Genre: Horror/Action/War
Director: S. Craig Zahler
Writer: Jack Slipter
Cast: Jamie Bell, Boyd Holbrook, Charlie Hunnam, Jon Bernthal, Travis Fimmel, Milo Ventimiglia, Dylan Sprayberry, Dominique McElligott, Stephen Amell, DJ Cotrona
Plot: There are the last jolts of the Second World War, a small patrol of American soldiers is going through a forest somewhere in Germany. The climate is cold and the soldier Salgado (DJ Cotrona) is mocked by the others because he continues to complain before being stopped by the commander Curtis (Jon Bernthal). As they proceeded through the woods the fog seemed to thicken and made the group feel uncomfortable, and the howling of a wolf in the distance could also be heard. Suddenly the soldiers Wyndham (Charlie Hunnam) and Goldstein (Travis Fimmel) attracted the attention of Curtis. A little further on there were two mighty columns at the sides of the path, around which were the vestiges of a wall, now covered with mud and brambles. On the top of one of the two columns was a statue of a vaguely human form, to which, however, the years and the weather had removed any feature. In addition, a flock of crows stood up scaring the soldiers, especially the young Colin Hanigan (Dylan Sprayberry) who quickly ran near Banister (Stephen Amell), a very muscle soldier from Wyoming. The scene made Wyndham laugh and then around the boy making fun of him being stopped by Hadaway (Jamie Bell) while cleaning his glasses. In the group there were also Northrop (Boyd Holbrook) and Nick Costello (Milo Ventimiglia). Hadaway took a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, lit one and handed the rest to Northrop, who turned his back abruptly and walked away to Goldstein and Salgado. Hadaway stared at him for a few seconds, then with a sigh he put the cigarettes back in his pocket and tucked the rifle belt over his shoulder. At this point there is a pre-war flashback in which Hadaway is in a bar with a beer in hand and is writing a letter. At that moment his best friend Brett Northrop enters holding a girl by the hand and giving him the news that Maggie (Dominique McElligott) will soon become his wife. Hanigan congratulates the two and puts the letter he was writing in his pocket.
As the group of the soldiers went on, they realized that the building looked like an old monastery. Wyndham said that this construction was not marked on their map and it was very strange. Commander Curtis, given the late hour and a few drops of rain that was beginning to fall, decided to stop the soldiers in this area. This caused the face of the young Hanigan to whiten while he was holding a chain that he had around his neck in his hands, he began to say that he had a bad feeling and going to another place. Curtis, fed up with the young man's complaints, slapped the young man, who sat down in a corner and whispered, "I hear things, this place is strange ..." At that point Goldstein called the commander, there was a hole with a ladder coming down, perhaps the soldiers would be able to rest indoors. Curtis went down to check for security, along with Goldstein and Hadaway. The three descended insulting the Germans, the environment was rotten but at least it was dry and except for a few mice there was nothing. As Curtis began to down the stairs he told the two men to check everywhere. After a while Hadaway and Goldstein came upon a door. The wooden door that closed it had long since disappeared, and even the hinges that had supported it were now no more than corroded blocks of rust. The soldiers exchanged glances. Hadaway stuck the torch through the gap, illuminating a wide corridor with doors on both sides. In the various doors there were old bones and also some supposed rest of human skull. At the end of the corridor there was a collapsed wall, Goldstein passed it and invited Hadaway to do the same. Goldstein was lighting a soggy wooden door closed by heavy iron bolts. Goldstein opened it thinking there was some old hidden treasure. When the door finally gave way, Goldstein was very disappointed. In the room where there were neither chests nor heaps of gold. In the walls there was a plaster that in some places had fallen leaving the existence of a design below.
