War is Hell; it’s a commonality shared among those who served in the armed forces and those who haven’t. In barely a century, war went from something to be celebrated, a rite of passage almost for men of age to fight for their homeland, into something barbaric and terrifying, and something only done as an absolute necessity. Part of the reason public discourse tends to skew negatively toward war is a direct result of the Great War: the war to end all wars that ultimately failed to live up to its idealistic namesake. A clash of rapidly evolving technologies with inversely adequate tactics resulted in countless deaths, untold mental scarring, and a dissolution of the previously grandiose image of war most people had become accustomed to.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
The horror genre tends to skew away from war as a setting, often using it as a background for something more fantastical or as a secondary element in a larger story. The upcoming film Bunker, however, aims to use the Great War as a setting for something a little more introspective. What is Bunker, what does it do differently, and why is war-themed horror so rare to begin with?
What is Bunker?
Blue Fox Entertainment
Bunker is an upcoming horror film that takes place during World War I, wherein a squad of Allied soldiers find themselves confronting a malevolent force, and each other, as they’re trapped inside an abandoned bunker. It’s a similar setup to recent films like The Lighthouse and the upcoming thriller Inside, as forced isolation is a great way to tease out paranoia and fear among those it affects. It’s currently set to release in early 2023.
It’s a film where the setting of the Great War is a major component of the story. Typically, in most war stories, war is typically the backdrop for a more human story, be it one of companionship, loss, or growth. Horror is typically present in some fashion due to the nature of the setting. For example, Saving Private Ryan has a handful of terrifying scenes, whether it’s the iconic image of a soldier clutching his severed arm in confusion, or Mellish being slowly stabbed to death by a German soldier. These scenes make the film more impactful, driving home the brutality of the conflict and the loss of innocence, but they’re not explicitly the focus of the movie.
Bunker Takes A Different Approach
Bunker is an exciting horror film because of what it entails. We have a typical isolation scenario in which a group slowly start to turn on each other, but compounding that exponential anxiety is the looming threat of being on a battlefield.
A combat zone in the Great War was the closest thing to Hell on Earth you could imagine. Greenery reduced to ash and dust through hourly artillery strikes and the constant stomping of boots as men rush out from the trenches. The screams and wheezes of the sick and dying spread out along the walls of the trenches and inside what little shelter was available, as rats scuttle along the drenched flooring and maggots infest the dwindling rations. Nary a moment of silence is to be had between Earth-shaking explosions, ear-piercing tinnitus, and orders to either run into or flee from a hailstorm of machine gun fire, all while your vision is obscured through piled bodies, brass casings, and miles of barbed wire.
As over-the-top as it sounds, it was a reality for the men on the western front, and should they have lived through the ordeal, the memories of what they endured would’ve stayed with them until the end of their days. Bunker looks like it’ll focus more on this psychological aspect of the conflict, foregoing the real threat of bombardment for a perceived one amplified by hunger, resentment, and overall anxiety. This, combined with recorded events of higher-ranking officials outright executing those who refused to follow orders, creates a tense and almost true-to-life replication of what these soldiers might’ve felt at the time.
Bunker Includes Different Aspects of War
None of this is to disparage films like Frankenstein’s Army, Overlord, or even Trench 17. They know what they are: films that take existing concepts and twist them into something much more fantastical and fun. Monstrous war machines, Nazi Zombies, and mind-controlling parasites are inherently fun concepts, and they’re just wacky enough to unsettle viewers while still remaining faintly grounded in reality.
But it’s the realistic threats and anxieties that Bunker looks to portray that make it so exciting. To capture the insanity and fear that soldiers in the trenches most certainly have gone through and stitch it into a narrative is a tremendous step forward for war-themed horror. Should Bunker be successful, it’s possible that we’ll see more filmmakers tackle the psychological aspects of warfare instead of simply throwing fantasy elements into it.
For example, did you know that methamphetamine was a commonly used drug during World War II? The purpose of doing so was to reduce fatigue and boost endurance, allowing soldiers to fight for longer periods of time. Its frequent use and pervasiveness stuck around long after the war concluded, likely leaving the living soldiers who utilized the drug feeling the aftereffects of addiction. Wouldn’t that be interesting to see in a film?
Bunker aims to tackle an under-represented aspect of not just the Great War, but of war in general: the isolation, the fear of impending death, and escalating tensions between your fellow men in uniform in an impossible situation. The horror genre is perfect for this powder keg of high emotion, hopefully equating to a tense and terrifying film that’s hitting the public sometime this year.
