The Tomb: Devil’s Revenge (2019) Review
John Brock (Jason Brooks) is a down-on-his-luck archaeologist who returns from an expedition to the caves of rural Kentucky, after unsuccessfully trying to locate a mysterious relic that his family has sought for generations. Upon his return, John starts to see dream-like visions of a ferocious bird-like creature from ancient folklore.
John soon learns that the cave he came into contact with on his last expedition was indeed the cave that contains the relic, and also a portal to Hell and a place of worship for the occult. John discovers that the only way to stop the increasingly realistic visions is to go back to the cave with his family, find the relic once and for all, and destroy it…
Director Jared Cohn’s THE TOMB: DEVIL’S REVENGE (or DEVIL’S REVENGE as it’s known in other territories) is a shambolic mess from start to finish. So okay, admittedly it did have a moment of sorts towards the film’s start when archaeologist John Brock and his team venture through caves in rural Kentucky, but then I do have a weakness for caves, always have, so perhaps the initial allure that the film had for me was down to that.
Once John proves unsuccessful in locating a relic and returns back to home turf that’s when the film’s real problems kick in. As a B-movie I’d expect B-movie melodramatics and boy! Do we get those, only I’m not actually sure any of it has been put onscreen well enough to make any sense to anyone that wasn’t involved in the film’s production. Take for example John’s visit to an educational facility that’s both strangely empty and, when peopled, has folks that have nothing better to do than just stand and stare at John for no good reason. Two people end up savagely murdered as a result of his time at the facility and this goes largely unnoticed.
As for Shatner’s brief appearance in the film, he rages about the curse that is on his family and berates his son for unleashing it. From where I am, Shatner’s character seems to have done alright, nice farmstead, terrific stables, if that’s what a curse can do for you then sign me up for one right now! Aside from numerous flashbacks, nightmares and visions John’s family seem fine, it’s only John that appears troubled, so this family curse thing proved to be a real hard-sell for me, as was the film itself.
The Tomb: Devil’s Revenge is on digital platforms from 14 September.