The Deep Dark (2023)

The Deep Dark (2023). 1h 43m

“This movie kicked off the evening portion of Day 3 of Nightmares Film Festival. I didnu0026#39;t realize until the end of the movie that this was written/directed by Mathieu Turi. This is a filmmaker that I knew from seeing his film, Meander at a previous year of Nightmares. Other than that, I knew that the person introducing this said it was creepy and that this was its Midwest premiere.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSynopsis: miners are forced to take a professor underground with them, to take samples for his measurements. After a cave-in prevents them from going back up, they discover a crypt from another time, unknowingly waking up a bloodthirsty creature.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis starts in 1856. We have a mining operation in the North of France. They break through a wall and they send in someone to burn out the flammable gases. This creates an issue as there seems to be something else in there with them. The ceiling collapses, trapping this crew. They havenu0026#39;t been found and what happens becomes a local legend.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt then jumps one hundred years to 1956. We are in Morocco where Amir (Amir El Kacem) does everything he can to get a job on a mining team. At first, he is denied for being too smart. He does what he can to change their mind. Theyu0026#39;re going to give him the hardest assignment though as punishment, which is Mine 5, known as Devilu0026#39;s Island.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWe then shift to the guy who runs this mine. He meets with a Professor Berthier (Jean-Hugues Anglade). There is a bribe paid so he can go down into the mines. The foreman isnu0026#39;t happy about it, but it is a lot of money. He takes Roland (Samuel Le Bihan) aside. Roland is the best miner. He works at Devilu0026#39;s Island regularly. He is told what he is to do, much to his disagreement. There is an accident on this day where Roland saved the life of a fellow miner.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAmir ends up joining this team as well. It is comprised of Louis (Thomas Solivérès), Miguel (Diego Martín), Polo (Marc Riso) and Santini (Bruno Sanches). A positive here is that each one of these guys is distinct. Miguel is Spanish and their explosives expert. Polo is a big guy and he brings a horse along to help. Santini isnu0026#39;t his real name, but he is an Italian.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThey make their way down into mines and find where theyu0026#39;re supposed to detonate charges. It is odd as it is in the floor. They do break through and find a hidden cave. Berthier isnu0026#39;t sharing all the information about what he knows, but this was what he was expecting. They end up finding a crypt down here as well as the mining team from 1856. That isnu0026#39;t the only thing that they find down here as greed gets the better of the men. It is then a fight for survival and to escape.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat is where Iu0026#39;m going to leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this feels like the French version of The Descent. This isnu0026#39;t a rip-off. I donu0026#39;t mean that. We just have a group of guys instead of women, who go down into a cave and get trapped. It is while down there that things take a completely different turn. It just has similar vibe while still doing its own thing with the set up.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe idea of being down in a mine like this and being trapped is terrifying to me. Much like with The Descent, you could just run with that idea and it would make me anxious. Iu0026#39;m not claustrophobic per say. I would have an intense fear of the dark and not knowing if I could find an alternative exit would make me panic. The group searches for a way out. What makes this worse though is Berthier isnu0026#39;t necessarily on their side. He does want to survive, but he also is out for what heu0026#39;s looking for. There is an added element here of that and how it could sabotage their escape.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNow Iu0026#39;m going to tread lightly here. This is a creature feature of sorts. Iu0026#39;ll say this monster is in the same vein as something from The Ritual. This monster is older than humanity and there might have been an ancient, pagan cult that worshiped him. There are sacrifices that were made in this pit. There is also Lovecraft references here. An inscription that is read is the quote u0026#39;that is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may dieu0026#39;. When this was read, I sat up in my seat and knew what they were doing. The monster in this is an elder god of sorts and I think he serves the great Cthulhu. I immediately gave points for going cosmic.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere isnu0026#39;t much more that I want to go into for the story so letu0026#39;s go over to the acting. I knew that Le Bihan looked familiar to me but it wasnu0026#39;t until sitting down to write this that I connected that heu0026#39;s the lead from Brotherhood of the Wolf. He has a great build as our hero and I liked him. I believe heu0026#39;s a miner. He shares the screen well with El Kacem, who is new to the team, but pays dividends. Along with them, I like Anglade who isnu0026#39;t necessarily a villain. He does things that hurt their survival so he is a grey character. Iu0026#39;d say that Solivérès, Martín, Riso, Sanches and the rest of the cast also rounded this out for what was needed.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll that is left then is filmmaking. Where I want to start here with creature design. What I could tell, it was practical. It looks like they created a monster and then used strings to help bring it to life. Whatever they did there was creepy. If there is also someone in the suit, they did a great job in helping bring it to life. What also helps here is being set under the ground. It is dark and that helps to hide things. I do believe there was a bit of CGI that didnu0026#39;t necessarily look great. Not enough to ruin this. Iu0026#39;ll just say that the cinematography is great. They capture being trapped down here which is good. Iu0026#39;d also say the sound design worked. There is something terrifying to me how sound travels in tunnels and caves like this that makes me uneasy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn conclusion, I rather enjoyed this creature feature. The basic premise isnu0026#39;t a new one trapping our miners in these tunnels and caves. What makes it worse though is having an ancient monster after you that just builds even more tension. I love the references to Lovecraft, cults and rituals. The acting is good along with the filmmaking. Credit there to the monster itself and the sound design. If youu0026#39;re a Lovecraft fan or just enjoy creature features, Iu0026#39;d give this one a watch. I thought it was rather well done. Turi is a director that is on my radar going forward as Iu0026#39;ve enjoyed both movies of his that Iu0026#39;ve seen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMy Rating: 7.5 out of 10.”