In one corner there was a stone oven whose mouth still showed traces of soot. The only object in the room was a cross covered in dust that was in the middle of the floor, in the center of a tombstone with Latin inscriptions. Goldstein immediately grabbed her with an avid look, it was made of gold. He moved the object under the light, making it sparkle. Hadaway wondered why such a precious object had been left there. Goldstein immediately put it in his backpack thinking of earning a lot of money when he returned from the war, even though Hadaway tried to persuade him to leave it there, threatening to report the fact to the captain. Goldstein replied chuckling referring to all of his homosexual tastes and Hadaway fell silent and no longer talked. Goldstein says he understood this from how he behaves with Northrop and could have revealed it to everyone. Hadaway didn't even have the courage to face the consequences of a homosexuality charge. The two went up and informed everyone that it was a safe place. It was now night and the fog had thickened and it was much colder. Curtis ordered Salgado and Hanigan to take the first guard shift. Hanigan still tried to convince the commander to go away, without success and was again scolded. Suddenly Hanigan sat on the floor and began to pray while Salgado put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. Hanigan said it was all a mistake, there was something non-human in the place; he also said that he has a gift but Salgado did not understand what he was talking about and changed the subject. Later they were replaced by Northrop and Hadaway while Salgado went off to pee. Curtis, knowing that Hadaway and Northrop were born in the same town and were close friends, often put them together on guard duty. The two went up silently to the entrance to the basement, and when they were out Northrop resolutely walked away a few steps, then began to peer into the dark. A few minutes passed without either of them saying a word. At this point there is another flashback, the evening before the start of the war. Maggie and Northrop invited Hadaway to dinner. At one point, by mistake, as long as Hadaway goes to the bathroom, Northrop reads the letter that Hadaway had written in the past that revealed his homosexuality and his love for him from an early age. After reading it, Hadaway is angry while Maggie is understanding and tries to calm him down. Upon returning from the bathroom, the man turns white to see that the man he loves holds a letter he should never have read. Then Northrop punches the wall and chases Hanigan away, telling him that he will never have to speak to him again if not for war reasons. Since then Hanigan has tried very discreetly to recover a minimum of friendship, but without success.
During guard duty, Hadaway tried to apologize for the umpteenth time and Northrop left among the trees leaving him alone saying that he had been made fun of for years by making him believe that he was his best friend, when instead he was aiming for something else. Meanwhile the other soldiers noticed the lack of Salgado, some began to insult him thinking he had run away to desert.It was dawn by now, the soldiers climbed out of the hole. The fog was still there and the silence was pretty scary and they started looking for Salgado in the surroundings. Suddenly Costello screamed, he found him on the ground. He vomiting and motioned for Curtis to look behind that bush. There was a human body, unrecognizable, his belly was open from which a pool of blood came out and his face was completely destroyed. Northrop told everyone that parts of that body were missing and many internal organs had disappeared.
In addition, the uniform had signs like claws, some of the soldiers tried to say that maybe it was a big bear. At this point Hanegan slowly approached, stared at the remains of Salgado and made the sign of the cross, then he said slowly, "I warned you. There's something horrible in this place, and if we don't leave right away we'll all end up like this. Curtis frowned at him and told him and Wyndham to dig a pit. The group then marched silently ,No one uttered a word, only small phrases of circumstance. Everyone realized they had the feeling of being observed and followed from afar. After many hours of walking and the feeling that the forest never ended they found themselves at the starting point, in front of the Ancient monastery, the sun was setting. Hadaway looked at the map and the compass, something was wrong. Curtis was angry with him, saying he was an idiot and that he would never hold a compass and a map in his hand again. The soldiers they were preparing to spend another night in the monastery. Nick Costello asked what would happen if that beast returned and Hanigan immediately said that everyone would die, now that that thing tasted blood, nothing would stop it. Many of the soldiers insult him and especially Wyndham, who struck him in the face with an angry fist at the sight of the boy at that sight. The boy staggered and ended up on Hadaway, while Banister and Costello rushed to grab Wyndham by the arms and a brief scuffle broke out, which ended only when Curtis grabbed the first two by the belt and pulled them backwards, sending them to roll on the ground in a severe tone. At the entrance to the dungeon there were crushed brambles and bloodstains, Goldstein said the animal must have holed up there and Wyndham asked permission to go and kill him. Banister joined Wyndham,Northrop also started to join the group, but Hadaway preceded him. Hadaway took up his shotgun, fired his shot into the barrel, and then resolutely approached the ladder. He caught an angry glance at Northtrop, but pretended not to see it. There was a strange atmosphere of shrill cheerfulness, decidedly out of place for the hunt for an animal that had killed one of them tearing it to pieces in the most perfect silence, and which had such strong jaws that it broke a skull with a bite. The three entered and there was blood in every step. Something had been dragged across the room from the staircase to the door that overlooked the ossuary.
