The Pyramid (Movie Review)

Rating:

The “1-4-0″: #ThePyramid is a mix between ‘As Above, So Below’ and ‘The Descent’. It’s a juvenile, fun, horror thrill-ride much like the ones you experience at Universal Studios.

The Gist: A group of 5 composed of archeologists, an engineer and documentarians discover an ancient pyramid in the desert near Cairo, Egypt. But once their trusted $3 million rover from NASA is lost deep inside the dark, archaic, labyrinthian pyramid, it’s up to them to rescue it and escape the half human/half jackal creature that is out to eat their hearts.

What Works: This film is pretty straight-forward. The set up is basic and we all know where the film is taking us. The movie develops enough tension to make you fidgety in your seat and even get your heart racing. The acting is subpar, but modest enough to not be distracting and the special effects are decent, much like a 2am 80’s horror schlock.

20th Century Fox did not give the press any advanced screenings, perhaps anticipating we were going to bash it. Yes, film snobs would bash it because it’s not an auteur film and it’s not intellectually stimulating, but darn it, this film was not meant to be praised, it was meant to be laughed with at all the jolts and elementary puzzles it offers. It’s what you could call a guilty pleasure.

What Doesn’t Work: The exposition is a joke, you don’t care about any of the main characters, much less the supporting cast, the production and CGI value are reasonable, but clearly low-budget and the ending is a jip. It’s what you’ll most dislike of this film.

Pay or Nay? Pay. If you judge this movie as a critic, you’ll dislike it because it doesn’t conform to prestige films or the best films in the genre of horror such as The Exorcist. But if you judge as a regular moviegoer with some spending cash to have a dumb-fun ol’ time with a group of people, you’ll laugh and enjoy yourself. This is a communal film experience designed to target those looking for silly fun much like The Mummy ride at Universal Theme Parks.

[youtube id=”jP5QrOR4AIw&list=PLfPBohF1uFwqdkJye6wmvWGSua5Gyg7FF”]