The Bunker

Green's first feature is an assured, atmospheric slice of psychological horror about the remnants of a platoon of German soldiers trapped in a bunker near the Belgian border at the end of the WWII. Despair, disenchantment, delirium and fear add to the usual tensions between men of diverse character, rank and background forced by the advancing Allies into claustrophobic proximity with one another. But then rumours about a tunnel raise hopes of escape. In some regards it's a strangely old-fashioned film (far from a bad thing!), acted with assurance and building tension through suggestion, pacing and mise-en-scène. At times, Clive Dawson's script gets a little cluttered and loses focus, but anyone who recalls Michael Mann's The Keep or even Val Lewton's Isle of the Dead with affection is likely to be impressed.