The Bunker – Der Feind ist nicht dort draussen. (2001)

The Bunker – Der Feind ist nicht dort draussen.: Directed by Rob Green. With Jason Flemyng, Andrew Tiernan, Christopher Fairbank, Simon Kunz. Germany, 1944. The forests of the Ardennes. A platoon of battle weary German soldiers, forced into confusion and retreat by advancing Allied forces, take refuge in an isolated Siegfried Line bunker.

“I heard about THE BUNKER as soon as it came out ( Being a British movie it would have received far more publicity here than it did in America ) and it seemed to split the critics right down the middle . Some people thought it was a great and atmospheric horror movie while others thought it was a confused cross genre story . Some critics thought it was a good idea to let the cast talk in their native accents while others were puzzled why a bunch of British soldiers are wearing German uniforms fighting against the Americans ! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI donu0026#39;t have any problems with the British accents and idioms such as pronouncing the rank of Leutnant as u0026quot; Left-ten-ant u0026quot; but I do have a problem trying to identify with the characters . Theyu0026#39;re Germans from the mid 1940s , theyu0026#39;re u0026quot; the enemy u0026quot; and even though theyu0026#39;re doing a soldieru0026#39;s duty the audience canu0026#39;t think of them as anything but bad guys . Itu0026#39;s the same with the very similar THE KEEP where the audience wonder who theyu0026#39;re supposed to be rooting for . Perhaps if the characters were Volkstrum protecting Germany from the Red Army this aspect could have worked better but as it stands itu0026#39;s difficult to feel sorry for the characters . Incidentally arenu0026#39;t the surnames Franke and Engels of Jewish descent ? u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIronically enough while watching this I found myself often wishing that this was either a straightforward horror film or a straightforward war film . The early action scenes are very well directed by Rob Green while the scenes set in the dark catacombs are certainly atmospheric but itu0026#39;s the revelation at the end that you suddenly realise that THE BUNKER is neither a war film nor horror film but a ghost story mixed in with a redemption plot and its at this point you are allowed to decide if the film is successful or not and Iu0026#39;m afraid that it failed for me , an interesting failure but still a failure . Some people have complained it would have been better if the soldiers had faced zombies or something more horrific and I agree . Certainly it would have made for a more ridiculous less thoughtful film but would also have made for a more memorable and entertaining movie .”