The Bunker (2001)

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

One of a trio of unconnected war horrors (along with THE TRENCH and DEATHWATCH), this is a hugely atmospheric, spine-tingling chiller which seems to take its inspiration from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. The result is a successfully scary story about some ghosts haunting old tunnels beneath a bunker, and the people trapped inside succumbing to paranoia, terror and eventually madness. A low-budget British production, this is thoroughly effective throughout from the nerve-clanging action beginning to the explanatory ending. Director Rob Green really fleshes out the cast with some accomplished young actors and strong characters for them to really get their teeth into. Really, there need to be more horror films made like this, then the genre wouldn't be so crappy as it is today. The film starts off very strongly with plenty of explosive dialogue, really creepy, waterlogged locations and actors you want to stay with.Relative unknown actors play the pivotal roles very well indeed, whilst Jason Flemying and Jack Davenport are also around to lend the gravitas needed. Once things move into the tunnels, not a lot really happens but that's the beauty of it: although there are no physical terrors, the psychological onslaught is overwhelming and extremely frightening. Scenes of tired, scared men fighting with rotting plague corpses and running from spectres in the mist are absolutely excellent, and the running time absolutely flies past without you realising it. The ending does go a little bit Hollywood with the appearance of a Jason-like unstoppable killer, but at the end of the day it stays on the right side of believable and the result is a deeply unsettling film.

You know when someone breathlessly announces "I've got a joke for ya!", then proceeds to blunder and lurch through two minutes of nonsensical ramblings that end with the teller standing open mouthed, wide eyed, with his palms out – expecting a rapturous response… And you're standing there thinking "Wait. That was IT??" That right there is The Bunker. 90 odd minutes of build up after which the "Twist" is handed to you so lazily and ineffectively that you spend another 90 minutes pondering who you should write to in order to get that cumulative 3 hours tacked back onto your life.The Bunker has a cast of no-names – with this on their resume I think I can see why – in fact I only recognized one of the actors. They all seem to be Brits playing German soldiers, no problems there Sean Connery was a Russian U Boat captain and Kevin Costner was Robin Hood (stretched too far there, just remember Connery), but they speak with such strong and obviously British accents that aside from the odd shaped helmets it is often impossible to believe for a second that they are German soldiers.I've seen on message boards arguing that it shouldn't be important but it kinda is, I mean why even make them German? The crappy story and pointless twist would be just as ineffectual if they were British soldiers, then you wouldn't need to add "German soldiers speaking in strong British accents and even using British slang and idioms" to a laundry list of reason why The Bunker blows dog.Moving on… so a bunch of *cough* "German" soldiers are holed up in a Bunker near the end of 1944 with the German forces in full retreat as the whole "let's take over Europe" plan drafted up on the back of a beer coaster backfires on them.The first few minutes of the film sees the remnants of a retreating platoon begging and gaining entry to bring the total number of occupants to 7. The Bunker is very sturdy, however it is low on ammunition and supplies, and with advancing US forces the soldiers start to argue over the next course of action and how long remains before they flee or are overrun.The group includes an elderly vet of WW1 and a young fresh faced soldier who it seems have both been manning the bunker for some time, and the remaining troops from a decimated platoon, some of who seem to resent others for an unexplained reason.While a storm whips around outside the grizzled vet decides that it might be an opportune time to set the mood and explains that beneath the bunker are a series of tunnels that lead to hidden exits – but – shine torch under face – they harbour dark secrets and are probably haunted.So finish your tea lads and let's get a good night's sleep! It's more than half way through the film before anything happens and when it does nothing seems clear, in fact until the reveal in the dying seconds it is fair to say that there is no way to know what is going on. This is not always a bad thing, The Sixth Sense showed that a last minute explanation can be effective, but when the truth finally arrives and the director looks at you with a big smile, wide eyes and his palms out saying "Ehhh?… EHHHH??"… you just might feel like punching him.Or yourself for sitting through the last hour and a half.There are countless films that I remember only for one notable scene or even one phrase or moment, I think I will remember The Bunker for an absence of all those things.Final Rating – 4 / 10. This is less a poorly conceived or badly film than an inexplicable event. Who would greenlight such a flimsy plot bereft of action, plausibility and entertainment value in the first place is beyond me.Read all the above in a Japanese accent if you want – it makes about as much sense as a British one.

What I don't understand about this movie is the fact that the cover has skeletons in German uniform, and yet there is nothing even close that could allow such an image to represent your movie.This pisses me off.A lot.I despise when films misrepresent themselves, which is why I will give this a low rating. When you have a cover like that, you're expected to put on a HORROR film, not a very, very slow psychological thriller.Regardless of its actual quality (which is just barely 'ok,' mainly because of some very bad directing), this movie doesn't deserve to be seen because of its misleading of the consumers.Anyway, I only picked it up because I'm currently writing a WWII horror film, and wanted to see someone else's perspective of the same field.Oh well.3/10.-AP3-

I have seen this film a few times now,and find it very intriguing,i keep watching it trying to work out the plot,is it what you think?is there something missing?is there something I'm not getting?tell me.Its great at getting your mind focused,and yet you still think your missing the plot.Great phychological film,and totally original,i think this could easily become a British cult horror,although i don't think it was ever intended to be.It was made on a very tight budget,with no special effects and shows to make a good horror film you don't need to spend millions.I don't know why people have a problem with the English accents,as there plain ordinary accents with no strong dialects,if they had my English accent the film definitely wouldn't work,well not unless it was a comedy.The reason the director hasn't used the actors talking with a German accent is probably because his not trying to stereotype Germans like in other war films,this is what makes this war film very different.The director has used his imagination rather than not used it.He hasn't based the story on British soldiers,simply because its been done before,such as Deathwatch which came out about the same time,and thats a horror based on British soldiers in a trench.This film had to experiment with something different,so they have used German soldiers.And Germans like Brits believe in the supernatural so it works in that aspect. I don't know why the Germans have never made a film about their haunted u boat of WW1,which is a famous ghost legend,i cant remember what the Uboat was called,but its a scary story,a must for ghost enthusiasts.It would make a great film,maby someone will take it on.