Underground Monster Mayhem Roars Fiercely in The Deep Dark (FANTASTIC)

Title: The Deep Dark

First Non-Festival Release: November 15, 2023 (Theatrical Release)

Director: Mathieu Turi

Writer: Mathieu Turi

Runtime: 103 Minutes

Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Amir El Kacem, Jean-Hughes Anglade

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2023.

It’s no secret that mining is an industry on its way out in recent years. With improvements in technology, shifts in energy sources, and a better understanding of the adverse health effects it has on laborers, the push to move on towards different manners of powering our planet is a welcome one. Obviously, these considerations were not present back in the 1900s when conditions were much worse.

Which makes it even more harrowing when one considers the doomed mining party at the center of The Deep Dark. After a professor (Jean-Hughes Anglade) bribes their company into allowing an off-road expedition, a team led by Roland (Samuel Le Bihan) descends into the coal-dusted depths of their mine to burrow into a neighboring tunnel that is rumored to run parallel to the company’s. Among the team members is Amir (Amir El Kacem), an immigrant hoping to keep his head down and work for the paycheck. When the group finds themselves stuck in the other system, a new problem arises in the form of a terrifying creature that has awakened from its slumber and is ready to greet its visitors.

A dark descent into Lovecraftian adventure, The Deep Dark is a fun and tense sci-fi horror.

Much like the mining crew, the audience is left in the dark on what draws the professor to the furthest recesses of the mine before The Deep Dark reveals its true colors in all its sinister glory. The path to reaching this, however, is dotted with slow-building character work and appropriate mining information to keep audiences aware of the more mundane dangers the characters face. The mine mores of avoiding cave-ins may not be as sexy as the supernatural horror that awaits, but it adds another layer to the character’s eventual dilemma. Once the crew discovers the crypt, their fate is sealed. Miles down under the earth, their nerves, much like the audience’s, soon become frayed.

While it would be easy to focus solely on what goes bump in the dark, the increasingly desperate characters add an element of danger to each other that, at times, eclipses what hides beyond their sight. While the monster is appropriately terrifying, the actions of the party exploring the unmarked caves make for more volatile moments. A scheming professor with ulterior motives and greedy coworkers who won’t hesitate to slice your throat over some gold make for cartoonishly fun secondary antagonists to the greater problem at hand. Neither are developed to the point where it takes away from the understandable focus on the entity within the cave.

The recurring theme of sacrifice in its literal and figurative embodiment drive the heart of the story in The Deep Dark. While it would be easy to focus on the ways that greed and ambition steer the flawed mining party towards disaster, there is something to be said about their willingness to put themselves on the line for the greater good of the group, and possibly humanity. As The Deep Dark goes on, this is further entrenched in the setup, as we learn about the sacrifices made to the creature in the cave long ago. The lengths to which the party will go to save one another, barring a few bad apples, also serve as a reminder that humanity exists even in the darkest places.

There are so few good horror films set underground that the bar is low for The Deep Dark to be successful. Thankfully, director Matthieu Turi directs the hell out of this excavation horror flick. The film leans in and out of its claustrophobic setup by toying with the audience’s sense of confinement. While some tunnels are vast and endless, others are cramped, requiring characters to shrink themselves. The Deep Dark doesn’t play around with its depiction of hopelessness, allowing the viewers to be similarly ensnared. Of course, the solid special effects work and inspired creature design maintain a level of believability and fear so the story can progress. It’s a triumph for Turi and the team to make something so frightening yet so tactile.

There’s plenty to appreciate in this dark and oppressive French feature. Richly designed, The Deep Dark uses clever filmmaking tricks to disorient and startle its audience. Mathieu Turi proves that his steady streak of horror hits means he has the stuff to continue in the business delivering quality films that stand out from the pack. It may not quite the visceral wallop one might expect, but The Deep Dark is a respectable sojourn into the dark underbelly of Earth’s unexplored depths.

Overall Score? 7/10