Deep Burial

Watched this after reading low imdb rating, great premise , good twists and turns, revenge terrorist, decent sets, decent acting, there are lots of rubbish science fiction, but this isn't one of them.

I'm pretty generous when it comes to being low budget and not having the money for big special effects. I found the CGI actually quite good for the budget but what I cannot forgive is the heavily cliched story and bad acting. The story was too predictable and nonsensical. And that ending...Ugh.

This film was enjoyable Dominic Monaghan stole the show. The acting was above par and Tom Sizemore was in about 20% of it towards the end. It definitely could of been worse on this budget but the writing and storyline held up. Some of Ms.Habel's scenes were a little out of sorts at times I felt I was watching a soft porn flick... NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING. But on a budget that was minimal this film held it's own and I can say it was a pretty good film.. Sci-fi fans who don't have sticks up their butt will enjoy.

I so rarely write reviews, despite watching an awful lot of movies. This one was poor enough that I was motivated to pop down a warning for any who might think 'Ah, I'll give it a go'

I don't mind a low budget approach to SciFi, I can look past less than perfect FX and CGI, I don't even consider bad science a deal-breaker.

Bad writing, bad acting, insanely obvious 'twist' and lack of satisfying dismount, however - that's enough to get me to put finger to keyboard and declare this a real dud. The actress playing Abby was awful, bless her. Though, to be fair, the script was pretty sub-par so she didn't have a lot to work with. Dominic did his best but the shot choices, off-pace editing and, again, poor source material meant his efforts simply came across as hammy. With better direction on all areas, he at least could have salvaged some dignity. Tom Sizemore was barely in it and had little to do.

The premise of the film is not the worst, and in more capable hands could have been at least an entertaining diversion. However, the actual final result looks like a rushed, b-grade (at best) made for TV gap filler for when the decent shows are on hiatus. SyFy has shown what they are capable of with The Expanse (among others). This was simply not a good movie on any level.

People have tried to replicate the success of Moon with various other titles, like Air and Passengers, but they always seem to miss the point that a film with just a few characters needs something more, not less, than a movie with a lot of people in it.

Unfortunately, that is the case of Atomica/Deep Burial. There are three characters in total, with one of them secondary to the story. And before the big reveal, 20 minutes before the end, nothing much happens than two people talking to each other in a climate of rising suspicion.

The acting is good, the psychological aspect of the thriller is pretty good, but the story is completely empty, as is the message in the end. And the funny thing is that the science fiction part of the movie is completely superfluous. They could have easily done the same scenario in the real world, with more of an impact.

As such, with a future world that feels remote and with characters that have no backstory or much character development, the film is just slow and hard to endure, with no real payback in the end, since no one cared what happens in the first place.