Want personalized picks that fit your family?
Set preferences to see our top age-appropriate picks for your kids.
The Pyramid
Common Sense says
- R
- 2014
- 89 minutes
Parents say
Kids say
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Get it now on
Searching for streaming and purchasing options ...
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that The Pyramid is a found-footage monster horror film that's similar to (but not nearly as good as) As Above/So Below. Expect a lot of blood and gore and scary monster violence. Guns are briefly fired, and, near the end, a boy is in danger. Language is fairly strong, with several uses of "s--t" and one or two uses of "f--k," "a--hole," and more. There's some brief innuendo, and a woman changes clothes in front of a mirror; she's shown from behind, and nothing sensitive is seen, but a robot cam spies on her and zooms in on various body parts. Because the cast includes some secondary actors from TV's True Blood, teen horror hounds may be briefly interested, but it's quite forgettable.
Stay up to date on new reviews.
User Reviews
- Parents say
- Kids say
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the story?
After the discovery of a new three-sided pyramid in Egypt, a two-person documentary crew (Christa Nicola, James Buckley) arrives to film its excavation. But when the project's funding is yanked, archeologists make a last-ditch effort to study it by sending in a small rover mounted with cameras. Something mysterious destroys the rover, and a team of five intrepid souls enters the pyramid to get it back, including father Holden (Denis O'Hare) and daughter Nora (Ashley Hinshaw). It's not long before they're lost in the pryamid's deceptive labyrinths, facing something far more deadly than they ever expected.
Is it any good?
Gregory Levasseur makes his directorial debut with this awful, quickie "found footage" horror movie, similar to, but far inferior to, As Above/So Below. THE PYRAMID feels lazy and dashed off, as if getting it into theaters was more important than actually crafting any suspense or creating believable characters. It can't even bother to keep up the found-footage pretense, frequently cheating and cutting to the inside of chambers as they open from the outside, etc.
Characters seem totally unaffected by the deaths of their fellow travelers; they keep on either cracking jokes or spewing factoids about ancient Egyptian burial practices. The scary stuff is entirely stale, relying either on ill-timed, sudden shocks or on cheap-looking computer-generated monsters. As the monster drags its nails on the walls to taunt its prey, he seems more like Freddy Kruger than an ancient Egyptian.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about The Pyramid's violence. What's the difference between the monster attacks and the characters arguing with one another? How did these scenes affect you?
What were the scariest scenes? How or why did they scare you? What's scarier -- what we see, or what we don't see? Why?
Are any of these characters stereotypes? If so, how? Does main character Nora represent an unrealistic body type for women?
Movie details
- In theaters: December 5, 2014
- On DVD or streaming: May 5, 2015
- Cast: Denis O'Hare, James Buckley, Ashley Hinshaw
- Director: Gregory Levasseur
- Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Genre: Horror
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- Run time: 89 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: some horror violence and bloody images
Themes & Topics
Browse titles with similar subject matter.
For kids who love scares
Our editors recommend
Top advice and articles
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.