Having just suffered through Reborn, I don't know what possessed me to turn around and watch another Craig McMahon movie -- but I'm glad I did because The Crypt is a deliciously creepy little film. Unlike the utter nonsense of Reborn, The Crypt has a decent storyline, atmosphere, suspense, and even subtlety. It's hard for me to believe the same man wrote and directed both of these films.

I was actually talking back to the screen during this film's final 10 minutes of action. I wouldn't say the ending is unconventional, but I certainly didn't expect things to play out the way they did. Clearly, McMahon has some talent and potential, after all.

It was supposed to be an easy job. There are a bunch of rich, Depression-era dead people buried in a maze of crypts underneath the city, just waiting for some enterprising young criminals to come down and relieve them of their riches (the dead folks apparently thought the government was going to try and take their treasures, so they took them to the grave with them). Of course, we all know from the film's opening scene that grave robbing can be a dangerous pastime down in the Crypt -- but the modern-day characters in the story don't know that. Still, when Gina (Abra May) first broaches the subject with her friends, none of them are enthusiastic to say the least -- but the lure of those buried riches soon changes their way of thinking.

Soon after the six criminals make their way into the crypt, it starts to become clear that something is very wrong down there. At first, it manifests as shadows in individuals' peripheral vision, but as soon as they rake in their first haul the whole edifice seems to rock and shift, blocking the way out in the process. The six soon become separated into three groups, and that is when the underground monsters come out to play -- and to punish those would dare steal from the very coffins of the dead.

The lovely Sarah Oh shines in this film as the most reluctant member of the group, but I thought the acting was pretty good all the way around. The special effects are also well-done, making the inhabitants of the crypt genuinely creepy in appearance. I also thought the pacing of the film was quite good, which necessarily contributes to the overall creepiness of the whole experience. If you're as claustrophobic as I am, all of the time spent in the crypts is even more unsettling. It is not nearly as intense as The Descent (a film which might well have inspired The Crypt), but it's there -- and you can feel it.

Given the way the film ends, it's clear that McMahon put some real thought into the story -- with the exception of one scene early on. It's a great scene, actually, but it really has no purpose in the context of the overall story and is quickly brushed aside. That is obviously a problem, but it did little to temper my enjoyment of The Crypt. I didn't think Craig McMahon had it in him, but this is a darn good, surprisingly creepy and suspenseful horror thriller.