★ 6 / 10
Deep Fear shows some promise but much of
MovieGuys
Deep Fear shows some promise but much of its potential, like the French catacombs, in which it is set, remains undiscovered. Lets start with the positives, a…
Deep Fear shows some promise but much of its potential, like the French catacombs, in which it is set, remains undiscovered.
Lets start with the positives, a solid if by now mostly familiar back story, helped by decent acting, from the capable, cast. You certainly buy into the main characters anxiety and fear. A creepy, unrelenting threat, they have to face. A dash of well rendered 80's and early 90's nostalgia.
Its a reasonable horror recipe, so what goes wrong? First out of the box is the predictable, by this time, exhausting, woke pandering. Yes diversity good, racism bad, we get it. Thanks for the lecture. Then there's the fact that about half the movie is spent wandering around the catacombs, being guided and then, being lost. Its an interesting setting but after a time the novelty wears off. To top it off, when the real scares start to kick in, they are not well handled.
The outcome is yet another film that, maddeningly, "sort of works" but doesn't quite get, where it wants to go.
In summary, an interesting idea, let down by inconsistent execution. The results a horror flick that's moderately watchable but left this viewer feeling somewhat indifferent.
Note: this film has subs, as its in French.
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★ 6 / 10
Underwritten but enjoyable French horror.
parry_na
This chatty French horror film has similarities with 2014's 'Up Above, So Below'. I found that film's success surprising for such a lacklustre production, so…
This chatty French horror film has similarities with 2014's 'Up Above, So Below'. I found that film's success surprising for such a lacklustre production, so my enthusiasm for 'Bunker 717' (sometimes known as 'Deep Fear') was muted. The results here are pretty good.Three students decide to celebrate their graduation by exploring the catacombs underneath Paris. They appear to be followed down there by a couple of skinhead ne'er do wells.Things start off slowly and it's a pity some of the time wasn't spent allowing us to get to know the characters better; they are all fairly likeable, but sketchy. The main antagonist, who is impressive but used very sparingly, would also have benefited from some semblance of a backstory.This is low-key, but mainly fun. The claustrophobic setting is well conveyed and there's a real sense of 'things lurking in the shadows'. This, and a convincing level of gore, coupled with an effective ending, makes for a fairly effective 80 minutes. My score is 6 out of 10.
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Those are Diddy eyes.