Quick synopsis of the plot; a TV crew decides to investigate the abandoned tunnels under Sydney because of what they believe to be a government cover-up. They are absolutely right. It is a cover-up.
First of all this is one of those first person footage shaky cam movies. To make it more documentary-like they include interviews with two survivors of this trip. I have nothing against movies shot this way. It can be very effective if used properly. Cloverfield is an example. And REC is an excellent horror movie. One of my favorites of all time. I read some reviews where the reviewers complained about the lack of mystery about who survives and who doesn't. Honestly, I can watch about 10 to 15 minutes of any mindless slasher movie and predict which character is survival material and which ones are 100 % cannon fodder. It does takes a long time for the movie to really get going but I thought the long intro makes the plot and characters more believable. The acting is OK and the characters aren't just props and one dimensional buckets of blood running around screaming until they get killed. Don't get me wrong, this is not exactly Oscar material here but its better than your average low budget horror movie.
I give it a 3. The plot is decent. At least it wasn't an insult to my intelligence. The characters are believable. I didn't find it boring, despite the slow build-up. BUT the problem is the ending. The last third of the movie is set in the tunnels with some jumps to the fake interviews with the survivors. The writers did a good job with building the tension but they really screwed up the ending. The last sequence of REC is a really good example of how effective the first person view combined with a night vision camera can be. Sadly The Tunnel exposes all of its flaws. There is a mildly creepy scene involving a policeman and the monster or whatever is hunting them in the tunnels. It is followed by a lot of running around the tunnels and screaming. And jerky camera movement. But if you are a horror nut like me, you're going to tough it out because you want to see the conclusion. Basically you want to see what exactly is chasing them around the tunnels. You would hope for some kind of an explanation. What is it? How did it get there? Where did it come from? None of those questions are answered. We really don't even get a hint. In a nutshell, this movie has no ending. Its like a murder mystery movie or book that ends without revealing who is the murderer. Incomplete and thus flawed.
First of all this is one of those first person footage shaky cam movies. To make it more documentary-like they include interviews with two survivors of this trip. I have nothing against movies shot this way. It can be very effective if used properly. Cloverfield is an example. And REC is an excellent horror movie. One of my favorites of all time. I read some reviews where the reviewers complained about the lack of mystery about who survives and who doesn't. Honestly, I can watch about 10 to 15 minutes of any mindless slasher movie and predict which character is survival material and which ones are 100 % cannon fodder. It does takes a long time for the movie to really get going but I thought the long intro makes the plot and characters more believable. The acting is OK and the characters aren't just props and one dimensional buckets of blood running around screaming until they get killed. Don't get me wrong, this is not exactly Oscar material here but its better than your average low budget horror movie.
I give it a 3. The plot is decent. At least it wasn't an insult to my intelligence. The characters are believable. I didn't find it boring, despite the slow build-up. BUT the problem is the ending. The last third of the movie is set in the tunnels with some jumps to the fake interviews with the survivors. The writers did a good job with building the tension but they really screwed up the ending. The last sequence of REC is a really good example of how effective the first person view combined with a night vision camera can be. Sadly The Tunnel exposes all of its flaws. There is a mildly creepy scene involving a policeman and the monster or whatever is hunting them in the tunnels. It is followed by a lot of running around the tunnels and screaming. And jerky camera movement. But if you are a horror nut like me, you're going to tough it out because you want to see the conclusion. Basically you want to see what exactly is chasing them around the tunnels. You would hope for some kind of an explanation. What is it? How did it get there? Where did it come from? None of those questions are answered. We really don't even get a hint. In a nutshell, this movie has no ending. Its like a murder mystery movie or book that ends without revealing who is the murderer. Incomplete and thus flawed.