The Bunker

I heard about THE BUNKER as soon as it came out ( Being a British movie it would have received far more publicity here than it did in America ) and it seemed to split the critics right down the middle . Some people thought it was a great and atmospheric horror movie while others thought it was a confused cross genre story . Some critics thought it was a good idea to let the cast talk in their native accents while others were puzzled why a bunch of British soldiers are wearing German uniforms fighting against the Americans !

I don't have any problems with the British accents and idioms such as pronouncing the rank of Leutnant as " Left-ten-ant " but I do have a problem trying to identify with the characters . They're Germans from the mid 1940s , they're " the enemy " and even though they're doing a soldier's duty the audience can't think of them as anything but bad guys . It's the same with the very similar THE KEEP where the audience wonder who they're supposed to be rooting for . Perhaps if the characters were Volkstrum protecting Germany from the Red Army this aspect could have worked better but as it stands it's difficult to feel sorry for the characters . Incidentally aren't the surnames Franke and Engels of Jewish descent ?

Ironically enough while watching this I found myself often wishing that this was either a straightforward horror film or a straightforward war film . The early action scenes are very well directed by Rob Green while the scenes set in the dark catacombs are certainly atmospheric but it's the revelation at the end that you suddenly realise that THE BUNKER is neither a war film nor horror film but a ghost story mixed in with a redemption plot and its at this point you are allowed to decide if the film is successful or not and I'm afraid that it failed for me , an interesting failure but still a failure . Some people have complained it would have been better if the soldiers had faced zombies or something more horrific and I agree . Certainly it would have made for a more ridiculous less thoughtful film but would also have made for a more memorable and entertaining movie .

This movie is one I'd recommend to anyone. Even though the character development is slow, the acting is wonderful. It is so seldom to see a movie which focusses on the "other side" such as Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan. We are so used to looking at them as the enemy, its somewhat refreshing to see the enemy footsoldier's P.O.V. Looking toward U.S. soldiers as the horrific enemy, showing how their troops feared American troops is interesting.

Granted this movie could have been shot better, I am satisfied with its quality. This is a British Independent Film, so I was not expecting brilliant acting or amazing special effects. I was however, surprised with the outcome.

While the movie fails to produce a real "scare factor" quality, it does provide an adequate thriller/mystery feel, and I enjoyed it.

In 1944, in the Belgian – German border, seven German soldiers survive an American attack in the front and lock themselves in a bunker to protect the position. Under siege by the enemy and with little ammunition, they decide to explore underground tunnels to seek supplies and find an escape route. While in the tunnel, weird things happen with the group.

I have recently seen the South Korean movie "R-Point" (2004), which efficiently explores the idea of "The Bunker" – scary and ambiguous journey to hell of the innermost fear of a group of soldiers, in an intelligent screenplay. Now I find that "The Bunker" is a 2001 movie, which has the originally of the concept, but unfortunately the confused screenplay does not work well. The acting is good, but the development of the plot could be better and better. For those viewers that also find that something is missing in the story, I strongly suggest seeing "R-Point" for comparison of what "The Bunker" could have been with some improvements. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "The Bunker – Em Guerra Contra o Medo" ("The Bunker – In War against the Fear")

After watching the disappointing Deathwatch, another British-made horror film set during war-time (this time the WWI trenches), I was hoping that The Bunker would prove a better option. Unfortunately, The Bunker falls into the same trap as Deathwatch, in that they're both over-long, characterless and (most heinous crime for a movie) boring.

There is an effectively creepy atmosphere built up during the first half-hour, but this evaporates into the standard horror cliché - creeping up and down poorly-lit corridors - and with such poorly sketched characters, that it generates very little tension.

Towards the end there is an effectively-eerie looking scene where the main characters' hallucinations take on the shape of zombie troops. And there's a vague parallel drawn between the actions of the bunker's supernatural spirits and the Nazis themselves, but it is framed in such a woolly manner that it's almost entirely lost in the mire of mediocrity.

A group of German soldiers find refuge into an isolated bunker during the final months of WWII. They are escaping the advancing US army, and they are sharing a terrible secret (that will be revealed to the spectators only in the final minutes of the movie). Inside the bunker and in the tunnels below it, they will find their worst fears and nightmares materializing, the ghosts of war coming to get them. Without any special effects, director Rob Green manages to make a scary movie, played almost totally on the inner fears of humans caught in something bigger than any of us, into the darkness of the human minds, capable to create such a war. So, if you are an horror fan, waiting for slimy creatures or tentacled nightmares to come out of the cave, beware of this movie. But if you are a real horror movie fan, searching for the atmosphere that a good horror movie can manage without the use of any particular effect, you are for a big surprise in this little, misguided gem of an independent movie. Two thumbs up!!