The Pyramid (2014)

So much average

The acting in this movie is really good.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This movie instantly reminded me of a board game that I used to play at family parties when I was young. I believe it was named "Escape from King Tut's Pyramid" and your little figure had to find its way out from a pyramid full of death traps, deadly scarabs, malicious sphinxes and rotting mummies. That's pretty much also the plot description for "The Pyramid", although sadly I didn't spot any scarabs or mummies. It has always been my modest opinion that there don't exist enough horror movies dealing with the Ancient Egypt and the creepy Egyptian deities (like Anubis, Ra or Osiris) so I was quite enthusiast to watch "The Pyramid", especially when I read that it was the directorial debut for Gregory Levasseur who also co-wrote a few very decent horror films like "High Tension", "P2" and "Maniac". Unfortunately, "The Pyramid" was already removed from cinemas after only a week in my country, due to abysmal box office results, and I had almost forgotten about it until it got aired on television. The film is partially in "found-footage" filming style and partially in regular third person perspective. I truly dislike found-footage movies, and to mix it with normal camera work is particularly dumb, but apart from that "The Pyramid" isn't at all bad. Perhaps I was in an undemanding mood, but the film is fast-paced and gruesome, and Levasseur tries hard to insert tension & atmosphere. Two archeologists, father and daughter, are followed around by a two-headed TV-crew who are shooting a documentary about their diggings in Egypt. They just made the discovery of the century: a completely unknown three-sized pyramid that has been buried deep beneath the ground for thousands of years and probably homes many valuable treasures and wall-paintings. The group are about to descent into the pyramid when they receive urgent instructions to leave the country, because the Arabian Revolution riots broke out in Cairo and the situation isn't safe for foreigners. They stubbornly refuse to abandon their discovery, naturally, and continue with the exploration of the pyramid. They first send in a hi-tech NASA-developed robot camera, but are forced to enter themselves when all images and radio contact are lost. The plot is of course very implausible and becomes increasingly absurd when approaching the finale, but you simply must accept this in case you want to see at least some gore and spectacle. In the vast majority of found-footage movies, absolutely nothing happens except for hysterical screaming, shaking cameras and extremely vague footage of blurry monsters. I still prefer straightforward horror, even when it's sheer nonsense and too obviously computer-generated. Don't look for logic or intelligence too much, just enjoy the sight of malevolent semi-canine gods, fierce rat/cat creatures, impalements and ripped out hearts.

A group of archaeologists & film makers enter a recently discovered three-sided pyramid, buried in the Egyptian desert, in order to retrieve a $3m robot when they lose communication with it. They find themselves lost & in a deadly fight for survival. James Buckley (The Inbetweeners) provides some light comic relief but overall this found footage style movie is pretty tense, claustrophobic & does have a view effectively horrific moments. It certainly could have been better but personally I found it to be reasonably good.

As other reviewers have mentioned, THE PYRAMID is a found footage horror movie with an interesting premise but poor quality execution. It starts off fairly well, with hints at political background and some good plotting, before descending into the usual gamut of inane screaming and running around in the second half. Literally the whole second half of the movie consists of characters wandering through dark rooms and getting killed one by one; it's predictable and annoying. The lack of good cast members hurts the film too, with the guy from THE INBETWEENERS hardly qualifying as a quality addition to the mix. One of the few good things I can say is that the CGI work isn't too shabby.

You know how sometimes "Reality" shows and "documentary" programs feel not only fake, but outright silly? Well, imagine a Found Footage / Mockumentary film that attempts to mimic these shows instead of actual documentaries. That's exactly how The Pyramid feels.The plot and story are basically the most basic use of the all too familiar template. A group of explorers find "the discovery of the century!", are told to drop the project on account of it being too dangerous, but no, they can't, for the sake of science and all of humanity! Shockingly, things go from bad to worst, and now instead of struggling to have their name attached to the discovery, they struggle to escape with their lives.Another thing one simply can't overlook is the film's inability to decide its own genre. It appears to be Found Footage until the point where it's no longer convenient, so the director decides to cheat. Very unprofessional and annoying, Mr. Grégory Levasseur.The one thing I can say I liked about this film is the antagonist. Its appearance and characteristics are the only thing resembling creativity and an attempt at being original, and even the downright amateur level CGI can't spoil that. Other than that? Low level writing, low level directing, low level film. If you're a fan of this "dangerous archaeology" type of film, you might enjoy this enough to not feel your time had been wasted. In any other case - this one is simply not worth the trouble.