Unearthed

Long Buried creature is dug up at an archaeological dig, it then goes off and terrorizes the people around a remote filing station. good characters are lost in a movie that just doesn't work. It looks good, the actors are there but there is something about this that just doesn't work. To be certain the monster scenes don't make a hell of a lot of sense. They seem to be more structured to produce an effect rather than follow the plot. The problem is the early scenes where we don't see the creature are just confused and then once we do see the monster-which looks like a version of HR Giger's Alien with a smaller head, it just feels like we've been here before. A misfire thats more of interest as puzzle to unlock as to why it doesn't work, rather than as a scary movie. I really do wish the characters (and the actors) had something better to be in.

In 2004, director Matthew Leutwyler's first feature 'Dead & Breakfast' received praise for some circles; none of which included me. Unfortunately three years on and while at least he's moved away from rubbish zombie films; he has unfortunately gone on to rubbish sci-fi/horror films, and this desert-set rendition of Alien is just that. It's a shame that this film is so terrible because the plot actually sounds like it could turn into something quite decent. The film takes place in New Mexico and focuses on a small town. A bunch of cows have been found dead and naturally the local farmers believe that a wolf is to blame. The farmers send for a Sheriff to deal with that, and a big truck accident that's blocking the road...but things take a turn for the unexpected when the Sheriff discovers that there's been an archaeological dig in the area, and that an Indian has accidentally released a giant CGI alien creature into the town. Then a bunch of people end up getting stuck and the alien picks them all off one by one.

OK, so let's break it down. Acting - terrible, special effects - terrible, plot - clichéd, death scenes - routine...so it really doesn't have all that much going for it. Emmanuelle Vaugier is the lead actress and she's very good looking, but doesn't have enough about her to carry the film. Luke Goss, one half of the awful eighties pop group 'Bros' also appears in the film (luckily, the other half isn't in it, and even luckier is the fact that he doesn't sing). The plot is turgid and uninteresting and basically gives us a little bit of info, followed by a death scene, followed by a bit more info. The central creature doesn't appear all that often - and that's really a good thing because it when it does appear, it's just disappointing CGI nonsense. The action sequences are no good either, mainly because director Matthew Leutwyler has opted for the MTv style quick cuts that never fail to ruin a movie (even, it would appear, one that is already ruined). Overall, this is a dreary and boring horror film that definitely isn't recommended.

This movie was playing at the Union Station cinema in Washington, at 7:30 on a Saturday night. The place should have been completely packed, but it was nearly empty. We soon learned why.

Unearthed has a generic, by-the-numbers plot crammed full of the same old tired horror-movie clichés. It had no direction to speak of. The camera work was amateurish at best, and the dialog nearly incoherent. The camera was pointing all over the place, providing an occasional glimpse of something like a face, a vehicle, or a building. Most scenes were too dark and cluttered to make out anything clearly.

Don't even imagine that this stuff belongs in the "so-bad-it's-good" category. Those movies at least have some originality, humor (even if it's unintentional), and other qualities that make them stand out. They are the kind of movies that people remember, whether they want to or not. Unearthed has nothing worth remembering. I can barely recall even one single scene; the only thing I can remember clearly is waiting for it to be over. It seemed to drag on for several hours or more.

Very soon, this thing will be dead, buried, and totally forgotten. May it rest in peace--FOREVER.

1. Some people can't watch "shaky camera" scenes. It makes us sick. In this case there was no reason for it. If you want people to not be able to watch your movie, why even make it? Shaking the camera is not a substitute for special effects

2. Painfully loud is not scary. It's not dramatic. When the conversation scenes and the action scenes differ by 100 decibels, it's just painful and unpleasant.

When I have to spend the entire movie making drastic changes to the volume, I'm not being entertained.

In fact I've seen far worse ..... Worse story, worse dialogue, worse acting. I have to say the creature cgi was pretty bad, again not quite as bad as some others I've seen. Fortunately, or perhaps cleverly, they kept the number of scenes where the creature was fully visible to a minimum. The shots that gave us close ups the creatures head, claws etc were done with physical structures and were actually pretty good, better than expected.

This movie had enough story to keep me interested, flowed well enough to be watchable, and as a bonus the ending was not what I thought it would be. It was good enough that I thought I'd add my 2 cents review wise.

I don't regret watching this movie, although I'll probably never watch it again.