The Tunnel (2011)

ridiculous rating

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The "found film" movies can be very hit or miss. Some are well done and suspenseful, others are just boring shaky-cam snoozes. This movie is a lesson in how it should be done.There is a wonderful mix of found footage and interviews which make it really come across as quality work. The monster gets very little screen time, but what it does get is well timed and wonderfully placed to add the proper amount of terror. The setting itself is creepy as hell. Even knowing it's just a movie, I would never want to find myself in those tunnels.A must watch for horror fans.

Watched (more accurately: tried to watch) this movie based on the good reviews. Another Cloverfield, Rec, Paranormal Activity, or a mix of the three. One review even guaranteed that "you will be scared." Could it be that these people really watched the same movie? Or are they just studio hacks and friends of the producers/actors?The saddest thing is that the reviews didn't raise my expectations. I expected this to be a low budget movie that happens to be entertaining enough to give a watch. It wasn't.I found this movie poorly made, poorly executed, and extremely tedious. So much so, that I had to turn it off after the first 45 minutes as I kept finding myself falling asleep. The only horror in this movie is that it is horrible.You've been warned, so watch it at your own risk; or as a cure for insomnia.

Carlo Ledesma's "The Tunnel" is a first class example that all you need to for some great horror is some awesome camera-work and an even better script. Too many movies rely on huge million dollar budgets and first class-CGI and come up relatively short of being great or even good movies in some respects.Natasha ( Bel Delia ) is a reporter that is working on a story that she feels is going to be make her career. We're introduced to Natasha's crew early on with Peter ( Andy Rodoreda ) seemingly in a constant power struggle with Natasha. Tangles ( Luke Arnold ) and Steve ( Steve Davis ) are the goofs on the crew and make up the rest of the party venturing into the tunnel. Australia is going through a water crisis and the government comes up with a plan to tap into the huge reservoirs that are trapped in Sydneys' underground tunnel system. Natasha senses that it could be displacing the homeless that use the tunnels as an escape from the city that has forgotten about them. Sound like a setting for a great horror film? You're not wrong. Eventually Natasha and her film crew start to uncover a much bigger story. It seems that the homeless that use the tunnels are starting to disappear and no- one knows where or really seems too care. The government seems to be turning a blind eye and no one is allowed near the reservoirs as Natasha finds out the hard way when her contacts turn her down. Eventually when they get into the tunnels, they find out the hard way that some stones are better left unturned.Without giving too much away, the "creature" is shown sparingly and more of the terror and horror come from the limited light sources and the viewers' imaginations. My friends and I still have arguments to this day as to what exactly was hiding in the tunnels as the shots are somewhat vague, but extremely effective. The movie starts off on a slow burn, setting up the events that ultimately lead to a life or death struggle down in the tunnels. The Tunnel is a movie that is best viewed with an open mind and a couple friends. Classic indie horror at it's best, it's also proof of the quality of horror movies that Australia has been churning out in the last few years. Although not as famous as "The loved ones" or "Storage" , This movie is a prime example that not all scary things come with a million dollar price tag.One of my all time indie favourites... Watch this movie and you'll be looking over your shoulder every time you venture into a concrete tunnel in the park alone.7.5/10Stay scared friends.Kurt Smillie.

Whether you enjoyed the Blair Witch Project or not, it set a president in these 'found footage' horror films. Over recent years they've been cropping up in every country, showing us the tale of people who - for some reason - feel the need to feel the entire of their supernatural encounter, right up until the point of their demise.This is Australia's entry into the genre.It starts off slow. You can basically skip the entire first half hour - it's all backstory and character-building. Some may like a slow start, others won't, but, either way, you'll still be able to understand the film if you do.It's about four members of a news crew who go below Sydney into the abandoned underground system to get a story. Naturally, they get more than they bargained for. Unfortunately, what follows is simply the same as you'll see in any other 'found footage' film. You have people running around screaming, talking into camera, shaky camera-work, only brief flashes of whatever is hunting them, the obligatory night-vision shots, getting lost and bickering with each other and so on.Yes, it's well acted and nicely presented, but, perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the film were the 'interviews.' Whereas in other 'found footage' films they go the other way and have a piece of text at the beginning telling (spoiling?) the viewer by saying this footage was all that was found, i.e. everyone in the film is dead or missing. The Tunnel Movie interviews the survivors all the way through the film, cutting their thoughts on what they've filmed. For me this kind of told me who survives and who doesn't. I felt the interviews should have been taken out all together. At least that way the viewer wouldn't know who lives and who dies until the end.The Tunnel Movie is okay. There's nothing bad I can really say about it, but then there's nothing that I haven't seen before. If it was released before Blair Witch, it would have been the benchmark with which all others are measured against. Sadly, it's nearly fifteen years too late for that title, therefore it gets lost in the multitude of 'Blair Witch clones.' Not bad, but nothing new.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/