Review by John Delia
One of the better thriller flicks to come from Canada has reached America and it has enough terror and putrid dead bodies for even the most hardened horror fans. It’s called Trench 11 and it has been released on DVD, VOD and Digital HD. Nicely acted, directed and created for the screen, the film gets you engrossed from the very first frame to its sick finale. And I don’t mean sick in a bad way.
It’s WWI Germany and the Axis army has been taking a beating by the Americans at the Argonne Forest in Northern France near the Belgium border. It’s the closest to Germandy the Allied armies have penetrated in the war in Europe. The British have been bringing up the rear and are not fond of America possibly getting to Germany before them. It’s a thorn in their side, especially for most of the officers.
Called into service following a near casualty assignment, “tunneler†Lt. Berton (Rossif Southerland) gets another death defying mission. He’s been called in to take a squad of British and American soldiers 100 feet deep to a bunker built by the Germans. Leading the group is British Intelligence Major Jennings (Ted Atherton). He has been informed that the German scientist Reiner (Robert Stadlober) has been developing chemical and biological weaponry in the bunker. Jennings has been ordered on the reconnaissance mission to gather evidence at the bottom level of the trench and report back.
With Jennings and Berton, British Dr. Priest is to identify what if any chemical and biological agents are being developed. The American military protecting the squad consists of Captain Cooper (Luke Humphrey), Sargeant Pronger (Jeff Strome) and Private Kelly (Adam Hurtig). The mission of getting through the Argonne Forest will be tough enough, but going down a tunnel into hell will be looking death in the eyes.
Putting his audience into tight places in the opening of his film Director Leo Scherman, who also co-wrote Trench 11, makes an attempt to give the movie a claustrophobic feel of what they are about to see. He then adds the possibility of chemical and biological warfare into the mix, then throws in a belligerent Major and a psychotic scientist. Blending it all together he comes up with a very gross and gruesome story that should glue the attention of even the hardnosed followers of the genre to their home screen. Adding a lot of explosive blood, guts and gore the film has a very good set of circumstances for horror seekers.
The acting by the ensemble cast of main characters is very good considering it’s a horror flick where you have to make your audience believe. Being a war film they had to deal with uniforms, various armaments and of course a lot of action and fighting. Here the choreography of the fight scenes works and the actors have the timing down pat making it all look real. Special effects create some very gruesome scenes with a lot of blood and internal organs coming in to play and each of the characters get a chance to feel the goop, splatter and drool.
Choosing an outstanding performance by a single actor becomes a hard task, but I want to single out Robert Stadlober as the evil scientist Reiner. Cool and collected he brags about his great work and how he will be remembered for the extinction of mankind.
Trench 11 has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains bloody violence, language, drug use and a LOT of gory scenes including some wiggly worms that are very disgusting. This is not a film that you want your youngsters seeing, even if they are already horror film fans. If you are meek, have the weakness of throwing up at the sight of blood and actually believe that what you see can be true, then make sure you have a paper bag or a trash can handy.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A horror fan’s delight. (3.5 out of 5 stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Rossif Southerland, Robert Stadlober, Charlie Carrick, Shaun Bensin, Ted Atherton, Luke Humphrey, Jeff Strome, Adam Hurtig, Karine Yanasse
Director: Leo Scherman
Written by: Matthew Booi, Leo Scherman
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains bloody violence, language, drug use
Genre: Drama, War, Thriller, Horror
Running Time: 1 hr. 31 min.
Video Release Date: September 4, 2018
Language: English, German
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.36:1
Subtitles: English SDH or CC
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: RLJE Films
Released in: DVD, VOD, Digital HD