User Reviews

Clastrophobic thriller when things go badly wrong for a mining team, as they excavate a new underground tunnel. No supernatural entities, or deranged killers, just individuals pushed to breaking point, as oxygen,light and space begin to run out as they struggle to survive. Filmed in a very naturalistic style, you find yourself catching your breath, and checking that the exit to the auditorium is still there.

When I first started watching this the photography quality and overall impression was one of "oh no this looks like a BBC docudrama" but my fears were soon quashed as it turns out this is a rather unique and really quite interesting adventure into the realms of human frailty and if you suffer from fear of small spaces I would issue a warning on this film as it presents quite a realistic claustrophobic atmosphere especially in the closing 30 minutes.

It is not a crash, bang, wallop movie with oodles of CGI and action and 5 star actors but it is more of a study of human frailty when confronted by disaster and it does it in quite a more honest way than most movies have in the past and is down and dirty with no frills or spills. I fear most people will find it tedious but give it a chance and watch it to the end and you might just be surprised.

Despair. Madness. Fear. Panic.

These are the feelings that would surface if I were in a similar situation. This story is the kind of thing you read about in the news when workers become trapped underground, with their workplace becoming their tomb. I ask myself: how horrible can the situation become for these people? The answer: pretty damn horrible.

Danish novice writer/director Rasmus Kloster Bro makes his first full length feature film debut, and does pretty good.

Decent story - screenplay could have been a little tighter, the directing/camera work not bad at all for working with confined spaces - especially towards the end. Sound was a little off - could hear more equipment sounds than the dialogue. Length and pacing was perfect, with non-stop suspense in the last three quarters.

A solid 7/10 from me

Before I started watching this movie I had no clue what I was going to watch. At one point, in the beginning, I just thought it was going to be a documentary about drilling. That says enough about the acting, in a good way, it all looked natural and unforced. So to me the acting was good, a positive point in this movie. As for the story it is captivating as are most of the movies with claustrophobic scenes. There aren't much people that would feel anxiety when locked up in that tiny space when danger outside is imminent. Some scenes were just a bit too long though, even though I get it that they wanted to create that desperation feeling. Nevertheless those scenes were sometimes a bit dragged out. For the rest it's entertaining, and you will comment out loud some scenes, like we all do when we imagine ourselves in some distressing situations.

Reviewed just for the pun... but the execution is pretty neat, the movie itself is immersive , the characters backstories are nice, but "Burried" or even "Locke" which master the "huis clos" genre, make this movie quite pale in comparison. It's been said already, it looks like a documentary which I reckon is intentional however the last 15 minutes of the movie are pretty dull even though the ending is interesting.

If you have an hour and a half to spare, watch it, if not just go re-watch Burried and Locke and you'll be happy.

You cant help to dislike the female lead character right away. Even before the disaster. Hollow, hysteric, superficial, unintelligent, unprofessional, selfish. Disaster movies work the best if you actually hope the characters survive.

In the opening scene of Cutterhead, as protagonist Rie rides a construction site elevator deep into the Danish underground, we glimpse the elevator's control panel and its "up" and "down" buttons that some joker has labeled "Heaven" and "Hell" in felt pen, setting the stage for the claustrophobic horror that's to come.

As a copywriter for the Copenhagen metro, she's there to write the kind of breezy PR texts that might excitedly describe the metro as "the largest construction project in the Danish capital in 400 years", and frame having workers of 24 different nationalities as a "great European coming together" (rather than the result of working conditions and pay that no Danish construction worker would accept). Her interviewees aren't playing along, though. "What's the best part of your job?" she asks every worker she approaches, but most give polite non-answers (clearly trying to avoid trouble), if they even speak English. Only Ivo, who's from Croatia and maintains the cutterhead, doesn't hesitate. "The money," he answers, dispelling any romantic notions of a labor of love.

These workers are all here, working a bad job with bad pay and bad working conditions, because they need the money. But why is Rie here? The question lingers throughout the movie. When one character questions if she's even allowed, Ivo explains "She's from the office". In other words, she's Danish. "I have permission to go anywhere", Rie helpfully adds.

Ivo and his colleague Bharan work the cutterhead because it's more dangerous, and hence pays more. Even then, Rie undoubtedly earns more than either of them. The disaster that soon engulfs these three people should erase these differences, but the sense of disparity persists, and it's in these clashes between worlds that Cutterhead becomes more than a disaster movie with a novel setting, and shows real bite with its social critique.

It is quite difficult to know what people actually think, how they will react to certain situations and dangers and what degree of help they will be to others. In this case, it may start off as documentary, but it goes deeper than that (if you'll excuse the pun). And psychology will kick off at some point. Now if you are not impatient (which overall would not help while watching this movie, never mind being in the situation the characters find themselves in), you will find a very tension filled drama.

