Anthology movies seem to have become increasingly popular in the past few years. The Pyramid is an Italian horror movie, and one that deals with some pretty dark subject matter. There are four stories in all, each one progressing the story of the pyramid and the darkness it spreads further.
The movie opens with a hooded figure creating the pyramid. This sets the tone of the movie perfectly. The camera fades in and out of a place filled with chains, while the lone figure crafts the demonic device. The slow fades, darkness and tense feeling the opening creates does an excellent job of drawing the viewer in.
The first story, which is called The Ritual, tells the story of a man who happens to see the pyramid for sale in a shop. The object instantly catches his eye, and he pays a great sum for it. The pyramid has a very strange effect on the man, and while at first it came across as comedic, it drifted into the horrific with some grotesque FX that will have the viewer squirming in their seat. The music really reminded me of Goblin, as it is chaotic, and accompanied the scenes of horror with great effect. At it's core, it is a possession story, and the ending is nightmarish and disturbing.
The second story is called Dream Door, and is set around a young girl and her boyfriend. The girl came across the pyramid in the room the where the man was staying in the previous story. She takes it from the room and takes it back to her house where her boyfriend is drawing comics. This movie uses a technique that makes the viewer think what they are seeing is really happening, when it is in fact nothing more than a hallucination. This is another incredibly dark story, and one that buries deep into the viewers subconscious. It also manages to build tension incredibly well making this another solid segment.
The third story, Pestilence, is an incredibly fast moving story with lots of action. I found this segment to be reminiscent of Demons, or 28 Days Later, in that it involves infected humans who feast on the flesh of the living, and who also have a tendency to run after their prey. This story shows the spread of the pestilence that the pyramid gives off, and in that respect, it is similar to John Carpenter's classic Prince of Darkness. The camera work on this story is mostly hand held, and adds a much more tense feeling while keeping the action flowing.
Apocalypse is the forth story, and finishes the movie on a high note. The story follows two brothers on a quest to destroy the pyramid, which we discover is a key for the birth of someone rather unsavory. Gore is used to great effect in this story, and even though I did feel it ended a little too quickly, it was a fitting end to a great movie.
This movie could very well be the birth of a new era for Italian horror. It touches many sub genres and uses them to great effect, all the while blasting the viewer with grotesque images and incredibly loud and jarring noises. The movie has a very Italian feel to it, and that makes it all the more heartwarming.
If you are a fan of supernatural shockers, spaghetti horror movies or anthology movies, then you must see The Pyramid when it is released, because it really does resurrect everything and more we all loved about Italian horror, and brings it right up to date through a series of uncompromising and shocking segments that really are well put together, tense and frightening.
Darkest regards......Dani.
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