Death Tunnel (2005) Review

Written by: Lilith   

This movie has received a lot of crap from my fellow horror movie manics and, I will admit, the criticism is not without merit. In fact, in many aspects the negative reviews are incredibly justified. But, for some inexplicable reason which I will endeavor to explain in this review I actually enjoy this movie to some extent.

First, the plot. 5 girls (who would not be out of place in the Playboy mansion) are placed in an abandoned asylum as part of a college initiation called "truth or Scare". Unfortunately for the contestants and the wankers that put them there, the asylum is actually haunted by the ghosts of those who worked and died inside the asylum walls. "5 Floors, 5 Girls, 5 hours" and so the countdown begins...

The most noteable element in this movie is the positively atrocious acting that makes you feel like you're watching High School Musical 5. Seriously, I got a D in Drama in High School and I'm pretty sure I could do a better job. The most interesting character in the movie is mega-bitch Ashley (think Tara Reid meets Regina from Mean Girls), simply because her over-acting outshines the incredibly dull performances by the rest of the unknown cast. And, most importantly, her death scene (I'm sure you won't mind that spoiler) is by far the best of the entire movie. Very well executed.

So, the question remains... why do I like this movie? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I think perhaps it's the back story of why the girls were chosen or the way the ghosts exact... well... not exactly their revenge but moreso replay the terrors they faced when they were alive. I must say I liked the way the movie was shot and cut although I can see how many people may find the chopping and changing of scenes and time sequences frustrating.

I'd actually like to see this movie remade with a proper cast and a half-decent director, I think with the right tweaks it could work. May that's why I like it, the potential.... who knows. Anyhoo, the whole point of my ramblings is to say - ignore what you've heard, give it a watch, look past the horrific acting and judge it for yourself.