Horror Movie Review: The Tank (2023)

What The Tank lacks in originality, it makes up for in tone. Writer and director Scott Walker has worked hard to deliver something with atmosphere, all while staying true to the core (often lazy) elements of a monster movie.

Set in 1978, Ben (Matt Whelan) and his wife, Jules (Luciane Buchanan) run a pet store and are struggling financially. One day, they are visited by a lawyer who has been sifting through his late mother’s belongings and has come across a deed for a costal property in Hobbit’s Bay, Oregon. A property that Ben knows nothing about, and appears to have been left to her by his father.

A father who died when he was very young, alongside his sister, in a car accident. Or so Ben has been led to believe. Finding out that they actually drowned in the bay. Why did his mother lie to him? That’s what Ben wants to know, so he, Jules and their young daughter, head off to the property to evaluate what they have. Finding a ramshackle place that is barely liveable, but one that holds many secrets. Including an underground water tank that might be connected to some caves down by the bay.

From this point on, it’s all wholly unoriginal stuff with predictable beat after predictable beat, sometimes to the point of frustration. You know how it goes… newspaper clippings, diary entries, a curious child, locked doors, and something stalking around the house at night. It’s all extremely familiar, and not much fun. Except, a lot of effort has been put into making The Tank look and feel like more. It’s a very atmospheric looking film, with just enough elements left out of shot to allow your mind to wander. Something that helps lift it out of the doldrums of its story.

It takes its time, but when things do ramp up, its effective enough to hold the attention.

Alongside that, we do have a decent set of characters. With the main players having plenty of time to breathe and make us care. Whereas some secondary characters are clearly just there to die, they do that with some gusto. Even if it’s not the bloodiest or goriest of movies.

The entire cast do well, even with some ropey lines here and there, and while the film doesn’t have much in the way of scares (aside from the odd jump), the monsters (yes, there are multiple) look good, thanks to the use of practical effects. If you can look past its total lack of originality, and you should, you’ll find The Tank to be an enjoyable enough modern-day creature feature.