The Tombs (2019) by Dan Brownlie

Director: Dan Brownlie

Year: 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Slasher

Plot:

Preparing to open a new exhibit, the cast of an upcoming horror movie set in the location agree to take a promotional trip to help build interest in the event, but when they inadvertently awaken a vicious killer who tries to hunt for a new host body to carry on forces them to get away alive.

Review:

This was a fun if somewhat flawed genre effort. One of the better features of this one is the setup featured here that manages to feel like a lived-in universe that’s being featured here. The use of the initial attraction being set up like the movie adaptation that took place there years ago and taking the cast together for a promotional run-through of the attraction causes a fun way to get this started as it allows the series of secondary storylines to come into play. The setup of the different animosities that take place within the group as a sense of personal jealousy and rivalry set within the cast offers a fun series of quips and comebacks that shine through the series of attempts to take over the spotlight or steal attention from others so their career can be improved is quite fun, and with the difficulty of the attraction crew trying to keep the show running with the distractions and disruptions taking place let the setup here come together quite well.

On top of this, there’s a lot to enjoy with the setting featured with this one and the slasher stylings on display here. The setting of this one, focused on a stellar funhouse attraction that has the usual series of colored lighted rooms, prosthetic props, blood-drenched creations, and made-up actors ready to run out of the darkness to terrorize others in the name of fun. The location here is handled well enough with a layout and series of gags that play on these fears to have a sense of fun involved had the killer not arrived to start taking them out. These are handled just as well with the series of ambushes throughout the location which take a while to set in that it’s not part of the show as the ambush of the workers and other behind-the-scenes crew starts off nicely enough before the main group get ambushed which provides a solid series of indie gore-gags to go along with the great look of the killer for some great factors here.

There are some issues with this that hold it back. Most of the drawbacks here stem from the film’s strange killer which is somewhat grossly mishandled here with several factors present. The fact that there’s a supernatural origin story and method of defeat is fine enough, but it’s mostly ignored for the sake of treating it like a regular humanoid killer capable of shuffling around at the most sluggish of speeds rather than taking advantage of the supposed powers present. As well, that so many of the characters are set up as irritating and unlikable for the sake of making juicy reality TV show content has a bit of a sluggish opening half as a result so a lame killer ends up stalking an annoying group of victims. Alongside the cheap look of this one, these all manage to drag this one down overall.

Overview: ****/5

Incredibly fun but held up by only a few factors, this one comes together quite well overall and generates some fine moments here even with these few issues present. Those who enjoy this kind of indie slasher fare, are curious about it or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while most others out there turned off by these factors should heed caution.