Our main character is more or less the viewer. Well the common viewer who may not have been underground and asks questions that some of the workers may not understand. If you are claustrophobic though, you may want to stay away from this. It can be quite upsetting ...

The story is of a lady photographer trapped in an accident at underground metro construction and trying hard to survive till last moment from darkness and want of oxygen. Starting is good but middle and last part is boring. No remarkable climax. Also selection of leading lady is totally wrong. She does not have any charming looks rather sometime we don't want to see her. Overall movie seems a documentary rather than a thriller. However filming the movie is in very realistic way. You can feel lack of oxygen in every moment watching you all time. Although it is different and real experience, it is not much recommended because it does not have enough interesting points, then you feel most of time boring. So it is not much recommended.

Possibly fine film,turned borefest ... Such boring movie,after 30 min,just wanted for all of them just die...

Cutterhead (2018)

An industrial accident occurs underground and people are trapped. The fear of death and the fight for survival are realistically based and not portrayed in an over the top fashion, like in many disaster movies. This is probably what would happen in real life. If you are looking for spectacle, seek out any recent catastrophe movie by Dwayne Johnson. This is more low key and in some ways uneventful, yet will still manage to hold your attention throughout. The filming in real locals gives the film a sense of realism and later, dread. 8 out of 10 stars.

Saw this at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2019 (BIFFF for intimates). It is not a Horror or Thriller in the standard sense: no squeaking doors, no jump scares, no suddenly appearing ghosts, none of those clichés. Its tense may be felt nevertheless. We are constantly unsure how this story will end, given the deadly dangers awaiting the threesome we follow underground when disaster strikes.

Nice view on building operations underground, in this case construction works for the Copenhagen Metro. The setup looks like an organized chaos, but that is only the first impression and very unjust. These people know what they do, even when things go terribly wrong. And if all else fails, they can also count on salvage procedures and rescue teams. Panic and hasty decisions are out of the question, as theses are mostly counter productive.

Rie, our resident reporter, however, detests waiting for a rescue team. She wants action, even when it is risky, or when it violates regulations and safety procedures. She also goes against technical knowledge her fellow victims have, just wanting to do "something". She even lies about wanting to pee and needing some privacy, when in fact she prepares herself (out of sight) for an action the others would frown upon had they known her intentions.

Being there for PR purposes only, Rie's presence as a guest may be a nuisance, but she is a perfect vehicle for telling the story and following its developments from nearby. It gives us ample chance to understand why some things are done the way they are done in a working environment that we seldom get to see. As such, the screenplay is a success and seems the best (even the only??) way to sustain the story for one and a half hour, without risking to bore us. It clearly showcases the differences between people in Denmark, with Rie as piece de resistance in this movie, and the underground workers of all sorts of nationalities, who are there as the work pays very well (relative in their own country) and take the disadvantages (far away from family, problems with the language, risky and dirty working conditions) in addition and as inevitable.

Cutterhead (2018) follows a group of people who get trapped in a tunnel boring machine after an accident, with no way to escape. This was a concept that follows a fairly common genre of thriller, but has its own unique twist on it. It was a brilliant and super underrated film which has so much to offer. I couldn't recommend this one enough!

This film had an amazing use of audio, with a prominent lack of score. The audio in the scenes were the pressure was changing was nightmarish and incredibly effective at immersing the audience. Also, throughout most of the movie, emphasis is put on the sound of breathing, and beeping from the machine. This made my stomach churn and I loved it!

The movie felt super real which made for a strange yet interesting watch. The actors were absolutely brilliant and deserve more recognition for their performances in this film. The dialogue was compelling to go alongside this, and the characters were written well with a lot of depth.

Cutterhead (2018) was genuinely very scary and really invoked anxiety in me as a viewer. This is strongly due to how claustrophobic the film is, it was often hard to watch due to how stressful it was. For me, this makes the movie all the more impactful.

This movie was consistently engaging from start to finish and was full of so many shocking twists and turns. The tension was always high and there was nice mix of fast and slow moments. My only criticism would be that the last 20 minutes dragged a little, however the ending was satisfying and really captured the trauma of an experience like this.

Recommended for everyone to watch

Incredibly claustrophobic, smart and thrilling. A must see !

The limitations that space imposes cinematographically are transformed by the director into unexpected opportunities such as the opportunity to explore the psyches of three characters with seemingly different experiences and values. Not content with reducing his three characters' living space to the bare minimum, Rasmus Kloster Bro forces them to take refuge inside their own bodies, huddled in the last glimmer of hope that remains inside them. And so, lost in the depths of themselves, Rie, Ivo and Bharan experience the limits of their humanity, between survival instincts and the grief of potentially fatal implications. Squeezed in a deadly grip.