An evil secret awaits. It's the Eastern Front, 1944. The Russians are pushing the German Army back through Romania. Major Kurt Fleischer, war-weary commander of an elite troop of German soldiers, is ordered to escort a female scientist into a mysterious forest behind enemy lines to retrieve an ancient relic. As his men begin to disappear in strange circumstances Fleischer realises that the scientist is part of Himmler's occult department and there is something in the forest that is far more deadly than the Russians. I read other reviews on here before I decided to write mine. It was a mind-boggling experience that's for sure!<br/><br/>This story (supposedly inspired by TRUE events) takes its viewers on a journey of desperation… I would say it is loosely based on the fact that Adolph Hitler and some of his minions were obsessed with the supernatural, always looking for that magic something to give them an edge in WWII. In this movie, a Major and his troupe are given orders to escort a doctor to certain coordinates in the middle of a rumored "haunted" forest. I will stop here.<br/><br/>So much was wrong about this film: Nazi soldiers who ALL spoke with British accents. A script that made little to no sense. One Nazi soldier who carries a Native American Tomahawk. Soldiers who are always in their "silly running about, advancing behavior", yet they never go more than a foot. Night scenes that have visible daylight in the background. I believe those involved with this disaster knew how bad it was and felt compelled to throw in some violence just to hold the viewers attention.<br/><br/>The only thing this movie had going for it was Gil Darnell. Boy, is he ever easy on the eyes. Too bad he cannot act his way out of a paper bag! Rated R for violence and language. No go for me on this one. I tried so hard to watch this film as love anything WWII themed but gave up three quarters of the way through. I think there is a glimmer of a good film trying to get out. It let down on the whole by an incoherent story and terrible acting by all concerned. I am no military expert but all the equipment looked accurate and the effects OK (the CGI planes were rubbish) and the battle scenes (they aren't many) quite well done. I love horror films too there have been one or two great movies with WWII and horror combined. However let down by confusing story and but most of all rubbish acting. The story as it is: a group of German soldiers (including some good Germans and some bad Nazis - mostly with English accents) agree to accompany a Professor looking for something (never found out what) in what appears to be a haunted Romanian wood. What ensues is a lot of good v bad German stuff, some ghostly children, people turning to ash and other weird stuff. Most spooky of all was the acting.
Carlygio replied
366 weeks ago