The Bunker Game

I remember back in the summer of 1998, when my high school friend Jonas ( who i especially had a very wild drunk Swedish Midsummer party with and some female friends of his, where i puked down a whole kitchen table ) invited me for the first time to his home. He had a big family, and as we were sitting down having dinner, one of his brothers named Stefan told me that he was into roleplaying. He had a group of friends that would see each other on weekends, dressed up as different characters from Dungeons & Dragons. He told me how they made every costume on their own, and even made the weapons as well. They could not make swords, so they made their weapons out from wood that they found in the forest. I remember that Stefan invited me to visit them one weekend, as they were preparing to get together for another roleplay. I thanked him for the invitation, but it just was not my thing. So i did what i usually do on the weekends, i went down to Videomix the VHS store, to hang out with employee Pierre and his boss Micke instead. Speaking of roleplay, what i understand this is very popular worldwide, that people love to become another character. Just to be able to become someone else for a moment and leave your problems behind, and actually have fun. When i come to think about it, i can imagine that it would be a positive thing to do if you need a break from reality. Why not enjoy yourself in a different world, where anything is possible? Of course you have to be able to come back to reality as well, and not stay as the character you choose, or it might become a problem. There is actually a quite funny film that takes on the roleplay subject in a film called Knights Of Badassdom. This film is a mixture of action, comedy and adventure as well, with some really funny characters. If you want to see how crazy things can get with people who love roleplay, you should definetely check this film out from director Joe Lynch ( director of the Netflix film Point Blank, also worth checking out ). Not that long ago, i discovered a film on VOD that looked interesting under the title The Bunker Game. I love horror films that takes place in a bunker, so i just had to check this film out. Is this one of the horror films you should see this summer, or is The Bunker Game even worse than i ever would have imagined?

A big group of people are playing a live action role play game, inside an old war bunker. When a couple of mysterious accidents happen, and people are ready to leave to the outside world, a few of them decides to stay to investigate what have happened to the mastermind of this game, known as Greg ( Lorenzo Richelmy ) who have simply disappeared.

Before i watched The Bunker Game, i did not see any trailer or read about the plot, since i wanted to go into this film and know as little as possible. And i am glad that i did, because that makes you more surprised over the direction that the plot takes you. In the beginning it may look like we are in a bunker with nazis who are trying to make the perfect human race, but it turns out that this is just a roleplay. So when the plot turns around and show us some of the real characters, i actually think that this film manage to switch the plot in a effective way, without hurting the story. Let us talk about what i especially enjoy about this film. The bunker itself looks really good, with wide spaces and realistic arranged rooms, made for living underground. The costume design also looks good, especially when you see the dressed up nazi general preparing an execution. I also think that the film manage to capture the lifestyle of roleplay, how you can become someone else for a moment, and leave your real personality for a while. The actors actually manage to show us that they tried to act out two different characters, and that is of course not easy to do. But i have to say for the most part, the cast manage to do that in a surprising way. I really enjoy the mystery surrounding this bunker, especially when some of the characters are locked inside the bunker. You get the feeling that there is a secret that will be revealed, and as the film goes on i feel that the psychological tension manage to stay through out the film. Actress Gaia Weiss ( who some of you might recognize from the very popular TV series Vikings, playing the character known as Porunn ) is without a doubt one of the most interesting characters in The Bunker Game, as the character Laura. Her screen presence matches so well with the two different characters, and you can tell that she must have had fun doing this performance. Anything negative to say? If i wanted to complain i could just look for smaller details, but why bother when i actually enjoyed this film? The Bunker Game may not be perfect, and i am absolutely fine with that. I just feel that this is a film that manage to combine roleplay and horror, in a surprising positive way. Director Roberto Zazzara have directed several short films, and documentary films as well. The Bunker Game is the first film i have seen him direct so far, and i am actually quite impressed how he managed to make this film work. Not only does the film look good, but the plot is quite different from most horror films. If you are looking for a horror film that tries something different, and does not follow the same pattern as a lot of horror films does these days, you might find this film interesting. I would definetely recommend you to check out The Bunker Game this summer on VOD. If the film gets a DVD or Blu Ray release i will definetely pick it up, after all, who does not love bunker horror films? 

Rating: DDD