The Bunker (2001) – The survivors of a German unit in WWII take refuge in a skeleton-crewed bunker, which has an opening at the other end to mysterious tunnels…
The problem is that this is a British production. Like, very very British. The “Germans” don’t just speak with an English accent, they say things like “bloody” this’n’that and “What’s that, then?” For the first ten minutes, I assumed that I was watching an English unit that had stolen Nazi uniforms behind enemy lines.
There’s creepiness, and various gradations of Naziness are exhibited (with the gung-ho Nazi going absolute insane, naturally), but there’s not as much resolution as I would have liked to see.
Samurai From Nowhere (Dojo Yaburi) (1964) – A samurai absconded with and married a young noblewoman who didn’t want to become the lord’s mistress; now the two of them are stuck in a semi-neutral domain, waiting in poverty (and living apart) while he tries to come up with enough money to buy a travel pass into safety. Meanwhile, spies from the jilted lord are always watching. (Good thing no one has photos of the fugitives!)
There should always be a “Oh, this is a foreign culture moment,” and this movie has one:
The lord of the semi-neutral territory sees the samurai (ronin, now) disarm a bunch of rabble-rousers without killing them and likes the cut of his jib. The lord knows that the ronin and his lady are hiding out under assumed names, having absconded from another domain, and none of that bothers him; he hires the ronin to be his personal bodyguard. But then he finds out that — gasp — while in exile, the ronin participated in a swordplay tournament! For money! This is beyond the pale, and the offer of employment is rescinded!
Fido (2006) – Yeah, I know. What can I say? Long ago, I largely burned out on “novel new takes” on the zombie apocalypse, and I’m only just now dabbling in them again. I haven’t seen Warm Bodies or Aaah! Zombies!! yet, either. Deal.
Abandoned Movies:
The Arti: The Adventure Begins (2015) – Sorry, ain’t gonna watch an entire movie of stiff rod puppets with static faces.
Ju-Rei: The Uncanny (2004) – Shot-on-video, starting out with schoolgirls doing a choreographed dance in an alley? I thought I had stumbled into my daughter’s YouTube collection of K-pop videos.