Friday 6 March 2015

The Pyramid rise of the Egyptian gods first blood part II

*** This review may contain dust in your shoe spoilers ***

A documentary crew, Egyptologist with the help of a robot on loan from NASA explore a newly discovered pyramid that holds a deadly secret.

Director GrĂ©gory Levasseur offers traps and tombs reminiscent of The Goonies, The Mummy and Indiana Jones. The found footage angle unavoidably comparable to the Blair Witch and its spored multiple found footage films including the recent similar Day of the Mummy. 

The sets and atmosphere are the stars of the show here with its hieroglyphics, burial chambers, corridors and tunnels. To writers Daniel Meersand and Nick Simon credit they cram at lot into a generic horror touching on the traditional mummy curse, ancient Egypt beliefs, a labyrinth and robot probes, there's lots to enjoy. In contrast to the tension, traps and jump scares the closing act is more horror Minotaur-like myth oriented as the god Anubis, assisted by Egyptian inbred blood thirsty cats pick off the explorers and crew one by one.

The acting is solid, surprisingly typecast James Buckley's Fitzie, the voice of the viewer, is excellent here and is perfectly cast alongside David O'Hare who is on usual fine form as Holden. Levasseur's presents some nicely executed gory effects and plenty of dusty ambiance, the CGI effects are for the most part well done if not put under too much scrutiny.

Lapses in logic aside, the thing that really hampers The Pyramid (or puts its ahead of its time) is the unconventional jarring mix of switching between hand held camera POV to a mix of traditional shots in the later half which takes you out of the action grave robbing The Pyramid of the tension it setup in the first two acts. It feels like it's not sure what style of film it wants to be.

If you're into Egyptology and horror its a blast but as mentioned be prepared for the unorthodox switch in the camera work.

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