The Pyramid (2014/Fox Blu-ray)

Picture: B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C- Film: C+

A mummy movie without the mummy.

There are some things that work in The Pyramid (2014) and things that just don't. A 'found footage' film that occasionally incorporates shots that the characters could not have possibly gotten, including one scene with a blatant overhead shot that is very wide (also the quality of the image doesn't shift between cameras, it all has a very nice Hollywood look to it). Beyond the confusion of that, the film is sort of like The Descent only with an Egyptian twist. Instead of using mummies, this time we get the half man/half dog-like Egyptian God Anubis himself, (and some creepy mutant cat creatures that are pretty vicious) and some surprise deaths, Egyptian history, and characters that you actually feel for at times instead of completely hate. Cheap moments? Sure. But I've seen worse.

The Pyramid has a matinee movie quality that ushers the audience through its journey almost in theme park-like fashion. Things jump out at you and there are creepy corridors to walk and investigate, but ultimately it ends with a terrible rock song that makes you quickly look for the exit.

Directed by Gregory Levasseur, the film stars Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O' Hare, James Buckley, Daniel Amerman, Christa Nicola and Amir K. The film is executive produced by Alexandre Aja who directed The Hills Have Eyes remake.

The ancient wonders of the world have long cursed explorers who've dared to uncover their secrets. But a team of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren't just trapped, they are being hunted.

One of the biggest setbacks the film suffers is bad digital effects. The Anubis character could have easily been a guy in a rubber suit and high end makeup, but they decided to go all digital with him. Panned by critics, I didn't find the film to be as bad as it was made out to be on Rotten Tomatoes but as I mentioned before, it's true effectiveness is probably going to wane on the second viewing.

Presented in 1080p high definition and a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the film looks sharp throughout and features an intense, lossless DTS-HD MA (Maser Audio) 5.1 track that doesn't disappoint and mimics theatrical quality sound. There are also lossy English SDH, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on the disc as well.

Extras include an Alternate Ending (which is better than the one that they ended up using), a Featurette, and an image gallery.

- James Harland Lockhart V

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