Shocktober 2026 - The Pyramid (2014)
“This pyramid, unlike any other structure I've ever encountered, seems to have been built with the express purpose of keeping whatever is inside from escaping. If you come down here... bring guns.” – Holden
As I’m wandering around, looking at familiar horror themes and tropes in horror films that I think might’ve slipped off the radar, I figured it was time to head down into the catacombs of an ancient Egyptian pyramid with a team of plucky archaeologists out to unravel a mystery (see what I did there?)
In a way, this is a two-in-one. Not only do we get to explore the sinister tomb, but this also is largely (but not exclusively) a found footage film. Two horror staples? Now I’m just spoiling you.
Produced in 2014 on a budget of 6.5 million, it was pretty much dismissed by critics at the time, but it’s a film I have some fondness for. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have some flaws that bug me. But overall, watching this is a good, creepy time.
As the film begins, we join our team as they leave a riot-torn Cairo, Egypt to explore a new discovery 200 miles away. What’s been located via satellite is an unusual three sided pyramid. The pyramids of Giza are all four sided, this one is therefore conspicuous to say the least. (I didn’t know that, but I have to admit I’d never thought about it. Had anyone asked me, I’d have said they ALL have three sides. Possibly just progressing from the triangular shape, possibly because I’m stupid sometimes.)
Our archaeological team are led by Holden (Denis O’Hare), and his daughter Nora (Ashley Hinshaw). Accompanying them are documentary film makers Sunni Marsh (Christa-Marie Nicola) and cameraman Fitzie (James Buckley. Rounding off the team is tech expert Michael Zahir (Amir K.) who has a remote controlled roving camera robot on loan from NASA to assist in the exploration.
They’re under pressure by the military to leave the area, but manage to gain a two hour period of grace so I guess the rest of the movie takes place more or less in real time.
Wasting no time, they send the robot in, to survey the inside of the pyramid which is incidentally buried under a couple of millennia’s worth of sand with only its tip showing – but there’s a handy entrance there. What’s not so handy is that the robot soon goes offline after being evidently attacked by something.
With a few million dollars’ worth of NASA equipment now broken down inside the pyramid, there’s nothing left to do but go in and retrieve it. This is where their day goes south in a hurry.
The party enters the pyramid, and as a safety precaution, Holden attaches a high tensile wire to himself, which anchors him to the outside. Of course, this wire breaks within moments and here’s first issue. At this point, rather than panic and try to guess their way out – why don’t these brilliant academics think of pointing their flashlights and camera lights at the ground and follow their footsteps back where they came from? Theirs would be the only footprints for over 2000 years – certainly the only ones wearing modern boots with treaded soles.
Anybody who has ever seen an Indiana Jones film knows there’ll be traps – right?
Well, there’s a room they find themselves in that has an unstable floor that gives way to a chamber underneath, a boulder is dislodged from above, crushing Zahir’s leg. The now four strong party decide to leave him and continue their search for an exit, promising to come back for him – but as soon as they’re out of sight, they hear his screams. All that’s left of Zahir is his pinned leg under the boulder. Now severed.
In the meantime, Sunni has tried to climb up a narrow vertical tunnel and has been attacked by feral, bald and skeletally thin cats. That’s not their only problem – an Egyptian soldier who comes looking for them is attacked by a much bigger creature.
Pursued by the creatures, Sunni falls into a pit, is impaled on some stakes and is attacked and killed by the Bald Cats of Doom. Now we’re down to three. But soon, it’s two as an unseen creature plunges its hand through Holden’s back and out of his chest, clutching Holden’s heart. Nora and Fitzie try to escape, but they’re trapped and have to retrace their steps.
They find Holden still alive and tied to a large scale. The creature enters the room and we discover it’s Anubis who in this fanciful rejigging of Egyptian mythology, would measure the weight of the heart to determine whether you could enter the afterlife. Holden only dies when Anubis devours his heart.
Reading the hieroglyphs on the wall, Nora discovers that this pyramid was built to imprison the God Anubis and so they again try to escape but Anubis kills Fitzie.
Nora makes her escape climbing up a vertical shaft but as soon as she reaches the next level, Anubis grabs her back down and imprisons her.
Here’s my second problem with the film. I think it should’ve ended right there with Nora being pulled back down the pit. That would’ve been an effective and downbeat ending. What follows adds nothing to the movie.
As Nora is a prisoner, we see several close-up shots of Anubis. Previously, he has wisely been kept to fleeting, shadowy appearances. We have an idea what he looks like, but close-up, with better lighting he’s just an unconvincing CGI effect and all the character’s potency has been lost.
Anyway, she escapes – again and makes it to the cusp of the light, where a child walks in. Anubis is behind her in the dark and…that’s it.
There IS however a sting, showing the now deserted base camp with a monitor showing Holden’s last message on repeat.
Not a bad movie by any means, there are worse ways of spending an evening. In fact, at times, it’s pretty inventive but we could happily end the film four or five minutes earlier and it’s be a meaner, leaner, more jolting ending.
Next time, we go back to the slasher genre, with a body and gender altering difference.
Until then…
Don't forget the Piercing the Veil Shocktober Special at this link.