The Tunnel

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.

Found footage has been done to death, but this is a lot more interesting than your usual shaky cam.

Decent premise with an intriguing antagonist.

Where this falls down is the documentary format of them cutting away to explain what happened. Plus the sad documentary music that plays over scenes where it doesn't belong and takes you out of the movie.

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...

Carlo Ledesma's "The Tunnel" is a first class example that all you need to for some great horror is some awesome camera-work and an even better script. Too many movies rely on huge million dollar budgets and first class-CGI and come up relatively short of being great or even good movies in some respects.

Natasha ( Bel Delia ) is a reporter that is working on a story that she feels is going to be make her career. We're introduced to Natasha's crew early on with Peter ( Andy Rodoreda ) seemingly in a constant power struggle with Natasha. Tangles ( Luke Arnold ) and Steve ( Steve Davis ) are the goofs on the crew and make up the rest of the party venturing into the tunnel. Australia is going through a water crisis and the government comes up with a plan to tap into the huge reservoirs that are trapped in Sydneys' underground tunnel system. Natasha senses that it could be displacing the homeless that use the tunnels as an escape from the city that has forgotten about them. Sound like a setting for a great horror film? You're not wrong. Eventually Natasha and her film crew start to uncover a much bigger story. It seems that the homeless that use the tunnels are starting to disappear and no- one knows where or really seems too care. The government seems to be turning a blind eye and no one is allowed near the reservoirs as Natasha finds out the hard way when her contacts turn her down. Eventually when they get into the tunnels, they find out the hard way that some stones are better left unturned.

Without giving too much away, the "creature" is shown sparingly and more of the terror and horror come from the limited light sources and the viewers' imaginations. My friends and I still have arguments to this day as to what exactly was hiding in the tunnels as the shots are somewhat vague, but extremely effective. The movie starts off on a slow burn, setting up the events that ultimately lead to a life or death struggle down in the tunnels.

The Tunnel is a movie that is best viewed with an open mind and a couple friends. Classic indie horror at it's best, it's also proof of the quality of horror movies that Australia has been churning out in the last few years. Although not as famous as "The loved ones" or "Storage" , This movie is a prime example that not all scary things come with a million dollar price tag.

One of my all time indie favourites... Watch this movie and you'll be looking over your shoulder every time you venture into a concrete tunnel in the park alone.

7.5/10

Stay scared friends.

Kurt Smillie.

I'm not going to lie... I downloaded this movie as soon as it was released (legally, look it up) and before watching it I didn't have high hopes for it. A *free* horror movie? How much effort could possibly have gone in to it?

Apparently a lot.

While the actors were fantastic and the set was amazing, what truly blew me away was the sound. Just the oppressive silence broken only by drips or footsteps. Sound can really make or break a horror film and in this case I can honestly say it worked!

As a general rule, if you hate "found footage" movies such as Paranormal Activity, The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine then give this one a miss. Otherwise by all means have a look! It's free! I know for a fact that I will be buying the DVD as soon as possible.