The Tunnel (2011)

☻ The Tunnel (2011). A television news crew transform the Blair Witch Project (1999) by keeping the camera under control. Well, sort of.

You'd almost think another Primeval (ITV) anomaly had opened. The question is, is the monster from the past, present or future? Dino, insect or human? Nosferatu, or Morlocks anyone?

Bad-news journalist, Natasha Warner (Bel Deliá), has a lot to prove and is happy to hoodwink a TV crew to achieve her ends. When government officials clam up, Natasha takes this as proof there's something nefarious afoot and sets off in dogged pursuit. Even though cameraman, Steve Miller (Steve Davis) has better hair, looks and a voice that belongs on the small screen. Despite Natasha's apparently bad reputation, her colleagues only become suspicious when sound recorder, Tangles (Luke Arnold) begins hearing strange noises. It's up to producer Peter Ferguson (Andy Rodoreda) to walk the fine line between staying down below to rescue Tangles or fleeing to the surface to preserve the lives of his dwindling crew.

And, true to the horror genre, it takes an eternity for the potential victims to cotton on to the fact that their monster is at home in the pitch-black of the unlit tunnels. So, turning off the lights -- camera and torch -- doesn't help.

Speaking out:

"[A]lmost Blair Witch like, ... released simultaneously on BitTorrent, regular cinema release ... DVD set and also in iTunes. ... [S]et in the abandon[ed] underground train tunnels underneath Sydney ... [A] team of reporters and cameramen gain access to the tunnels without permission [and] find something in the tunnels stalking them ... [A] great Australian movie we should watch and support as the producers look at a more social angles to promote their movie and encourage viral interaction" -- Social Media News

"[A TV reporter] senses the government [is involved] in a conspiracy involving something nefarious under the city. If only NSW politics were so logical. [Taking] her crew Peter (Andy Rodoreda), Steve (Steve Davis) and Tangles (Luke Arnold) into the tunnels to investigate[, the] shenanigans begin in a slow burn that does well to try to establish characters ... before raising the stakes for a pulsing denouement, if an ultimately thin resolution. It's competent filmmaking, though, ... entertaining and setting its makers off on their film careers." -- The Australian

   6.0/10  imdb.com (17 Jun 2011*)

Some very light summer fluff for those hot sultry nights when you can't sleep. Who knows? Your eyes might be the next to join the monster's pile.

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* Date of web access.