All reviews of the film “Pyramid” set forth the essence of the plot narrative rather briefly, but succinctly: mysterious Egyptian pyramids, dormant ancient gods, achievements of the scientific and technological process and new exciting archaeological discoveries.
Not horror, but a dream
The creators of the film, screenwriters Nick Simon, Daniel Mirsand and director Gregory Levasser, decided not to experiment much and do not bypass the standards of the modern horror, which deprived their creation of a unique chance to be seen among many similar in the film industry. The sophisticated viewer should not focus on the horror film category declared in the characteristics and annotations, as this is somewhat untrue. "Pyramid" - a film (reviews of professional film critics confirm this), rather like a psychedelic dream of a traveler - exciting and creepy at the same time. In the storyline, there are no frames that are characteristic of this genre saturated with cruelty or sharply scary moments.
Incorrectly distributed timing
When viewing, it creates a lasting impression that the director Gregory Levasser at the very beginning of the Pyramid picture (reviews of the film especially emphasize the next moment), guided by purely personal motives, makes a conscious curtsy aimed at highlighting the political component of the being of modern Egypt. About twenty minutes of timing (from an hour and a half) to the audience, the usual everyday routine from the life of the central characters is demonstrated, which is rather miserable and strongly resembles the action of the low-budget Latin American soap opera. The film "Pyramid" (reviews, reviews, comments are unanimous in opinion) did not benefit from the demonstrated clarifications of the relationships and love twists and turns of the main characters in the person of leading archaeologists. Moreover, the two central characters are each other's father and daughter and, arguing about the pyramid found under the thickness of the sand, they begin to fiercely curse, while demonstrating to the viewer a rather meager vocabulary, indicating limited thinking. This naturally exposes the screenwriters in an unsightly light in front of the watchers.
Plot
The horror film "Pyramid" begins with an extraordinary event in archeology. In Egypt, not far from the world-famous pyramids, another one is suddenly discovered, hitherto hidden under tons of sand. Lucky with the find, American archaeologists, father and daughter, all movements and actions of which are carefully recorded by a group of documentary filmmakers using movie cameras. And here comes the exciting moment - the entrance to the mysterious find has been found, but at this very moment a definitive order arrives - urgently to complete the expedition. It's all about the spontaneous riots in Cairo, which directly threaten the life and health of Americans. Naturally, scientists (reviews of the film "Pyramid" notice this moment) could not obey the order, quit and leave everything without going inside the pyramid. Naturally, for their thirst for knowledge and curiosity, the main characters will have to pay dearly.
Found footage - forever
If you try to look behind the scenes of filming, carefully familiarize yourself with the history of the creation of the Pyramid film, put everything together about the film, said by the creators and critics, it becomes more than clear that the picture strongly resembles the recent “Paris - City of the Dead”. But the "Pyramid" loses to him in some positions - this is the inability to cause horror in the viewer, and the incorrect distribution of timing between the introduction and the action. And in one, and in the second picture, the action unfolds in a closed (closed) space, it is captured in a new-fashioned method - found footage. However, in the aforementioned “Paris ...” this was caused more by production necessity than by the director’s whim. The fact is that the whole process of shooting took place in the famous Paris catacombs, in which it was impossible to use a stationary video camera. But the "Pyramid" (reviews of the film rather cynically indicate the following fact) - the film is economical, so the "presence effect" in it is due to the need to save on everything. At the same time, it is sometimes unclear to the viewer which camera the actors are working on, which “amateur camera” the episode was shot for (who holds it or where it is located).
Simplified Mythology
The fundamental similarity between the works of John Eric Daudle and Gregory Levasser lies in the use of mythology. In the gloomy catacombs of Paris with a minimum of visual effects, all religious references and alchemy could not leave those who looked indifferent. But the reviews of the film "Pyramid" indicate the unfortunate fact that Egyptian mythology , exciting contemporaries, was simplified and reduced to human dimension in the picture. The final part of the film exploits the well-known story of the ancient gods - Anubis and Osiris, but instead of letting mystery and mysticism go, the creators for some reason decide to tell a story about Libra of Truth (those from the Book of the Dead), but in the style of Silent Hill . This story becomes the culmination of the picture.
A certain charm
"Pyramid" - a film (reviews say so frankly) for an amateur. He does not bring any special innovative discoveries to the viewer, the topic is known. There is a certain charm in terms of locations, Egyptian mosaics, bas-reliefs with hieroglyphs-curses. Traditionally, the key to the success of such paintings is bright expensive special effects, highly professional shooting and a famously twisted plot. Unfortunately, in the "Pyramid" all of the above is implemented more than modestly. But all the shortcomings (incomprehensible dialogues, illogical acts, the absence of chilling moments) become insignificant in comparison with the crumpled finale, unpretentious and devoid of all morality and philosophy.
Creative union
Alexander Aza and Gregory Levasser have known each other almost since childhood and are not the first to work in an alliance on the field of cinema horror. But, alas, the horror film "Pyramid" did not become their joint outstanding brainchild, perhaps because they acted as a director and producer, and therefore, of course, had nothing to do with writing the script. You should not expect from the movie piercing revelations of the Maniac level with Elijah Wood. Perhaps if the script were corrected by Gregory and Alexander, and not just trusted in the inexperienced Nick Simon and Daniel Mirsand, then the initial potential of the mystical horror would be realized in its entirety. No matter how sad it may sound, but all the reviews about the film "Pyramid" as one call it walk-through or entertaining at one time. In fairness, it is worth noting that, perhaps, he will interest fans of one of the cast members represented.