English
Review
Official Selection

THE BUNKER

UK/USA 2001
Regie rob green
Darsteller jason flemyng, andrew tiernan, jack davenport, christopher fairbank


Sieben vom Krieg gezeichnete Wehrmachtssoldaten halten an der deutsch-belgischen Waldgrenze 1944 die Stellung. Sie warten auf den Feind. Aber längst ist ihnen klar, dass sie auf verlorenem Posten stehen. Während draußen das Tosen zerfetzender Granaten den Boden erbeben lässt, schleicht unter ihnen, in den verstaubten Katakomben des Bunkers, etwas viel bedrohlicheres durch die Gänge. Eine schaurige Legende kursiert über das verfallene Tunnelsystem, das besser keiner der müden Kämpfer betreten sollte und in dessen Labyrinth sich trotzdem bald einer nach dem anderen verliert...

THE BUNKER ist eine nervenaufreibende Geistermär, die die Schockschraube so unerbittlich anzieht, dass man glauben könnte, die Temperatur im Kinosaal würde auf den Gefrierpunkt sinken. Dieser Horrorfilm verursacht Gänsehaut pur und funktioniert auch als eindringliche Parabel auf die Schrecken des Krieges.


Seven lost soldiers of the German Wehrmacht hide in a remote bunker built above a large tunnel system. Behind enemy lines, forlorn without backup, injured and traumatized, their only chance seems to be the rotting corridors leading into darkness. These, however, hide a terrifying secret that will drive them crazy. This eerie ghost shocker creeps deep into your blood while telling you of the zombies made by war.

“A first rate psychological horror... A great display of cat and mouse distorted perceptions and high calibre ensemble acting. Tense, imaginative and intelligent.” Starburst

“Shockingly good, edge of your seat horror story...” London Press Hit List

“A remarkable film...” Sitges Film Festival

“Green creates tremendous atmosphere... A nasty and very efficient thriller.” Toronto Festival Critics Choice
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All Quiet on the Western Front meets Alien (...). A perfect example of a simple premise, using one prime location (like Cube and Hitchcock's Lifeboat), being well executed by director Rob Green, The Bunker is the type of horror film the British used to make by the bucket-load in the early Seventies.

Amicus influenced in look and going back even further to the moody atmospherics of maverick producer Val (Cat People) Lewton for its unseen chills, Green's first rate psychological horror miniature displays all the subtlety, imagination and intelligence mostly vetoed by contemporary practitioners of the craft. In the course of its tense action The Bunker also offers a great display of cat-and-mouse distorted perceptions and high calibre ensemble acting, especially from rising newcomer Andrew Lee Potts.

A unit of German soldiers take refuge from advancing Allied forces in an underground munitions storage system on the German-Belgian border in June 1944. Battle-weary and torn apart by dissent, the shell-shocked platoon think they've found a safe haven in the Ardennes Forest but, as night closes in, a series of increasingly bizarre and horrifying incidents begin to unfold. It turns out the bunker was built on the site of a medieval plague pit complete with legends of witchcraft and this, combined with a harrowing past execution incident tying them together in collective guilt, unnerves them all and each starts witnessing mysterious occurrences as they face their demons alone in the dark.

A rare instance of a thinking person's horror movie, The Bunker proves once again War is Hell and offers cleverly conceived reasons why bravery and terror aren't only relegated to the killing fields." Fright Fest

"Screenwriter Clive Dawson gives the lowdown: "Many influences came into the writing of THE BUNKER, including the classic British ghost stories of M.R. ["Casting the Runes"] James and W.W. ["The Monkey's Paw"] Jacobs and the Val Lewton films of the '40s. When first pitching it, I described it as CROSS OF IRON meets THE HAUNTING [the original!]."

Set at the tail end of WWII, the film concerns a battered group of German troops retreating from the advancing Americans who find solace and shelter in a bunker occupied by only a crazed German veteran and a boy soldier. But the place to hide soon becomes one to fear, as Mirus, the veteran, relates tales of evil that lurk in the woods--and we're not talking Nazis, but something far worse. And that something is moving about in the labyrinth of tunnels that honeycomb the bunker.

With a strong young cast including Jack (ULTRAVIOLET) Davenport and Jason (BRUISER) Flemyng giving their all and tight direction from newcomer Rob Green, THE BUNKER bears comparison to Michael Mann's THE KEEP, but eschews the straightforward paranormal and keeps one guessing right up to the nail-biting ending." Fangoria
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