The Pyramid is a simple horror film that I never had high hopes for. Frankly, it was a film I didn't know much about a week before release. After watching a trailer, I thought it was good enough for a ticket. Then again I rarely miss the chance to watch a horror movie in theaters. The end result was a big mistake on my part. While there is a story here, the way it plays out is boring and there aren't any good scares in this film. The jump scare tactic is extreme in this film, which is another awful aspect. The following is my review of The Pyramid.
The film was written by Daniel Meersand and Nick Simon. Both worked on the 2010 thriller, Removal. With Simon having done a recent home video film with Bryan Cranston called Cold Comes the Night. The film follows a team of archaeologists as they search for and accidentally have to go inside a lost pyramid. As they get inside, the events take place that lead to bad happenings. The story is fairly simple, and one that has been molded from other stories like it. I can't say I hate the idea of the story, however the way it was executed by the director just wasn't good. The characters aren't that well written or developed either, but in a film like this, those aspects tend to be left out. Some development is required, but in this film it is more lousy than normal for a film in this genre. The writers deliver a good intended idea for this film, but by the end of the film, it has wrapped into a giant mess.
The film was directed by Grégory Levasseur who has never directed a film before. He did however help write the remake of The Hills Have Eyes back in 2006, and more recently wrote the film Maniac which is also a remake. For his first effort directing, the film doesn't look bad, but there are some found footage elements in this film. While the entire film is not your typical found footage, a great deal of it is, and most films in this sub-genre aren't good at all. As I mentioned above, this film is heavy with the jump scares and loud noise scares, which weren't much different. This aspect of the film hits hard towards the end of the film, and makes it almost unbearable. The acting lead by the most well known of all the actors Denis O'Hare, is typical for a film like this. Nothing great, and generally bad. However, O'Hare delivers a good performance and adds some nice comic relief here and there. The actors generally gel fairly well together, which helps the film in that regard. Overall though, Levasseur delivers a below average film, that is all but a found footage film.
The film was composed by Nima Fakhrara who has recently scored The Signal and The Courier. So, he generally composes direct to home video movies or very low budget films. I cannot honestly say the score in this film is bad. The score starts out dull and nothing special, but as the films picks up towards the end, it adds some nice depth. There are some good pieces of music in this film. While his effort is not perfect, I did generally like the score of this film.
While the entire film is not a waste, there are some good aspects, most viewers won't really enjoy this mess of a film. Hardcore horror genre fans like myself will try and see this film in the theaters if they can, but the general audience should probably stay away from this film, at least until home video.
3/10
