Get Bombarded with the Horrors of War in World War I Supernatural Thriller Bunker (2023)

Title: Bunker

First Non-Festival Release: February 24, 2023 (Limited Theatrical Release)

Director: Adrian Langley

Writer: Michael Huntsman

Runtime: 108 Minutes

Starring: Eddie Ramos, Patrick Moltane, Julian Feder

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

The horrors of war are obvious to anyone who has ever engaged in conflict. World War I was known as the Great War because humanity hadn’t seen destruction quite like it before it transpired. Imagine being lost in your own horror story within that greater horror?

This is true for one group of soldiers in the trenches. After crossing over no man’s land and into the German trenches on the other side, they discover a hidden cache. Determined to explore it and extract as many supplies and secrets as possible, the group heads inside. Not long after, they find themselves trapped after bombs are dropped overhead, sending the group into a paranoid frenzy to escape.

Lacking a compelling narrative and tension, Bunker collapses in on itself by the end thanks to so-so performances.

A promising setup leads to a convoluted tale of wishy-washy horror rules for the ill-fated squad that investigates the titular hideout. Ordered by their leader Lt. Turner (Patrick Moltane) to investigate the hideout and subsequently stay put while they wait for reinforcements, the isolation and hysteria of the group sets in quickly. Once trapped, the story gets more interesting as the characters begin changing from their exposure to a mysterious ooze seeping throughout the base. Initially, what’s thought to be a curious annoyance becomes something clearly dangerous, but it is too late for the crew to escape. The substance’s effects on the team are interesting but don’t feel put together in the end. It nonetheless proves to be an effective tool for the film to engage in its commentary on authority and xenophobia.

Between claustrophobia and the ongoing war, there should be more to pull from here. The previously built tension falls flat as the crew sit around and wait for orders. The group falls into two camps: one led by Lt. Turner, promising order and answers, and the other by Pvt. Segura, seeking a way out immediately. Inspired by the ominous nature as to why captured German soldier Kurt was left behind by his peers, Pvt. Segura’s faction feels the sense of doom imminent despite Lt. Turner’s insistence otherwise. The conflict amounts to bickering and eventual casualties as they cannot agree on a set action which in theory sounds more satisfying than reality.

What separates Bunker from many of its indie contemporaries is its commitment to developing its characters. War horror films tend to have this problem where there is a glut of characters that are indistinguishable from one another. This makes it difficult to have the audience tell them apart from one another, especially if work doesn’t go into their development. Bunker does enough work to make each member of Lt. Turner’s team feel fleshed out and real. Their distinctions aren’t just in personalities but in temperament and experience which does add to the conflict and makes for some tense moments.

Inconsistent performances from the cast make for some great moments against other mediocre scenes. Eddie Ramos, Patrick Moltane, and Luke Baines take up the majority of the screentime as they psychologically battle against each other on screen. Moltane’s take on Lt. Turner is at times excellent and at other times flat. His demeanor makes him easily hateable, as a man too proud of his own skills to see beyond the danger he is putting his team in, Moltane leans into the mustachioed villain a bit too much to take seriously at times. On the defense, Ramos plays the everyman acting out of deep concern for everyone else. While his emotions feel real, it works better when he is processing alone rather than interacting with his team. Baines gives the most even performance as the mysterious and surprisingly complaint German soldier, but he isn’t given a whole lot to do.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Bunker is its inability to rise above the mediocre. The cast is capable and there is plenty of potential in the script. The poorly paced execution matters, as it drags the film down to depths that it can never escape. Some light commentary on prejudice bubbles up but it mostly takes a backseat to the less interesting power struggle between Lt. Turner and Pvt. Ramos. It might be worth the journey to mine this film out of the ground if the war horror subgenre strikes an interest, but otherwise it is forgettable.

Overall Score? 4/10