Film

The Tunnel

Name: The Tunnel
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Released: 2011
Cast: Bel Deliá, Luke Arnold, Andy Rodoreda, James Caitlin, Goran D. Kleut

Other titles called The Tunnel: the 1935 film, the 2013 series (Sky Go), the 2016 film.

A found-footage horror film set in the abandoned train tunnels beneath Sydney. A journalist and her crew descend into darkness chasing a government conspiracy, only to discover something far worse waiting underground. Claustrophobic, visceral, and genuinely unsettling—built on the idea that some stories bite back.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy slow-building urban dread, a stubborn reporter's pursuit of a buried story, and tunnels that feel like a character in their own right.

Skip it if you want a mystery that clicks together neatly by the end, since this one leans on atmosphere and close quarters more than tidy answers.

What it asks of you: Expect a slow, dim build, long stretches in cramped and murky tunnels, and attention to the sound and shadows, since the lighting does much of the talking.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Descent2005

A masterclass in claustrophobic terror. Women trapped underground with something hunting them, escalating dread that never lets go, and practical effects that still horrify. The DNA of tunnel horror done perfectly.

But Relentlessly bleak and gruesome. The third act goes to a place some find exploitative rather than earned, and it doesn't offer easy catharsis.

As Above, So Below2014

Found-footage exploration of the Paris Catacombs with genuine atmosphere and a clever high-concept hook. Builds dread through geography and mystery, then gets deliciously weird. Smart haunted-location filmmaking.

But The logic of its own mythology gets slippery toward the end. Some will find the twist frustrating rather than satisfying.

The Wailing2016

A village investigation spirals into paranoia and cosmic horror. Layered, intelligent, genuinely scary without relying on jump scares. Executed with such craft that ambiguity feels earned rather than evasive.

But Nearly three hours, deliberately paced, and it refuses to confirm what's actually happening. Demands active watching and rewards discussion, not passive consumption.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Tunnel

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch2018

Both are about investigation that traps you deeper rather than freeing you, and both use the medium itself (found-footage vs. interactive cinema) to make you complicit in the descent.

A Black Mirror interactive film where you choose the story's path. A programmer in 1984 begins to suspect his reality is controlled. It's a formal experiment that justifies itself—the format isn't gimmick, it's the point. Brilliant and genuinely unsettling.

But Interactivity can feel frustrating rather than engaging. Some choices feel arbitrary, and replaying to see alternatives breaks the narrative spell.

Noroi: The Curse2005

A found-footage investigation into a supernatural phenomenon that feels like watching something you shouldn't. Japanese horror's gift for slow-burn wrongness, and a final twenty minutes that rewire your entire experience of what came before.

But Deliberately incoherent at times—the footage is fragmented and incomplete, which is the point but feels messy. Subtitled, and requires patience with ambiguity.

Martyrs2008

A French horror film about two women hunting someone from their past. Visually stunning and morally complicated, it treats horror as a tool for examining suffering and belief rather than just scaring you.

But Extremely graphic violence and themes of torture. Not horror entertainment—it's a philosophical argument conducted through suffering, which is not for everyone.

A Tale of Two Sisters2003

A Korean gothic horror about two girls in a decaying house with their stepmother. Gorgeous cinematography, dreamlike logic, and a reveal that recontextualizes everything you've watched. Haunting in the truest sense.

But Slow-burn and deliberately oblique. If you need plot clarity and conventional scares, this will frustrate you.

Quarantine2008

Found-footage Spanish apartment-building outbreak film. Tight, relentless, and genuinely claustrophobic—90 minutes of escalating chaos shot in real locations. Pure visceral filmmaking without pretense.

But The infected are treated as mindless vectors rather than characters, so there's little to think about afterward. It's a ride, not a puzzle.

Host2020

A Zoom séance during lockdown goes catastrophically wrong. Clever use of the medium, genuine scares that land because of what you *don't* see, and it respects your time—70 minutes, no fat.

But The gimmick is the whole film. Once you're past the novelty of Zoom-based horror, the mechanics become transparent.

The Vanishing1988

A Dutch thriller about a man obsessed with finding out what happened to his girlfriend. Methodical, intelligent, and ends with an ending that most filmmakers wouldn't dare. Uncommon in its refusal to comfort you.

But Slow, conversational, and the mystery is less about solving it than accepting the unknowability. If you came for conventional thriller payoff, you won't get it.

Mulholland Drive2001

Both trap their protagonists in a descending spiral where each answer leads to deeper questions, and both suggest the real horror is not finding the truth but realizing truth may not exist in any coherent form.

David Lynch's Hollywood nightmare: a woman with amnesia, a failed actress, and a mystery that eats itself. Gorgeous, seductive, then devastating. It's not horror but it *feels* like a bad dream you can't wake from—the slow realization that something is deeply wrong.

But Willfully obscure and refuses linear sense. If you need resolution and clarity, Lynch will make you furious. It's for people who enjoy confusion as an aesthetic.