The Devil's Tomb

Directed by Robin of Sherwood, a.k.a. Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) and lasting 1hr and 30mins this film is wedged into the Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller category.

When the credits to this film were rolling I got mildly excited thinking that there were some big names in this and that it would be a decent film. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations as the plot was predictable, the action was lame and the effects were cheap. Cuba Gooding Jr heads up a Special Ops team which includes Taryn Manning, Franky G, Zack Ward, Brandon Fobbs, Stephany Jacobsen and Jason London they have been hired by Dr Elissa Cardell (Valerie Cruz) who wants to rescue her father Ron Perlman who is in a top secret scientific/military bunker. The troops are your average gung-ho grunts while Cuba Gooding acts as their moral compass despite experiencing random flashbacks to a previous conflict where Ray Winstone, his commanding officer, was killed. Winstone's death is explored in flashbacks but only adds to confuse the film rather than add to it. The team enter the facility and are attacked by various mutated zombies including Bill Moseley and Weston Blakesley. As they make their way through the facility an evil presence keeps trying to stop them and separate them with a view of killing them off one by one. It transpires that the evil in the institute is a fallen and outcast angel or seraphim that appears to be frozen in ice . Despite being frozen 1000m underground it's casting an evil spell over anybody nearby and weak enough in an attempt to escape the institute. If the seraphim can get out of it's temporary cell it can endanger the entire world but first it needs a host body. Unbeknown to the special ops team from the start, Ron Perlman, whom they are trying to save is the chosen host for the fallen angel which puts an additional complication in their way, mind you, the story that Dr Cardell has weaved isn't all that true and honest anyway so an extra complication is nothing. Along the way the team encounter weird visions, random temptations and even Henry Rollins who's playing a priest.

The acting in this isn't by a long way convincing, it's actually Ron Perlman that seems the most convincing and he's only in 15% of the film, by contrast Henry Rollins character is the least believable for me. The effects in the film look like they came straight out of home production with rice crispies and corn syrup used to show an infected character. The plot could have unfolded in so many better ways but didn't, instead it went for the cheap solution of random sexual tension, lesbianism, and painful memories. The characters are trapped and brought down far too easily, for a hardened special ops team you'd at least expect them to learn from their first mistakes let alone continuously make the same mistakes. Naked woman from porn magazines don't just appear in an underground institute!! Unborn foetus' can't suddenly be 10 years old, recognisable and in a top secret research facility without some motivation or set up!!!

Despite the negatives of this film I have been watching a lot of really poor films of late, perhaps that is the reason why I'm still giving this 3 out of 10, ultimately it's bad but it's not as bad as some of the other rubbish I've seen of late. You got lucky devil's tomb.

Really bad!!! Why actors such as Cuba G Jnr, Ray Winstone and Ron Pearlman (who i think is highly under-rated) would put their talents into this piece of crap is beyond me!! The acting is cheezy at bast, and down right awful at worst. The story is lame, the writing is lamer... Full of clichéd one liners that weren't even funny in the eighties and the characters are so 2 dimensional it isn't even funny.

If i didn't know better i'd think i was watching an Uwe Boll film.

I know films like this aren't made to win Oscars but the writer could have at least but a bit of effort into it, instead of recycling every cheezy 80's action B movies lines putting them into this film!!!

To have such an actor as Cuba G in this type and caliber of movie should be insulting. I can understand wanting to break the stereotype of characters he is prone too but this part in this movie is a HUGE leap in the wrong direction. A once A-List actor turned to terrible class B horror? This movie was by far a waist of 90 minutes of my life that I surely will never get back. The lines were typical, the action over played and the only glimmer of promise came from a semi-unique story line that fails to provide the depth one might look for in a movie. My rating is poor at best. I can only hope that the rest of the cast find better work, even if its in the food service industry.

Take ideas and plot points from Alien, Aliens, Event Horizon, and (especially) Prince of Darkness and add some absurdity, sprinkle with blood and implausible characters and this is what you get.

Those were all vastly better films but this isn't quite as horrible as some junk on SyFy so if it's free to watch you could do worse. I gave it a 5 due to some familiar faces in the cast and the job they do and the average-looking blood and gore. Story-wise they didn't seem to put much effort into it besides "adapting" from better movies. Also amusing were the military tactics used in the Iraq flashbacks but I'm not sure they meant for me to chuckle during the battle scenes.

If you want a much better film along the same lines, watch Prince of Darkness instead and during the slow parts imagine space marines using electronic trackers that never seem to work, dodging acid-spewing creatures while running into long-dead loved ones without wondering how they happened to be there. The 5 is generous in my opinion but this could have been a lot worse.

Essentially, it's another one of those "US Soldiers release another monster in Iraq" movies. This time, it's a "fallen angel" called a Nephilim...

Of course, they get stuff wrong, like saying the "Hebrews" is in the Old Testament (It's actually in the New) or that a Military doctor would have the rank of Sergeant. (Actually, military doctors are commissioned officers.)

Cuba Gooding is just sad, because he used to be a promising actor. Now he's sharing a stage with a bunch of no-names. Ron Perleman phones it in for another session... The story has all the depth of a video game...