Thursday, April 21, 2011
Edohotep
Comparisons will no doubt be made as The Tunnel nears its international release. There is very little that is actually known about this film’s inspirational sources when considering everything the teaser trailer alludes to. Similarities to other films will no doubt exist, and in an exclusive interview to 28 Days Later Analysis, producer Enzo Tedeschi, tells all.
“We certainly wear our influences on our sleeve on this one,” says Tedeschi, “If we have drawn upon the gothic tale, it's likely through being influenced by these kinds of films than anything else.”
The list includes the Blair Witch Project, Rec and The Descent. And one defining trait is the sense of isolation for many sordid tales of terror in both the literary and theatrical world. For Tedeschi and co-writer Julian Harvey, they do hope that The Tunnel will offer a fresh take to a classic tale. In Australia, all this production team had to do was to explore this country's contemporary historical roots to find bits of inspiration.
“We did a lot of research, and found that this idea of an underground labyrinth beneath a major city is not unique,” says Tedeschi, “In fact it's true of just about every major city we looked into around the world. We thought that would then make for a very universal feeling story, even though we wanted to set it here in Sydney.”
With all this lore about Australia’s mysterious tunnel system, just how does it compare to other well-known haunts like the Edinburgh Vaults or the Catacombs of Paris? In the large city of Sydney, it’s a perfect place to displace a group of investigators than out in the Outback. For the filmmakers, “We thought it would be an interesting challenge to create that isolation in the heart of the most densely populated city in the country,” says Tedeschi.
The beauty in this movie is that the filmmakers are making it with everything they learned about the local government's true plans to recycle the water underground in Sydney. The tunnels beneath Sydney's St. James Train Station were meant to be part of a new rail line but construction was abandoned part way through. Two decades later they were briefly used as an air raid shelter and U.S. General Macarthur's headquarters during the Second World War. But eventually, they were deserted, and as urban myths perpetrated a legend, it became a springboard for a movie idea. And yes, they used actual sets. “Everything was shot on location in Sydney, in various sets of tunnels—train stations, bunkers... You name it. If it's under Sydney we probably took a look at it,” says Tedeschi.
This level of authenticity makes this movie worth investigating. In a news segment produced by TCN-9, there is graffiti warning of trolls, hinting of covens, and a huge gong that does exist there. There's also an underground lake and roots of a giant fig tree that has grown all the way down from the park that’s on top of it. According to Peter Harvey of TCN-9, there’s even another sublet of this ancient tunnel system “where dead men tell no tales.”
More details on The Tunnel at the official website:
The Tunnel Homepage
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Posted in: Enzo Tedeschi,the tunnel
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