Deep Fear

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.

After finishing their schooling, a group of friends decides to spend the occasion exploring the catacombs beneath the streets of Paris, but once they realize that their trip has caused them to stumble into an underground Nazi bunker haunted by an undead soldier they have to get out alive.

Overall, this was a decent enough if somewhat problematic outing. As expected, one of the better parts of this one concerns the atmosphere of the underground catacombs which is put to great effect throughout here. The darkness and twisting labyrinth of tunnels underneath the city, heading off into the distance led by failing or even non-existent lighting enhances the long-abandoned feel established throughout here. Combined with the severe state of decay featured in the numerous bunkers and catacombs they stumble into before getting to the main Nazi compound, there's quite an effectively chilling state featured here. As well, the film manages quite effectively to bring about a really interesting finale where they finally realize what they're up against and need to find a way out. With the series of adventures causing them to get stuck and needing a secondary escape route, the means through which they enter the fateful bunker and encounter the mysterious being living there which is wisely kept off-screen for a longer amount of time than expected while still generating some brutal encounters. This leads to a great conclusion here with the surviving members and the undead officer engaging in some spirited encounters that are quite fun, giving this some likable qualities. There are some problems with this one that holds it back. One of the biggest issues is the rather bland running time that takes quite a while before it gets going or provides anything of interest for genre fans. The first half of this one runs through the usual character-building setups and introductions which is all well enough but it then goes through a series of additional meet-ups with the other underground dwellers and their plight with the skinheads that serves no reason for being here other than wasting time. This ends up causing the film to get to the halfway point before any kind of genre activity happens and leaves this feeling quite padded and drab. That also ends up applying to the main villain as well which is a direct result of this one taking so long to get through the other factors here. With the amount of time this spends on the group getting to know each other, meeting their guide and his friends, and the unnecessary exploits traveling through the underground catacombs, there's no time at all to really dive into who he is or what's he's doing in the bunker. Even managing to provide basic information like how he survived undetected for so long and so close to the others is a complete mystery with as much time as this did to build him up, making for the biggest drawbacks to this one.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

When I started thinking "okay, this is getting interesting," I noticed that there was only 15 minutes of the film left. There are a couple of other scenes that are cool, but overall it was a poorly paced execution. The sets and effects when the film gets to the catacombs are done well and give a sense of both depth and claustrophobia.

A cold open, followed by exposition showing the relationships between chief characters, and the suggestion of wholly repugnant, distinctly antagonistic characters. Generally unimportant dialogue and character background, exploration of a labyrinthine locale that's officially closed to the public, and the promise of something sinister just around the corner. Writing, acting, and direction that's perfectly suitable for the horror genre, if overall common and/or unremarkable; original music that is a primary contributor to the atmosphere that the picture can claim; unbothered pacing, resulting in a film of about eighty minutes in length that's not altogether uneventful in almost the full first five-eighths, but not especially striking or compelling, either.

'Deep fear' is well made such as it is, with excellent filming locations and production design, admirable lighting and cinematography, and otherwise solid craftsmanship. The costume design, hair, and makeup are splendid. Filmmaker Grégory Beghin illustrates strong capability in orchestrating shots and scenes, and though Nicolas Tackian's screenplay might not be anything super noteworthy, I do earnestly enjoy the story that he wrote. Though the heaviest horror content doesn't begin to show up until a full hour has passed, the blood, gore and other effects that we do see look fantastic (provided that, as we've observed elsewhere, the camera doesn't totally linger on it). I actually do like the cast; the performances are nothing special, perhaps, but Victor Meutelet, Joseph Olivennes, Kassim Meesters, Léone François-Janssens, and especially Sofia Lesaffre, among others, all ably bring the story to live with the turbulent, heightened emotions of their characters.

I have no major critiques of this movie. I guess the thing is, I have no major praise to offer, either. If it's a horror flick that you want, it's a horror flick that you'll get. There's some atmosphere, some visceral nastiness, and maybe even some thrills to be had. 'Deep fear' is broadly enjoyable and well done, and all that it needed to be; I'll even go so far as to say that it's better than I expected, for what it's worth. Is it anything that you need to go out of your way to see? No. Will it satisfy basic cravings for the genre? Yes, I think it will. It's dark, grisly fun that doesn't reinvent anything, but very ably serves its purpose, and that's enough in my book to earn a fair recommendation.

It had the right atmosphere, dark, chilling foreboding Catacombs of Paris, it had the mysterious baddie (unfortunately, the trailer gives this away), the acting isn't bad, and yet, it misses the mark. The main actors are just carbon cutouts of every other "victim" list in horror we've seen elsewhere. In the short time we DO get to know them, they're not all that likeable. Once it reaches the final climax it seems it rushes to the finish line and then...end credits! Not a TERRIBLE film, but I strongly recommend watching the similarly themed "As Above, So Below" for a better overall Catacombs horror film!