Campaign In Aghartha - 2047 - 7/10
Ignoring the briefings of military advisors, a deranged national leader declares war on the Underworld.
Not crime syndicates, not the Yakuza, Triads, Mafia, Bratva, drug cartels, Spectre.
Rather, the Hollow Earth.
Vowing to “secure border security” (sic), the great one orders a division of Spelunk Marines to the polar opening, guarded from time immemorial by descendents of Pangaea.
The narrative (stupidly) lags to permit pointless dalliances between younger Marines and a clutch of haunting Pangaean maidens, who prophesy doom.
Thankfully, a grisly encounter with the first guardian marks the onset of numerous “dooms.”
Blood and bullets ensue, along with unbelievable gore. Entrails and tentacles.
Imaginative (and highly troubling) photography bathe this sequence (NOT for the squeamish).
Observant viewers will notice a gradual softening and darkening of landscapes from this time onward.
The Marines push deeper, confront the even older civilization of Aghartha.
Since none there understand English, soldiers begin shooting.
Not before priests, however, implore the god they worship, the dread lord of R’lyeh.
Military tactics confront annihilation.
Beheadings, dismemberment on a mass scale, incredibly realistic, I might add.
The plot, if one is charitable enough to term it such, becomes incoherent.
Special note must be paid to the sound design, in particular the low frequencies.
Many sequences were all but silent, though the subwoofers throbbed like mad, evoking an almost palpable foreboding.
(In the audio commentary, the director noted the eerie look was achieved using hundreds of hanging paper lanterns.)
