Directed by:
Grégory LevasseurCinematography:
Laurent TangyComposer:
Nima FakhraraCast:
Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O'Hare, James Buckley, Christa Nicola, Amir K, Faycal Attougui, Omar BenbrahimVOD (1)
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The ancient wonders of the world have long cursed explorers who've dared to uncover their secrets. But a team of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren't just trapped, they are being hunted. (HBO Europe)
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This movie revolves around a group of archaeologists who discover an ancient pyramid in Egypt and decide to explore its secrets. The archaeologists enter the pyramid and soon realize they are trapped within its depths. They must contend with dangerous traps, dark forces, and menacing creatures that stand in their way. Gradually, they uncover that the ancient Egyptians built the pyramid as a trap for a demon believed to be the embodiment of death. The film attempts to create a suspenseful atmosphere and horrifying moments, drawing on horror elements intertwined with Egyptian mythology. The story is predominantly told from the perspective of cameras, adding authenticity and intensity. The film focuses on a combination of archaeology, horror, and adventure, utilizing the atmosphere of menace and mystery. With a budget of approximately $5 million, it grossed around $16 million worldwide, which is not much considering the expenses for marketing and distribution, but it's not an absolute flop either. The cast features relatively lesser-known actors, with emphasis placed on the story rather than big-name stars. Denis O'Hare is perhaps the most recognizable actor, known for his roles in movies like "Milk" (2008), "Dallas Buyers Club" (2013), and "The Proposal" (2009). He is most notable for his multiple characters in the television series "American Horror Story" (2011-present), earning an Emmy nomination in 2015 for his portrayal of Liz Taylor in the fifth season, "Hotel." The found footage approach, similar to films like "The Blair Witch Project," adds authenticity and brings the story closer to the audience, creating the illusion that viewers are witnessing the events through the characters' eyes. For me, this is cool, although it can be somewhat irritating at times. The group consists of the typical composition: a scientist, a daughter (blond), her deviant boyfriend (aka cowboy), a nerdy cameraman, and a highly investigative journalist hungry for a Pulitzer Price. The story unfolds reasonably well, and right from the start, with some surprising deaths. A very classic slightly heated argument takes place within the group regarding what should be done. The emotional expression of the daughter oscillates somewhere between soft porn and Teletubbies. Soon enough, the group predictably splits into two scout teams, searching for the beaver of courage in the pyramid maze, with a lurking necromancer Jerry and who knows what else. This film is certainly not for claustrophobics, as half of the journey takes place in tunnels the size of a standard student room in dorms. However, what I appreciate is that original mixture of the characters' killing typologies. Review with no spoilers - so further details just briefly - the effects are kinda cheesy, the rediscovered courage of one of the party members is slightly amusing and hard to believe, the connection with Egyptian terminology is educational and refreshing, and there are Indiana Jones vibes with a significant dose of irrational moments. The ending is unnecessarily drawn out, and the biggest drawback is the special effects, which even for the year 2014, are pretty bad. Two stars, and that's it. Bye.
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When I saw the first trailer of The Pyramid a couple of months ago, I got very excited and hoped it would be good. I would happily welcome a quality brutal horror movie in the setting of archaeology, Egyptian historical monuments, the awakening of ancient demons, Pharaoh curses, mummies. Now that I’ve watched it… I’m not fully disappointed nor disgusted, it has a couple of good things, but it’s a sad shame that someone didn’t make a better use of this opportunity. The titular pyramid itself is one of the good things, the actors have also been fairly well chosen, it’s a pity that they don’t have much to do. The mythology with the god Anubis isn’t completely worthless, either. But then you have the negatives, which are unfortunately more. To begin with, it’s very similar to last year’s As Above So Below (anyone watching this film will remember it). The script. The script never lets the characters react convincingly to what is happening around them. Everyone is very quick to believe that they are being chased by something supernatural (even after one of the girls was scratched in the dark by, well, a cat). They switch at the speed of light from sadness, despair and hopelessness, all dominated by an attitude of “whatever, let’s move on”. The second problem: why the fuck did they put a digi-cat and a digi-Anubis when it’s clear they didn’t have the money for those monsters to look realistic, let alone scary. And it’s so unnecessary, for God’s sake! If they had used some normal skinny dude wrapped in dirty bandages, they could have sold it as a mummy, would have saved a lot of money and would have been a lot more effective than the digital crap that crawls up in the end and makes the audience burst in laughter – really, I tried not to, but it wasn’t possible. When things are not seen but only heard, it works pretty well and a couple of those scenes do have an atmosphere, but then the lights turn on and it goes to hell. And I also wonder why did it have to be another found-footage, especially when in this film, this format has a terrible effect on the credibility of the characters’ behaviour (really, at least in the last half hour, they would no longer be carrying the cameras), and the creators don’t even properly stick to it during the film but interrupt it with normally shot takes. So, the format doesn’t help in anything, on the contrary, it hurts things, so another unnecessary minus point of choice. Although I didn’t get bored – I liked some of the atmospheric scenes, the interiors, and the jump-scares – the aforementioned complaints force to give it one star less than I gave As Above So Below, which avoided the digital mess and stuck to its format.
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Satisfaction. A brisk, atmospheric and very nicely shot horror film with an attractive setting that gets going very quickly. The atmosphere thickens decently throughout the film, the music builds up perfectly (the scene with the falling sand or in the tunnel is as thrilling as a porn actress' thong), and I was also pleased with one intense jump scare. I also liked the decent dialogue concerning Egyptian history, for which I have a great fondness. My only regret is that there was no mummy or scarabs here, but maybe in the sequel ;) Headphones for better effect are a must. 70%
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The fact that the film had a higher budget because it had backing from Fox is evident in the quality of the visuals, but it didn't necessarily translate to better special effects quality. It seems like these films are still going strong, although I feel like they were worn out maybe four years ago, perhaps even earlier. There are indeed very few that stand out and where you feel it's not just a repetition of what has been said so many times before. The Pyramid doesn't belong among the more interesting ones.
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