Came across this movie purely by chance, and was immediately intrigued by its premise i.e. a horror movie set in the trenches of WWI. I am a big history buff, and one of my chief interests is the history of the first World War.
If anything, the movie deserves credit for setting a horror story in such a unique environment. The movie certainly had its scary and interesting moments. However, I found myself distracted by the overlapping and terse dialog that too often made it hard to understand what some of the actors were saying---made all the worse by the (intentional or otherwise) thick Cockney and Scottish accents.
Too much of the movie consists of frantic camera movements and the actors running around screaming obscenities.
I thought the makeup of the group in the movie was a little too clichéd. You got the tough Sargent, the martinet commanding officer, the horny soldier, the psycho soldier, the fresh-faced kid, etc. Furthermore, most of the characters act so vicious and bizarre it is hard to have sympathy for them.
I was surprised to see Andy Serkis in this movie, in a role completely different from that of Gollum in LOTR. He does a pretty good job--in fact, his character was scarier than the supposed "evil presence" in the story. I also give the movie credit for accurately depicting the misery of trench warfare in WWI.
In conclusion, I had the feeling I was watching an over-long episode of the Twilight Zone. Edited down to an hour or so, it would have made a good and interesting episode in that series. It certainly starts out with a grabber of a premise. Instead, it gets bogged-down in familiar war movie and horror movie clichés.
Despite it's faults, it is not a complete waste of time. I would recommend the movie as a mildly entertaining way to spend a rainy afternoon with your DVD player.
If anything, the movie deserves credit for setting a horror story in such a unique environment. The movie certainly had its scary and interesting moments. However, I found myself distracted by the overlapping and terse dialog that too often made it hard to understand what some of the actors were saying---made all the worse by the (intentional or otherwise) thick Cockney and Scottish accents.
Too much of the movie consists of frantic camera movements and the actors running around screaming obscenities.
I thought the makeup of the group in the movie was a little too clichéd. You got the tough Sargent, the martinet commanding officer, the horny soldier, the psycho soldier, the fresh-faced kid, etc. Furthermore, most of the characters act so vicious and bizarre it is hard to have sympathy for them.
I was surprised to see Andy Serkis in this movie, in a role completely different from that of Gollum in LOTR. He does a pretty good job--in fact, his character was scarier than the supposed "evil presence" in the story. I also give the movie credit for accurately depicting the misery of trench warfare in WWI.
In conclusion, I had the feeling I was watching an over-long episode of the Twilight Zone. Edited down to an hour or so, it would have made a good and interesting episode in that series. It certainly starts out with a grabber of a premise. Instead, it gets bogged-down in familiar war movie and horror movie clichés.
Despite it's faults, it is not a complete waste of time. I would recommend the movie as a mildly entertaining way to spend a rainy afternoon with your DVD player.