Found footage is hard to do right. At one point, the trope was so oversaturated in horror that audiences often dismissed it outright as ham-fisted and tacked on. In 2014, two archaeology-heavy, found-footage horror movies were released.John Erick Dowdle’sAs Above, So Belowis widely beloved. Inspired byDante Alighieri’sDivine Comedyand actuallyfilmed in the Parisian catacombs,As Above, So Belowfelt fresh and unique. At the same time,Grégory Levasseur’s 2014 debut,The Pyramidwas released to significantly less fanfare. At times tone-deaf to Egypt’s then-current political climate, along with rushed pacing and clunky dialogue,The Pyramidwins no brownie points, but the film is not without merit.The Pyramidpulls no punches with its fun, gory death scenes and has some entertaining twists. An easy, b-movie popcorn watch, don’t writeThe Pyramidoff just yet.
This Kill Scene in ‘The Pyramid’ is Brutal to Watch
The Pyramidfollows a group of American archaeologists tasked with excavating and exploringa three-sided pyramidand its catacombs found buried in the sand. Led by Dr. Miles Holden, played byDenis O’Hare, and accompanied by his daughter, Dr. Nora Holden (Ashley Hinshaw), the team soon finds themselves locked inside the pyramid and hunted by creatures.Off the bat,The Pyramidsets a pretty harrowing tone, with several graphic death scenes stacked on top of each other.Despite how intense and goryThe Pyramidproves capable of being through several wild deaths, none of them hold a candleto the gruesome deathof Dr. Miles Holden.
This Underappreciated Found Footage Horror Gave Us A Raw, Unforgettable Gut-Punch
C’mon, you knew this story couldn’t have a happy ending.
Even if the found footage falls flat,The Pyramidis astute in itsuse of jump scares. While Holden is attempting to focus on a way out, a clawed hand punches its way through his chest cavity to rip his heart out. The claw is so startling, it’s impossible not to jump. The gore feels grounded and genuinely frightening, with the blood spray believably horrific. The killer is the god Anubis, who is rendered in campy CGI to look more like the werewolf fromHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanthan the mythological depictions of a man with a jackal head. And yet,the image of the claw squeezing Holden’s heart is so gnarly, that it’s nauseating.The madness doesn’t end there, though. Even once Anubis has wrenched out Holden’s heart, he doesn’t die. A bit of magic goes into keeping Holden alive long enough to see Anubis weigh his heart. O’Hare plays this scene so brilliantly. Holden is so physically weak that he’s only standing due to the chains he’s kept in. Rather than struggle or fight, O’Hare rolls his head, limp and totally helpless. The audience can’t help but wince for him as he’s forced to watch Anubis devour his own heart.
This Unique Monster Idea Was Also a Missed Opportunity For Character Development
Rather thandepicting the classic mummyasThe Pyramid’s monster, the film uses ancient Egyptian gods. Properly revealed just before Holden has his heart eaten, this twist suggests a rich, mythological underpinning not unlikeAs Above, So Below.The reason behind all the strangeness in this particular pyramid is that the pyramid was built to imprison the god Anubis. Now trapped,Anubis carries out his underworld function of judging souls, only he’s judging the living who wander in.Anubis' judgment of the dead is whatThe Pyramidfinds most inspiration from. After a person had died, it was up to Anubis to weigh their heart. A light heart meant the dead ascended and found peace in their afterlife. A heavy heart was punished.
This fascinating piece of lore adds a real gravity to Dr. Miles Holden’s death scene. Anubis weighs his heart before killing him and only seems to kill him once he finds Holden unworthy. The grim implication that Holden does not deserve a heavenly afterlife is haunting. It also begs the question of what Holden did in life to have a heavy heart. It is difficult to tell if the film had aspired to critique theintrusion of foreign archaeologistsand the long history of theft from sacred burial sites. Modern discussion of archeology often includes conversations about museums, and how many famous artifacts were stolen and are wanted back by their home country. ButThe Pyramiddoes not commit to any political angle, nor does the film even take a stance on relevant topics its own narrative raises. Focusing on Anubis' role as the judge was an inspired decision, butPyramidseems more interested in the momentary shock value of an eaten heart rather than the lingering dread of why that heart was eaten.
The Pyramidis a good movie to watch on a Thursday night with a big bag of popcorn. A fresh take on the Egypto-horror sub-genre, the film doesn’t phone it in with yet another dusty mummy but instead shoots for the stars with a god as the primary antagonist. The gore and death scenes are whereThe Pyramidshines, creating some outlandish and bone-chilling ways to go. And yet, in choosing to use Egyptian iconography, and making this imagery so foundation to the most graphic death scene in the film,The Pyramidunintentionally opens a can of worms it is not equipped for.
The Pyramid
