The Bunker review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

June, 1944: a group of demoralised, battle-weary German soldiers take shelter at a bunker in the Ardennes Forest. Low on ammunition, they decide to retreat from the advancing American forces through a system of underground tunnels. But there's a problem: these subterranean corridors were built on the site of a medieval plague pit. Which means, naturally, they're rumoured to be haunted.

Opening, somewhat pretentiously, with Nietzsche's famous quote about gazing into the abyss, this British horror film attempts to unsettle through suggestion and inference rather than explicit gore. An admirable intention, for sure, but while the explanation for the men's ghostly visions remains pleasingly ambiguous throughout, any good work is undone by the distractingly motley English accents and the formulaic characterisations (Jason Flemyng's reluctant hero, Andrew Tiernan's pill-popping Nazi, John Carlisle's spooked old-timer). Director Rob Green, meanwhile, proves unable to sustain tension amid all the shouting, running and shooting.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.