This Found Footage Horror Effectively Borrows From ‘Blair Witch Project’

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• The Tunnel is an overlooked addition to the found footage genre and Australian horror cinema.
• The film effectively combines mockumentary and monster movie elements to create a captivating and terrifying experience.
• The use of the abandoned rail network in Sydney adds an extra layer of eeriness to the film, showcasing Australia’s proficiency in producing potent horror flicks.

2011’s The Tunnel is a wild ride and an arguably overlooked addition to both the found footage genre, and Australian horror cinema in general. And there’s no better time to behold its subterranean chills, given the enormous success of some other Australian-made scary flicks. Talk to Me has generated endless conversation throughout 2023 and deservedly so. A captivating entry in the possession genre, its chilling practical effects are matched by its incisive script, committed performances and masterfully handled scare tactics. It’s also one of an abundance of supremely effective horror flicks to originate from Australia within the last several years. The Tunnel is a fantastic marriage of mockumentary and monster movie that capitalizes heavily on the undiscovered side of Sydney’s abandoned rail network. For ardent horror fans, it’s an absolute must-see and once again showcases Australia’s proficiency at producing potent genre vehicles.

What Is ‘The Tunnel’ About?

What many may not know is that Sydney has a large and renowned rail network. It dutifully services the city and innumerable outer suburbs that stretch from its urban center. However, beneath the reverberating surfaces of the city, lies a labyrinthine network of ghostly pathways. The Tunnel explores the (mostly) abandoned rail network located under Sydney’s well-walked streets. Designed initially as an alternative rail network, before serving as a WWII bunker (complete with amenities), the eerily empty spaces make it the perfect setting for paranormal activity. Director Carlo Ledesma takes an intriguing initial idea and fashions it into something truly impressive and memorable. Made on a budget of $135,000, The Tunnel used a crowdfunding model to reach its target and shot on location, in many of the city’s deserted tunnels. It’s certainly not the first truly effective film of its ilk to thrive off the back of a fairly modest production budget, Paranormal Activity did the same thing just a handful of years prior, with its sequels following suit. And just like those films, there’s a spine-tingling realness to what the audience watches unfold over the course of the movie’s 90-minute runtime.

In the same way that the harrowing cult classic Lake Mungo used the documentary technique to present its chilling story, The Tunnel features retrospective “interviews” with two of the four bedeviled journalists who headed into the depths of the underground tunnel network. They ventured down there to capture whatever may have been responsible for a spate of hushed-up disappearances, originally as an investigative quartet (played by Bel Delia and Andy Rodoreda of survival thriller Black Water, and Steve Davis and Luke Arnold of Black Sails). The fact that only two of the four journalists are being “interviewed” may or may not be a precursor to what’s to come.

Once inside, the posse meanders carefully through the virtually lightless maze of tunnels, documenting everything noteworthy they encounter via strategic piece-to-camera segments. These moments are loaded. The viewer is expecting to see something in the corner of every frame, and when they’re denied a view in the early stages, it only serves to heighten the realism and tension. These early shots at the “lake” effectively set up an air of mystery. Why were plans to use the source as part of a water sustainability program deserted? From there, the film delves into found footage territory and the results are terrifying. Although this is a trope we have seen many times now, the opening with interposed titles suggesting everything onwards is recovered footage adds an extra layer of realism at the time. Delis plays reporter Nat who decides to dig deeper into the case surrounding abandoned governmental plans to use a sublevel reservoir as a water recycling mechanism in order to relieve drought pressures across the state. The reservoir, or what we later discover is a kilometer-long lake, is situated in the tunnels below ground and, after considerable time elapses, the government scraps its plans to use it without any explanation.

Nat assembles a crew of professionals and decides this could be the next big story. With rumors circling that people live in the tunnels and that there may be unreported disappearances occurring in the shadows below, she resists restrictions and decides to enter the darkness via one of the city’s most prominent rail stations. Armed with high-tech cameras and sound recording equipment, the four are hellbent on exposing the hidden truths lying dormant below ground.

