Bunker 6 (2013) Online

Bunker 6 is a brilliant Canadian low-budget (about £70,000) movie set in an alternate future. Shot in an actual nuclear fallout shelter in Nova Scotia, it tells the story of a small group of people living below ground after a nuclear strike in 1962 (the year of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the cold war threatened to go hot). Although billed as science fiction, in many ways it is closer to a Gothic horror where the nuclear bunker substitutes for the country house.

The central character is Grace, who – in 1962 – is still a young girl living with her parents. Her father is a senior military figure, so when the bomb goes off they are all piling into the shelter. However, Grace's parents get caught in the blast before they can get through the entrance door. Several years later, Grace survives below ground with two men and two women, led by ruthless young Alice. Communications with the outside world and other bunkers have been lost. However, no one can leave until the red light above the strong metal door turns green. Grace regularly monitors the colour of this light. She also has engineering responsibilities, ensuring the the power keeps running in their subterranean prison.

But the problems of engineering are nothing compared to the challenge of simply staying sane, and we learn that an earlier inhabitant went crazy, killing his wife and then himself. Then, when one of their number is found dead the struggle for survival becomes even more intense. Should they remain in the bunker or should they risk going back into the outside world? However, if the external environment is still deadly then opening the blast doors will kill all of them, and so Alice will not allow anybody to leave.

There are assured performances from all concerned, especially Andrea Lee Norwood. I thought the initial set-up – Grace as a child and the beginning of war – was a little rushed, but beyond this Greg Jackson's script and direction builds the tension effectively. The use of a real nuclear bunker gives the whole thing a genuinely claustrophobic atmosphere.

I was entranced by this film, viewing it at the Hal-Con 2013 convention. While I am a fan of post-apocalyptic games and movies, I generally do not have high hopes for Canadian made films based on what I've seen in the past. Sure, they have good scenes, good parts, and a gimmick or two. Rarely all at once.

That said, this film felt more like an X-Files episode would. A good tempo, good immersion, and actors I can believe in. You don't have to over think it, you can just enjoy it. While the film on the outside may appear to be stock full of gore and violence, it really is smart with the Nova Scotia location.

If you've had your fill of gizmos, gadgets, and guns in sci-fi, give Bunker 6 a whirl. It's worth it.

What a strange film this is.

Are we in post insanity where Grace has been living alone for a long time after everyone died, I suppose of having been murdered by her?

Nothing is clear in this apocalyptic film. At times we can believe she is having flashbacks of what happened in the past to wake up in her reality that everything in the bunker is collapsing.

One moment she tries to contact the outside world then later on the communication room is in pieces with wires hanging here and there in a way to show that the bunker is degrading.

Again, nothing is clear to how insane she has become. Seems that two worlds are colliding in the bunker. The past which seems to have been livable and then a shift to what in the world is going on in the bunker!

When the green light finally turns on, she puts a key and is taken outside the bunker with some snow left to represent the nuclear winter coming to an end. Yet, the trees in the background have grown relatively fast. Especially after a nuclear bomb has detonated. How far from the bunker did it happen?

Was she inside the bunker for too long a time that led her to insanity? I would imagine yes because of the trees. In addition could there have been a defect with the light?

I'd like to see a sequel to this somehow good Canadian Sci-Filow budget film.

I liked the movie and give it a 7/10.

I watched this because it was rated 3 stars. I'm now thinking that the people that make these movies are the ones giving it the star rating.

It's really not a great show. Don't get me wrong, it's not like it's the worst show ever but it's your standard psychological thriller without any thrills at all.

The actors did a good job, the set itself is OK - it's the story that really sucks. It's also pretty derivative and you can probably guess the ending shortly after it starts...

What I really disliked was that almost all of the characters were truly rotten people. The kind you certainly wouldn't want to be in a bunker with.

I kept waiting for some kind of ending to make it all worthwhile, some redeeming feature - but none was to be had.

In the end, I started fast-forwarding to get to the end. I personally think the other reviews on this show have a vested interest. Fake news in other words.