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Don't let another ensemble US marine cast cause your eyes to glaze over early.

What starts as a routine hostage extraction in the Afghan mountains takes an eldritch turn as the squad finds themselves venturing deeper under the mountains.

With slick visuals, great voice acting, and an ending that will scratch an itch for fans of season one's Beyond the Aquila Rift, "In Vaulted Halls Entombed" is an engaging taste of eldritch horror.

Subtlety goes out the window with this exercise in animated violence.

Our familar trope of US marines encountering the unexpected takes a turn for the absurd in the form of a mechatronic grizzly.

The mayhem, music, and wise cracks are all cranked to 11/10 which will be enough to please some viewers.

But, the episode ends up feeling merely like an exercise in action animation which would be better suited as an ingredient for a larger series.

On its own, it falls a little short without delivering high calibre visuals or an engaging short story.

Mutiny and morals are put to the test when an unwelcome passenger from the depths boards a fishing vessel with an insatiable appetite.

The beautiful CGI style animation doesn't shy away from presenting some gruesome scenes in all their gory glory, and the atmosphere will keep viewers locked to the screen as the stakes continue to rise throughout this episode.

Episode 2 will tick most of the right boxes for fans of the series and comes as a welcome switch of pace after the somewhat lukewarm opening episode.