Man Underground

Man Underground caught my eye from the synopsis in the FrightFest movie guide. After much gore and nonsense for several days, I was after a film that would really engage me and bring me on board with true empathy for the characters.

Man Underground was the film I'd hoped it would be.

Our main character, Willem, is a paranoid ex-government employee who, we are led to believe, has some inside knowledge on highly classified projects, which he is eager to expose to the public. Not an easy guy to be around, two people have faith in him enough to help him tell an account of his life in order to do just that.

Unlike most alien conspiracy movies, Man Underground does not rush to throw the standard Area 51 dummies at you or shove tubes where they don't belong. Instead we have a great script which teeters on the edge of science fiction but at its core concerns itself with friendship, trust, loyalty and aspiration which always make for good viewing if told correctly.

This was one of few films I saw at the festival to really bring depth to its characters, have some fantastic acting performances throughout and finish the story perfectly.

I look forward eagerly to future projects from the directorial duo behind this one.