Directed by: Carlo Ledesma

Written by: Enzo Tedeschi, Julian Harvey

Starring: Bel Deliá, Andy Rodoreda, Steve Davis

1 Hour, 30 Minutes

There’s a whole hidden world beneath the streets of Sydney Australia. The government plans to tap into an abandoned water reservoir under the city since the water reserves are at an all-time low. Old train tunnels have filled with water, and there’s so much water that it could solve all their problems, but there’s also reportedly a bunch of homeless people living down there. Suddenly, the whole plan is scrapped without explanation. Why?

The film starts out with a bunch of young reporters and camera people being interviewed about what happened to them. They saw a clip on YouTube about some kids who disappeared in the tunnels. The reporters think the government knows what’s happening and is covering it up, and, of course, no one will answer their calls or questions. They try to go into the tunnels, and the guards turn them away. They have to find another way.

The four of them do find another way, and there’s a five-minute scene of them cutting a chain-link fence on a grainy black-and-white security camera; there’s a lot of very grainy and dark night-vision camera work in this. There’s miles and miles of tunnels that aren’t even on their map. One of the crew goes missing, and shortly afterwards, so do all the flashlights and equipment. At first, they think it’s a homeless person messing with them, but then they see it’s something… huge.

Later, there’s the usual found footage staples: lots of yelling, heavy breathing, and people talking and yelling over each other.

Commentary

I was going to compare this one to “As Above, So Below” (2014), but it actually turns out this film came first; there are a lot of similarities. The Tunnel does have a few genuinely creepy scenes, especially on the super-low-res night-vision cameras.

The pacing in this film leaves a lot to be desired. I guess we’re supposed to hear these young professionals talk about their passion for their work and care about them, but this is a horror film— I was just waiting for the monsters to eat them. The first 42 minutes involve a lot of talking and no scares. On the bright (or dark) side, the second half is very claustrophobic, and the sets and location shots are perfect. If you have a phobia of dark hallways and abandoned buildings, this will get you going.

From wikipedia: “Principal photography took place in Sydney, comprising on-location shoots in some of the city’s disused underground tunnels, as well as a public pool and the Navy’s WWII air raid shelters at Garden Island. The Tunnel was the first Australian film to be distributed and promoted legally through the BitTorrent internet downloading platform, a release strategy which exposed the film to tens of millions of people, for free.

“The Tunnel was shown in only one North American theater during its entire theatrical run, limiting its box-office earnings. It grossed $507 during its opening weekend. During its second week, it grossed $318. It eventually grossed a total of $1,348 in North America.”