Accomplished world-building and visceral effects shine in this ambitious subterranean monster flick set in 1956.
Morrocan Amir lands an unenviable job in a back-breaking coal mine in Northern France. The conditions are as tough as his eclectic workmates, but nothing can prepare him for a bloody encounter with an ancient soul eater.
The first portion of The Deep Dark is a well-crafted period piece with sweeping cinematography, convincing Mise-en-scène, and a rousing score. These elements combine to form an immersive depiction of the mid-1900s mining industry, with its spicy tapestry of multiculturalism, corporate greed, and nonchalant bravery.
As we follow the resourceful Amir down the dank shafts of ‘Devil’s Island’, we experience the 930 metres of blood, sweat, and casual racism through the prism of his wide-eyed will to prosper. Engaging and enlightening, it’s an immersive journey with sensibilities and subtleties way above the expected standards of a gory creature feature.
Amir forms part of a crew tasked with chaperoning a mysterious scientist on a mission to ‘collect samples’ from a section of the mine to be blown open anew. Led by the formidable Roland, played with gruff pragmatism by the excellent Samuel Le Bihan, they are spurred on by the promise of a big fat bonus.
However, when they stumble upon graphic evidence of an ancient civilisation based on sacrifice and slaughter they begin to realise their long-term job prospects are in jeopardy. Desperate for an insurance policy they violate and plunder a tomb, and before they can finish saying, pestilent Lovecraftian antediluvian demi-god with big fucking rippy claws, they become an underground buffet bar of miner mincemeat.
It’s at this point that The Deep Dark shifts away from its more considered tone to morph into a kind of low-key Indiana Jones and the Temple of The Decent, with a simplistic escape room mentality and throbbing horse guts. The nuanced world-building is forsaken for frenetic puzzle-solving and lots of running in circles and shouting in the disappointingly spacious warrens.
Despite the damage to the movie’s infrastructure, the tunnels do not cave in completely. The monster design is quirky and queasy, benefiting greatly from a practical approach. Likewise, the CGI light gore effects are juicy and in some cases deliciously extreme. One scene in particular involving a grotesque method of cross-communication is superbly executed and serves as a dual homage to genre legends Stuart Gordon and Tom Savini.
The film’s retro setting prevents it from becoming too derivative, for instance, the hackneyed encroaching horror revealed in an intermittent torchlight schtick becomes reinvigorated using an old camera flash bulb. However. there is nothing groundbreaking in terms of imaginative set pieces.
With solid production values and a keen eye for detail, The Deep Dark is a well-crafted creature movie imbued with notable care and genre affection. Ultimately though, the film sets up a high-stakes narrative jeopardy that does not ring true. As a result, the ending is a tad trite and underwhelming.
★★★
Glasgow Frightfest / Samuel LeBihan, Amir El Kacem, Jean-Hughes Anglade / Dir: Mathieu Turi / Kinology / 18