Wyndham made a sign of silence and always gesturing he ordered the others to stand behind him and shed light in front of him, then he took up his rifle and started to move forward slowly. From the darkness came a modulated grumble, something like a cat's warning growl, but much deeper and more threatening. Hadaway picked up a grenade, the growl was certainly not a bear. Wyndham took a few steps forward followed by the other two. Another hiss echoed from the darkness, from somewhere else than where the previous one had come from. At this point he heard the growl again, but this time very close and a shape attacked Banister, he cried out and was torn forward, there was a flurry of blood, the rifle fell noisily to the ground. Wyndham had fallen to the ground and his torch was broken, it was very dark now. Again the gurgling hiss and this time a scratching like claws on the stone. Hadaway took Wyndham's arm and ran back and threw a grenade that exploded where the hisses had been heard. Wyndham went up the stairs and then Hadaway is helped to exit by Northrop before the explosion hit him. The two survivors told the others what had happened saying that maybe that thing is dead or at least injured and that it was something unknown. Wyndham was wounded in the arm and was treated by Costello. Sitting on a stone on the edge of the circle of light produced by the torch, his elbows pointed on his knees, Northrop was immersed in tormenting meditations. He had been the first to jump to his feet when the cry was heard, and the first to run down the stairs with a rifle in his hand. And his only thought, though it pained him to admit it, had been Hadaway. He looked up in Hadaway's direction and noticed that he too was staring at him,he hurriedly lowered his eyes. Meanwhile, Goldstein, unseen by the others, made the steps and went down, he wanted to retrieve Banister's watch, a rare piece that was worth many hundreds of dollars and meanwhile he was thinking about how much money he would have earned for selling the previously found gold cross. Suddenly the beast was in front of him, in the last few steps, Goldstein was petrified and realized that his life would end at that moment and he began to say a prayer in Hebrew before he was killed.
Meanwhile the others noticed Goldstein's lack and began to call him despite Hanigan said he was dead and that the unknown beast would kill them all. They pointed their torches down the steps, there was fresh blood. Curtis ordered several grenades to be fired in the basement so as to shed light and then descend and kill everything that moves. Everyone accepted, albeit with little conviction. They entered, compact and close, but there seemed to be nothing, they came to the door where the golden cross was. Along the central corridor parts of bodies were scattered, as if the animal, or what it was, had amused itself by dismembering its prey. The floor was covered with footprints that appeared to be made by clawed feet. Suddenly they heard a threatening hiss behind the collapsed wall. Northrop immediately took aim and sent his illuminating rocket precisely through the breach. Another loud hiss was heard, followed by a gurgling rumble as the light blazed. A shadow danced briefly on the wall and then disappeared. They walked compactly back to the collapsed wall while the threatening hissing had disappeared.
