The Tunnel

Now, I'm really not into this type of "horror" movies (especially not Blair Witch or similar) but this one really looks so real and documentary that almost makes you forget what it's all about. Excellent production for almost no money at all: perfect acting, subtle editing, those details that make you believe... No, it wasn't scary at all (at least not for me). It is just what it would be if somebody really tried to do what these people did. Of course, Americans would send an army of armed & packed up kids and annihilate everything probably, but that's not the point. This is (only) a movie. The art of deception and make-believe. And it does so in every moment. Highly recommended even to the people not horror-fans. Just see what you could do when you lack budget but not artistic experience, know- how and proficiency. Go for it.

This is a really well made found footage horror about a cover up by the Sydney government and the documentarians who seek to expose them. Things do not go according to plan when the crew go underground only to discover the politicians were right to abort all plans. I won't say any more for fear of spoilers.

I gave this a 7 because I found it really effective and claustrophobic. The filmmakers explain early on why they are filming everything which covers all bases, I find sometimes in found footage horror this sort of thing takes you out of the experience especially when there's only supposed to be one camera but there end up being multiple camera angles, this film does a good job of explaining that.

My only criticism is there is a character called Tangles which I found to be a rather hilarious sounding name. There is a point in the film where they are looking for him screaming out his name and I couldn't help but laugh as this part of the movie is supposed to be serious but the sound of another man shouting "Tangles!!!" Over and over again had me in stitches.

All in all a solid found footage horror with a daft character name that distracted me.

TANGLES!!!!!!

For those complaining about this flick, you can do better than "another shaky camera film," or "Blair Witch rip-off." LAME.

"Found footage" as a genre, has certain repetitive attributes - thus, a GENRE. You know, like "film noir," "slasher," "50s musical," etc. This film punches all of the expected buttons - and does it quite well.

The tunnel chases (or escapes) are incredibly tense. The set-up for the whole film makes complete sense. It's not a bunch of @#$%#@ jerks acting idiotic. It's a news crew with a legitimate reason for being underground.

The only thing that bothers me a bit - being a news crew, this footage would have gone viral, and created a sensation. Just ending with "the authorities and police closed the case," really isn't satisfactory. Regardless, it's a great found footage GENRE addition.

Watch it.

Have to admit off the bat that I don't mind found footage, my favourites are As Above So Below, Paranormal Activity and Grave Encounters. The sound effects and music side of The Tunnel was on par with those movies as was the acting.

The Tunnel is essentially a monster movie with our protagonists being chased around in tight dark confines of Sydney's subterranean railways with a lot of narration thrown in on top at least for the first two thirds of the movie. At first it felt fitting but as the movie approached the mid point the narration started to become overbearing to the point of interfering with the suspense and build up.

The footage of the underground stations was some of the best visual content I've seen in a movie like this. It's just a pity there wasn't a bit more going on in this part of the movie. However, once things did start to get scary the movie produced some effective uneasy moments especially with the flooded areas and the fuzzy footage of the monster. Coupled with the excellent scores The Tunnel proved to be a good found footage horror movie and one worth seeing for fans of this sub-genre.

In watching this movie it helps to forget Blair Witch et al. While structured as a pseudo-documentary and using various forms of "found footage", The Tunnel has more than enough individuality to lift it beyond the merely derivative. The plot contours become increasing plausible as the film develops - the movie does a fine job of drawing in the audience and creating the suspension of disbelief essential in the thriller/horror genre. The tunnel setting is inherently disturbing and disorientating. Think of it as a "ghost hunter" episode gone horribly wrong. Watch it alone at night and tell me you don't have to look away occasionally...