I've heard pretty much nothing but bad things about this movie amongst the horror geek circles I frequent. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it is because it isn't really a horror movie. I'm not sure what to call it...maybe a thriller. A wise man once said "labels are for soup cans and only losers eat soup" so I will just say that it is a pretty good little movie and leave it at that.
The story is about a group of rich kids who all attend the same prestigious boarding school. They have a big field trip coming up and none of them really want to go. They work out a deal with the local outsider genius computer geek and he shows them a hidden, underground bomb shelter not far from the school campus. It has a power source and running water and more importantly has absolutely no adult supervision. It seems like a great place to spend the three day weekend partying and doing whatever it is that young people do nowadays.
The geek sorta throws a wrench into their plans when he adds a member to the party. It seems his best, and only, friend has a crush on one of the boys. Despite that fact that the geek is obviously in love with her he gives her what she wants...a weekend to seduce the young stud. I mean it is a dirty old bomb shelter. She is bound to at least look decent compared to their surroundings.
The all have a blast and the three days pass but nobody comes to open the hatch. They assume it is just the geek making them sweat a little but as time goes on it becomes clear something has gone horribly wrong. They have some food but not enough for four people to live on for very long. Basically, they are fucked.
Most of the movie consists of flashbacks of the events as told by a couple of different people. The accounts are very different and as more pieces of the puzzle fall into place it becomes clear that there was a lot more to it than we are initially led to believe and there is some bad shit afoot.
I really like this kind of story. The whole "group of people trapped somewhere scrabbling for survival like rats" thing just does it for me. The acting is pretty top notch as well. Thora Birch and Keira Knightley are the two female leads and they both do good jobs. I see why people are so crazy over Keira Knightley now. It also has Desmond Harrington as the hot young stud. I recognized him as the guy from Wrong Turn and I really like him. He has a great look about him and I hope he makes more movies like this.
This movie probably isn't going to change your life. It isn't supposed to. It is just meant to be entertaining and it is...very much so. You could do a lot worse. Trust me. I know. -badfish |
