Pyramid Scheme: (from left) Nora (Ashley Hinshaw), Sunni (Christa Nicola), Holden (Dennis O’Hare) and Zahir (Amir Kayab) make up the team of archeologists in “The Pyramid.”
By Eddie King
Staff Writer
The film “The Pyramid” is yet another example of a promising and intriguing premise that fails to live up to its expectations. While the fictional pyramid the film is set around is supposedly cursed, it feels as if it is the film that is actually cursed, as it is plagued by a poorly followed plot, underdeveloped characters and cheap scares.
The film is shot in a homemade documentary style as archaeologists Miles Holden (Dennis O’Hare) and his daughter Nora (Ashley Hinshaw) uncover the “find of the century:” a three-sided pyramid thousands of years older than any monument discovered before.
Because of political rioting in Cairo at the time of the discovery, the government forces the dig teams and archaeologists to leave the site early.
However, the Holdens, along with film crew, launch a $3 million rover into the pyramid for a quick look before they are forced to return home. The rover is attacked by an unknown being, and the crew must enter the pyramid to retrieve it. As they push into the pyramid, they realize they are trapped and must find their way out before a mythical beast kills them.
Unfortunately, many of the characters are underdeveloped and only serve as plot devices with little other significance. For example, the character Corporal Shadid, a soldier who goes looking for the expedition team, serves no purpose besides connecting the team to a new escape route. In a film relying on relatively few characters, the development of Shadid’s character would have given the film much-needed substance, but most characters are left disappointingly unexplored.
Additionally, some of the characters become a nuisance to have around, either because of their annoying personalities or their moronic behavior that always causes the group to get into trouble. The reporter Sunni exemplifies this exactly, as her mindless plans and inexplicable behavior frustratingly cause the group more and more unnecessary conflict.
“The Pyramid” also relies far too heavily on jump scares that are frightening in the moment but have no lasting psychological impact. This makes the film less frightening than it should be due to the predictable and repetitive nature of the scares.
“The Pyramid” quite simply disappoints, failing to have a single positive aspect. It is a mess of weak characters and repetitive horror that is in no way worth seeing.
“The Pyramid” is rated R and is now playing in theaters nationwide.
Leave a Reply