This British horror film is pretty unremarkable in all respects although it does boast a satisfyingly claustrophobic atmosphere and decent performances from a relatively unknown cast. The story follows a group of mercenaries as they accompany a sinister scientist into a Nazi WWII bunker beneath an Eastern European forest. Before long, it's increasingly clear that the scientist hasn't been entirely forthcoming about the true nature of their mission, and that some supernatural presence isn't pleased about them being there.
Filmed in a grainy fashion with colour so bleached that the film looks nearly black and white at times, it nevertheless looks very good, reinforcing the oppressive atmosphere and painting on the faces of the increasingly rattled soldiers of fortune the fate that awaits them all. Where the movie fatally suffers is that it isn't really all that interesting. The characters are all fairly one-dimensional – apart from the shared characteristic of not really being very likable – and aren't particularly bright. The reveal, when it eventually arrives, is a bit Indiana Jones-ish with its rather silly premise about Nazi super soldiers trapped in some kind of limbo, following the last orders they were given as they wait to be brought back to life by scientists who are long dead. They look cool, but we don't see enough of them.
Filmed in a grainy fashion with colour so bleached that the film looks nearly black and white at times, it nevertheless looks very good, reinforcing the oppressive atmosphere and painting on the faces of the increasingly rattled soldiers of fortune the fate that awaits them all. Where the movie fatally suffers is that it isn't really all that interesting. The characters are all fairly one-dimensional – apart from the shared characteristic of not really being very likable – and aren't particularly bright. The reveal, when it eventually arrives, is a bit Indiana Jones-ish with its rather silly premise about Nazi super soldiers trapped in some kind of limbo, following the last orders they were given as they wait to be brought back to life by scientists who are long dead. They look cool, but we don't see enough of them.