"The Tank" - Film Review
The Tank is a modern creature feature that harkens back to the days of drive-in movies. The film wastes almost no time getting its characters to the titular tank, which sits on a coastal property that once belonged to Ben’s (Matt Whelan) father, but Ben was unaware of its existence. Ben’s father and sister passed away when he was a kid, and he was told they died in a car accident. In actuality, they drowned on the grounds of the mysterious new house Ben has inherited. Together with his wife (Luciane Buchanan) and daughter (Zara Nausbaum), Ben moves into the house and quickly realizes that he’s inherited a lot more than he bargained for.
What makes The Tank breezily enjoyable is the fact the film makes good on all the promises it tacitly agreed to when it joined the genre of monster movies. Audiences want creaking staircases, growling monsters, and exciting special effects. The film’s central mystery and the ever-building tension make for an intriguing lead-up to the bloody showdown. The appearance of the monster is alluded to as early as the first scene of the movie, but the audience doesn’t get the full visual reveal until the one-hour mark. And this monster is no slouch. Its design comes from Peter Jackson’s legendary VFX studio Wētā Workshop. It’s not the sort of creature you’d like to come across when you’re wading through waist-deep water in a claustrophobic, underground tunnel system.
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Thematically, The Tank focuses on familial sacrifice and the lengths people will go to in order to care for their families. In the case of this movie, history repeats itself. The mystery of Ben’s dad and sister is mirrored in the contemporary storyline of Ben and Jules trying to provide for their daughter. This theme is, of course, amplified once the monster enters the picture and the idea of a sacrifice takes on a more life-or-death meaning. This theme is not hidden deep within layers of metaphors, it’s just below the surface, like the creature(s) wreaking havoc on Ben and Jules.
The Tank knows exactly what it wants to be and that’s more than a lot of films can say. Many become lost in their plots and lose sight of what they’re trying to accomplish. The Tank is an old-school creature flick that’s packed to the gills with monstrous mayhem. It’s a shame audiences won’t get to experience it at the local drive-in.
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