who plays his ex-wife Darlene, is heartbreaking. Sullivan is one of those actors you’ve seen in everything—Intelligence, The Man in the High Castle, Rookie Blue—and she has this uncanny ability to look like she’s lived a thousand lives before the camera even starts rolling. When she and Young are on screen together, you don’t need a flashback to know they had a messy, loving, and ultimately tragic history.
The Role of Eva: Julia Sarah Stone
Then there’s the daughter, Eva. This is where the cast of The Unseen really shines in terms of casting logic. Julia Sarah Stone plays Eva. If you follow Canadian indie cinema or saw her in Honey Bee or the Netflix show Aftermath, you know she’s a powerhouse. She has these wide, expressive eyes that make her look vulnerable and incredibly intelligent at the same time.
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In the film, Eva is struggling with her own set of problems, and the slow realization that she might be inheriting her father’s "condition" is handled with a subtlety that most big-budget Hollywood films miss. Stone doesn't overact the fear. She plays the confusion of a teenager who feels like she’s losing her grip on her own body, which, let’s be real, is a pretty universal metaphor for puberty, even without the sci-fi elements.
Supporting Players and the Gritty World-Building
The world of The Unseen feels lived-in. Part of that is the location—the cold, industrial backdrop of British Columbia—but a lot of it is the supporting cast.
- Ben Cotton shows up as Crisby. Cotton is a veteran of the Vancouver acting scene (Stargate Atlantis, The Killing). He brings a certain level of menace that feels local and "small-town scary" rather than "movie villain scary."
- Max Chadburn plays Amrit. Her role provides a necessary friction to Eva’s journey, grounding the supernatural elements in the harsh reality of social hierarchies.
- Alison Araya and Eugene Lipinski also round out the world. Lipinski, in particular, has that face you’ve seen in Fringe and The Davidstein, lending a bit of "creepy authority" to the proceedings.
Why does this specific lineup work? It’s because Geoff Redknap, the director, comes from a special effects makeup background. He’s worked on huge sets like Deadpool and Cabin in the Woods. He knew that if the actors didn't sell the pain of the invisibility, the effects—no matter how good—would look silly. He chose actors who specialize in "internal" performances.
The Mystery of the Different "Unseen" Casts
We have to talk about the confusion, though. If you’re looking for the cast of The Unseen and the names above don’t ring a bell, you might be thinking of a different project. There are a few.
There’s a 2023 horror-thriller also titled The Unseen (sometimes released under different titles in international markets) starring RJ Mitte of Breaking Bad fame. Mitte plays a law student who is losing his sight and starts seeing "entities." It’s a completely different vibe. Mitte is great—he brings that same intense vulnerability he had as Walter White Jr.—but it’s more of a traditional supernatural thriller than the 2016 body-horror drama.
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Then you have the 2017 British film The Unseen, starring Jasmine Hyde and Richard Flood. That one is a psychological drama about grieving parents. It’s heavy. It’s gut-wrenching. But it has nothing to do with invisibility or mill workers in BC.
It’s a bit of a "title soup" situation on streaming platforms. To make sure you’re watching the right one, look for Aden Young's name. If you see a guy with bandages on his face looking like he’s had a very long day, you’re in the right place.
Why the 2016 Cast Still Gets Talked About
The 2016 film remains a talking point in genre circles because it’s a masterclass in "low-budget, high-concept" casting. When you have a limited budget for CGI, your actors have to do the heavy lifting.
When Bob (Young) is struggling to stay visible, the actor isn't just reacting to a green screen. He’s portraying a man who is literally losing his identity. The way he carries his shoulders, the way he avoids eye contact—it’s all intentional. The cast of The Unseen was chosen because they could handle the "heavy" stuff without making it feel like a melodrama.
Performance Breakdown: The Key Scenes
There’s a specific scene where Bob is in a motel room, trying to manage his condition. It’s quiet. There’s no music. It’s just the sound of bandages tearing and Young’s heavy breathing. It’s one of the most effective scenes in modern Canadian sci-fi. It works because Young treats it like a guy changing a tire or cleaning a wound. It’s procedural.
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Similarly, Julia Sarah Stone has a scene in a bathroom where she’s inspecting her own skin. The panic is there, but it’s buried under a layer of "I have to figure this out." That pragmatism makes the horror feel much more real.
What to Watch Next if You Liked This Cast
If you’ve seen the film and you’re now a fan of these actors (as you should be), here is where you go next:
- Aden Young in Rectify: This is non-negotiable. It’s one of the best TV performances of the 21st century. He plays a man released from death row after 19 years. It’s slow, poetic, and devastating.
- Julia Sarah Stone in Come True: Another Canadian sci-fi/horror film. It’s very synth-heavy and dreamlike. Stone is the lead, and she carries the whole thing. It’s about sleep studies and nightmares.
- Camille Sullivan in Hunter Hunter: This is a brutal survival thriller. If you thought she was good in The Unseen, she will blow your mind here. It’s a very different role, much more visceral and aggressive.
Final Take on the Casting Choices
The cast of The Unseen succeeds because it avoids the typical tropes of the genre. Usually, a movie about a guy becoming invisible is about what he can do with that power—spying, stealing, or fighting. This cast tells a story about what he loses.
They play it as a tragedy of the working class. Bob isn't a scientist who had a lab accident; he’s just a guy who’s falling apart in a world that doesn't have time for people who aren't "whole."
If you haven't seen it, find the 2016 version. Pay attention to the way the actors use their bodies. In a movie about disappearing, the physical presence of the actors is ironically the strongest part.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Viewers:
- Verify the Year: Always check the release date (2016) when searching for this film on VOD services to ensure you get the Aden Young/Geoff Redknap version.
- Watch for the Practical Effects: Pay close attention to the scenes involving Bob's "condition." The actors worked closely with the SFX team to ensure the movements matched the prosthetic applications, which is why the "gaps" in his body look so jarringly real.
- Follow the Careers: Keep an eye on Julia Sarah Stone. She has become a staple of high-quality independent cinema and consistently chooses projects that challenge the audience's perception of "genre" film.
- Check Out the Director's Other Work: Since Geoff Redknap is primarily an SFX artist, looking up his filmography on IMDb gives you a "who's who" of major films where he's provided the visual magic, even if he wasn't in the director's chair.