The Tunnel Movie (2011) - There has to be a threshold where the found footage film is totally played out for a viewer. I am wondering if I have met that threshold after watching the tunnel. The first of these films that I remember seeing has to be
The Blair Witch Project (1999) and I got the freedom the medium gave the film maker. If you are skilled enough you can turn a very small budget into a movie good enough to be presentable to a larger audience. That film made for sixty thousand dollars grossed over 14 million as a surprise hit. I don't think I am wrong to give it credit for starting the craze that has only grown the last few years. Still when you run across a movie that fails to capture the magic of the hand held footage variety of film it is really discouraging.
To be fair The Tunnel is not the garden variety found footage film, instead it is done in the style of celebrity ghost stories TV show. The survivors of the ordeal retell their story in interviews and the footage they shot is used to supplement that telling. One could question the wisdom of using the structure of bad cable television to structure a film but lets be honest the sub genre has to look for new ways to do it as most people are already tired of the camcorder, security camera, shaking as they run footage found in almost every one of these films. At least there was some quality stationary camera work mixed in. Then when they mix in the cameraman's shots, security cameras they past and the night vision of the camcorder they were able to break the look and feel up making it more tolerable.
Similar to The Blair Witch Project, The Tunnel tells a tale of the unseen and the reactions of the characters are the focus of the horror. Hoping to slowly build from their lighthearted start to apprehensive to terrified in the third act is a very difficult trick to pull off. This film tries to use the office politics of the crew as well as their personal motivations as a base for the reason they end up in the situation they encounter. Exploring there motivations and relationships through the mock interview give a decent enough depth to the character but in the end it is secondary reason the film ultimately fails to impress.
In the end it is that the story is not particularly interesting or scary that makes it tiresome to get through. Everyone at this point has seen this "style" of story somewhere. We have through camcorders followed characters around in the dark and watched them reacted when something goes bump in the darkness. It is a known quantity and all the window dressing about climate change and water recycling can't change that fact. Blurry snatches of glowing eyes are just not going to get our juices flowing at this point, and the fact that two thirds of the film are done when you get that bit does not help the cause. Then have we not already done this story in
C.H.U.D. (1984) of course if they had just remade that movie I would probably be bitching about how the new actor can't hold a candle to Daniel Stern who killed it in that film.
It is not that there was anything offensive about this film. The actors were all capable consisting of four main roles on the film crew, Producer Peter (
Andy Rodoreda), Journalist Natasha (
Bel Delia), Cameraman Steven (
Steve Davis) and sound guy Tangles (
Luke Arnold). They play the confused apprehensive, scare and terrified role well enough. There was enough internal conflict and competing motivation to carry a reasonable story along. What didn't work the most was it was just not very frightening. The special effects were close to nonexistent and when they were employed the shots were way too short. Director
Carlo Ledesma shot them from too far away and without enough light to make the creatures scary. It could be the limited budget meant the effects would look to back up close and well lit. Unfortunately this made the shot less impressive.
When the story played out it really seemed too many possibilities were left behind in the tunnels and the interpersonal story was just not what a horror fan is looking for. I would recommend not going down into the depths of this attempt.
Black Water (2007) - This is inspired by true event about three vacationers who get trapped in a mangrove forest in Northern Australia after a crocodile capsizes their boat and eats their guide. This is also the exact kind of story that will keep me out of boats anywhere near Alligator and particularly Crocodile habitats. It is a terrifying tale of things going horribly wrong and then getting worse. Any time I imagine being in the environment where man is not the top of the food chain is horrific and this film has that through and through. Adam (Andy Rodoreda) and Grace (Diana Glenn) are traveling on holiday with Grace's sister Lee (Maeve Dermody) and decide to stop at a local (N. Australian) expedition company. They plan to spend a day fishing and trolling about the mangrove forests and rivers. When they arrive they have missed the trip by five minutes. Jim (Ben Oxenbould) who is manning the docks offers to take them out in a smaller boat and they agree. So the four load up the gear and head out into a vast watery wilderness. Writers / Directors David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki (The Reef 2010, ABCs of Death 2012) working with a small budget manage to make a very compelling story into an entertaining and tense thriller. Early on they pull off a classic bit of redirection where something bumps the boat making every nervous. Jim leans over the side creating tension so palpable it tightened my stomach. You know this is Australia and the entire country is looking for ways to kill you. Well at least that is the impression I have. After a few tense minute he pulls a floating can out of the water and everyone has a short laugh. It's a classic!
The film really starts after that when a crocodile not only whacks the boat but flips it over. It takes the guide Jim and drags him under while Adam and Grace swim for the nearest tree. Lee having surfaced under the capsized boat struggles to get on top of it while the crocodile circles back looking for more prey. What is so terrifying as a viewer is the film maker are using real crocodiles. Of course the actors were never in the water with the crocs the film makers used compositing to create the effect. Still the effect is wonderful and no CGI animal can be as threatening as the real thing. The responses by the small group of actors are incredibly believable. Now trapped the crocodile begins banging the boat trying to dislodge Lee. These swamps are muddy and when the creature goes under the water it is impossible to see. So when it seems to have given up the group still can't be sure. How does the group get out of this situation? The boat seems the most likely way so Lee has to reach into the water for the rope so she can throw it to Adam. Each time someone has to hover over the water or worse get in it so tension filled. If you are at all paying attention to the film you feel it deep in your gut.
Now some people might find this film too simple and lose interest because the scope of the film is three people in a tree trying to figure out how to get to safety without getting eaten. It is a situation where they are in a bad situation and all there limited options are also bad. The film makers do a lot with that and I found the film fascinating. The interpersonal trauma alone is heart wrenching. I don't want to spoil this film because it is definitely a recommend. I will say though that there is a build up and some really heart pounding action before all is said and done. The acting is great and the reactions seem very honest. The crocodile is absolutely terrifying as crocodiles always are. This film pulled such basic, primordial, Darwinian fear from me, I can't really describe it, other than to say its a primal fear. Thousands of years of caution for these creatures passed through generations of DNA warning of DANGER! This film is showing something that has happened. That could happen to you if you venture into croc territory. In Australia crocodile attacks are not uncommon. It is a testament to the film that it captures that allowing the viewer to share it from the safety of the sofa.