While comparisons to pioneering found footage fare like The Blair Witch Project and other highly regarded classics of the subgenre are inevitable, The Tunnel more than creates its own unique identity. More akin to something like the underrated The Atticus Institute of 2012, its marriage of post-event interviews with sequential footage detailing the group’s horrifying ordeal makes for hugely effective, edge-of-seat viewing. Like The Blair WItch Project, The Tunnel pointedly decides to keep its tormentor partially hidden, meaning the viewer has the responsibility of deciphering just what or who the glowing-eyed entity is. Its ending is less opaque than Blair Witch but remains no less thought-provoking. With regular cutaways to recalled accounts of the night’s events by Nat and Steve (Davis), the film firmly engenders a sense of authenticity in the same way Lake Mungo did with its programming-style format. The monstrous being that begins to make its presence known during some of the more frightening experiences caught on tape acts as the manifestation of fear itself.

The Tunnel recalls some plot points from previous, similar films and leans more heavily into these ideas. Fan theories abound that potentially Josh and Mike were playing tricks on Heather in The Blair Witch Project. While this might seem slightly outlandish, it is one of umpteen explanations out there regarding that film’s unclear conclusion. Nat airs during the film that she initially thought she too was simply the subject of a series of elaborate pranks. She apparently sidled up to this idea quite closely for a short period of time after Tangles’ (Luke Arnold) shocking abduction, and this steadfast belief in something tangible again showcases the directions one’s mind can pivot when faced with extraordinary circumstances. Her skepticism that something inexplicable is underfoot quickly dissipates, however, as events promptly escalate. There’s a terrifying sense that these characters are not merely chasing an answer or explanation, but rather inadvertently chasing their own doom in much the same way Blair Witch‘s ill-fated trio were, or even how Donald Sutherland‘s John Baxter in the nightmarish classic Don’t Look Now was ultimately hounding creepy harbingers of his own demise.

‘The Tunnel’ Is Able to Scare You While Showing Little

The Tunnel is layered, but first and foremost, an affecting entry in the horror genre. The first half hour is an exercise in expertly modulated tension. Its introduction to the main characters and their primary motivations prior to entering the titular domain set the viewer up for an unforgettable ride. There is effectively employed foreshadowing in keeping with the film’s stylistic direction, as several early interviewees avert certain questions and refuse to provide straight-up answers as to what the nature of the threat might be. It certainly fosters an atmosphere of dread as the investigative team, in spite of the significant personal cost, goes about producing their exposé. The ominous overall mood is perfectly contrasted with the happy-go-lucky chutzpah of Steve, Pete (Rodoreda), and Tangles, who simply agree to accompany Nat to the tunnels as it is their job, opting to invest complete trust in the latter.

It’s when the group comes across an antiquated artifact that the first substantial scare arrives. It’s a historical bell used to foretell danger during the times of WWII and it oddly still occupies a disused room within one of the tunnels. The off-screen disappearance of Tangles when the bell tolls will invoke shivers, and when one of the circumspect rail guards (apparently hiding something of his own) heads down to the tunnels to investigate the commotion is promptly snatched by something hurtling across the screen, the effect is shocking. Its series of creepy sequences will put it on par with many other horrors. A flash of the entity’s physicality is briefly revealed in a singular frame earlier on when the camera is moved by an unseen force and — like some of the imagery in Sinister — it’s the stuff of nightmares.

While The Tunnel deserves plaudits on many levels, including its commitment to a unique storytelling style, the performances of its cast, the deftly interwoven scares, and thematic depth, it is, resoundingly, a supremely effective horror outing. Combining elements of documentary style, found footage, and creature feature, The Tunnel is one of the most underrated, chilling exemplars of the genre of the 2010s, and deserves a place in the pantheon of all-time great Australian horror flicks.

The Tunnel is available to stream in the U.S. on Tubi.

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