Review: The Tunnel (2011)

As scary as it sounds!!

Its 2007. New South Wales government stops its water recycling project and homeless are reported missing from the underground tunnels. A journalist in need of a story, Natasha  feels something amiss and goes down and under to find out the reason behind the missing homeless and the government cover up and soon it amply becomes clear that the reason is far too scary and dangerous to be disclosed and they may never make it.............


Damn its scary. Australian horror is an underrated beast and this shows how that beast has grown over the years. Couple of nice flicks like Wolf Creek and Primal made me aware of the situation and this makes me confident that Aussies would be a frontier in Horror soon. Their beautiful natural resources could become the perfect murder haunt. And the filmmakers exploit it and make us dread the lush greenery and in this the underground Catacombs which houses a World War air raid shelter and also the water project which has been stopped suddenly. Endless rows of claustrophobia inducing tunnels which I last witnessed in the mindblowing Grave Encounters just f*ck with your head. You'll be as agonized as the leads and will be praying that they find the exit soon. Cos the longer they stay there the longer you are tense and have a high heartbeat rate. Its crazy and scary as hell. Found footage has been criticized but what that genre can do when done right is just amazing. It takes you in and tears you apart. As apart as the leads. Wow. You may be a horror king/queen and seen many such movies before but this will creep you up. Turn off the lights and turn on The Tunnel. You are in for a very scary ride.........


Directed by Carlo Ledesma who has helmed three shorts before this. Its been done pretty well. The lights and dark. The monster silhouette. The shit scary location and brilliant use of found footage sub genre and its tropes like mysterious voices recorded on the audio equipments and the disappearance of their equipments. Its been done eerily well. Though Blair Witch and Rec have shown us the best sides of the genre this too has a couple of novel moments which you'll appreciate if you aren't busy being scared by it. And the monster too though isnt seen clearly and there's not much i got about what it is and why, is creepy. The writing is also damn nice with enough backstory to keep us engaged till they enter the tunnel. And when after facing a lot of difficulty they DO enter the ride starts. And it is a breathless ride which you will want to end soon. The survivor interviews interspersed with the action in the tunnel may take away a little thrill from the movie for some. Though it didn't affect the scare quotient for me. So all in all a damn nice effort from the aussies that gives us a spine tingling chiller.

I am telling you, your galfriend would get us killed!!

A movie can't be scary if the actors don't gel and do well. And if i was scared by it there's no denying the fact that the actors have punched above their weight and pulled off an amazing act which makes it so believable and in turn turns this into a much more dread induced ride. They have a great chemistry and it feels as if real journalists have been imported from the BBC. Found footage needs such acting prowess to pull off "its real" trope. And these fine actors nail it. Bel Delia(Natasha) plays the desperate journalist in need of a story. Andy Rodoreda(Peter) is the producer, Steve Davis(Steve) is the cameraman and Luke Arnold(Tangles) is the sound department. All four gel really well and its hard not to believe they are a TV crew not actors. So with the increase in the believability factor the creep and dread factor hits hard and we see how good acting can take a movie to heights which it didn't imagine it could reach. A small found footage horror from a relatively low key Australia film industry with not known actors making waves internationally. That's a great team work. There are a couple of creepy cameos too that may shake you as the movie slows down a bit during the hour mark. So the cast is unimaginably good.

Blood blood everywhere.....

  

 Now on to the technical department which has the writers Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey turn editors. True mark of a gritty indie movie. They work pretty well and give the movie a good pace. Though as i said it slows down a bit in the middle. Horror needs to be as long as its meant to be. Cos if the story doesn't support it no need hitting the 90+ mark. The effects and the little gore that it has, has been done well. The monster is scary and the cinematographer lights up and darkens out all the right time to create horror which may make you breathless with a high chance of a heart attack. Another example of good team work.


HighTension Verdict: Found footage has more bad specimens than good. But considering the positive reviews to VHS2, Grave Encounters, Rec and the Paranormal Activity series it remains a genre which can shock you if done well. And this one may not be the best but it remains a masterclass. Watch out for the opening scene. It creeps you out and sets the mood. Though a couple of novel ideas may backfire, it still is a damn scary chiller. Beneath the scenic city of Sydney horror will rise. A must for your horror collection...... Though its free to download from BitTorrent and also is on Youtube.


HighTension Meter: 8.5/10

BEST Quote: 

"The light runs out"

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