The explosions had dropped other pieces of plaster revealing other writings and a drawing of a goat sitting on a kind of throne. Curtis asked Costello, the only one who knew a little Latin if he recognized those words. He managed to understand the words Chains and prison, in short, to keep someone imprisoned. Costello immersed himself again in the study of the epigraph. "The cross is the weapon, or the cross is a weapon. I don't know, it seems to me a religious phrase. Maybe this is someone's grave". The light produced by the explosions was fading and they decided to get out of there. They heard a hissing growl and Curtis grabbed his gun. But in a moment Costello and Curtis were assaulted and died immediately while the other soldiers witness the scene terrified. In a moment the beast disappears. The four survivors escaped and gathered outside and began to discuss what to do. Northrop walked away unnerved by the situation shortly after Hanigan followed him and just before they started arguing they heard gunshots and swear words from Wyndham. The two rushed in and His target was a kind of big dark shape, indistinct in the smoke of the shots, which startled under the blows it blew and snarled. The gun went flat and silence fell. Wyndham was glad to have hit him all the time but was confused by the lack of the dead body of that beast, Northrop said that this thing cannot be killed with normal weapons. At this point Hadaway said they had to find Goldstein's backpack and told the story of the cross found by Goldstein. He said that perhaps the cross had to be put back in its place. The four looked for the backpack everywhere and were frightened that Goldstein's backpack was probably in the basement. The four went down to the subterranean after having thrown away the last grenades to create light, Hanigan had the task of taking the backpack and the other three were ready to shoot, even if he would have served little. They saw the backpack intact near an open door, Northrop said it looked like a trap. Wyndham said he still had to take the backpack at all costs, even if it was a trap. Hanigan ran the backpack and picked it up until something dark came down from the ceiling and he was almost captured, he ran back while the other soldiers started shooting and the creature ran away into the darkness. The four decided to go back and in the escape Wyndham was captured. A rather frightened trio, the one that eventually came out of the dungeon. They found a corner between two old walls, and they took refuge there and decided to save as much as possible everything that could make light. The three lit the field burner to light up and began to look at the cross and think about how to use it. Northrop took it and discovered that the long arm of the cross was actually a sheath, which hid a long sharp blade. Suddenly Hanigan stood up and said he would put it in her belly. At that moment the three heard the usual hisses and said "He is coming to get us ..". The beast looked on from the darkness. The three soldiers could not see her, but they smelled nauseating, and if they strained their ears they also had the impression of perceiving his hoarse and hissing breath. It was somewhere in darkness, perhaps just a few steps away, ready to catch them and drag them to the depths of the dungeons.
The faint light of the flame from the burner illuminated the three terrified faces. "Whatever happens, we must not separate," murmured Hanegan in a whisper, instinctively squeezing herself against the other two. Hadaway took the torch and pointed it in front of her, the beam of light dug a yellowish fang cloister out of the darkness. A slobbery cloister that opened with threatening slowness, and was very close but disappeared in an instant. The three didn't know what to do. Northrop threw his last grenade to shed some light and for a moment the area was illuminated by a vivid glow the soldiers saw with horror a tall vaguely humanoid, angular, bony and deformed figure that escaped in the darkness. Suddenly two hands wrapped Northrop and carried him into the darkness while Hadaway screamed for the disappearance of the man he loved and urged Hadaway to use the cross. Hadaway took the cross and ran following the noise to reach her and hit her. The creature turned and wounding him in the neck with his long claws and knocked him to the ground near a tree. Hadaway touched his neck feeling the blood coming out cursing the situation until the creature jumped on him. The creature grabbed him with a socket that cut his breath and sank his teeth into his shoulder. They collapsed again on the ground and rolled around each other. The creature was tearing him apart but Hanigan's only thought was to save the man he loved. In the background, meanwhile, Northrop's voice is heard calling his friend. Suddenly Hanigan manages to launch a stab with the cross straight in the middle of the creature's head and everything turns black. Hadaway painstakingly opens his eyes while Northrop is next to him trying to wake him up. Hadaway's face and body are torn and full of blood and he can't even move. Northrop thanks him crying for saving him as long as he tries to buffer the wounds with his clothes as much as possible trying to calm the wounded saying that he would be healed soon. He also apologizes for having treated him badly and that he did so because he was afraid of being judged. With the last forces Hadaway embraces him. Shortly thereafter, Hanigan also arrives, finding Northrop who is crying over Hadaway's dead body. The camera moves away showing the dawn that is rising.
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