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| “ | It happened in a split second, I didn't know what it was mate... But it was quick, and it was f--king frightening! | „ |
| ~ Steve Miller when asked about the Stalker taking Natasha's camera. |
The Stalker (referred to as "Stalker" in the credits) is the main antagonist of the 2011 Australian found footage horror film directed by Carlo Ledesma, The Tunnel.
The creature gets its name from its preferred method of stalking its victims from the darkness. Because of this method, along with its displays of superhuman speeds, a clear visual of it and its anatomy is almost impossible. The several times it gets captured on camera, it appears to be a tall, emaciated humanoid with elongated limbs, and large black eyes, covered in tattered clothes. During the course of the film, it's shown to be cunning, dangerous and temperamental. It also appears to have human-level intelligence, which is demonstrated multiple times throughout the course of the film.
It's portrayed in the film by Australian actor Goran D. Kluet, who later played Anubis from Gods of Egypt and one of the Neomorphs (a predecessor to the iconic Xenomorphs) from Alien: Covenant.
Biography[]
Background[]
Nothing is known about the mysterious and deadly being called the Stalker. It lurked in a dark maze of underground tunnels, and railways beneath the heart of Sydney, Australia.
Within these dark places near an underground lake, it dwelled. It hunted and killed anyone or anything that entered its domain, with its lust for blood never satisfied. Many of the homeless people who entered the tunnels for shelter were never heard from again. Those who escaped were forever traumatized by the horrors they experienced. The mere mention of the tunnels sent one survivor into a panic attack.
The Tunnel[]
For years, the Stalker’s existence was thought to be an urban legend, with tales of people who visited the tunnels never to be seen again.
In 2007, during the midst of drought and water shortages, the New South Wales State government sanctioned a plan to utilize the accumulated water within the tunnels beneath Sydney (the same tunnels the Stalker resided). However, the government inexplicably scrapped the project, possibly due to the discovery of the Stalker’s existence after reports of people going missing. Even though security guards patrolled the entrance to the tunnels to prevent people from entering, they still managed to find a secondary entrance. Those who did were never heard from again.
According to accounts in one incident, three teenagers entered an underground tunnel with a camera, unaware of the Stalker's presence. As they sprayed graffiti onto the walls, the Stalker watched them, and made loud noises in the darkness in an effort to lure the teenagers into a trap. The ploy worked and the male teenager, believed it to be a joke ventured ahead to confront the source of the sound, while his girlfriend stood terrified with another teenager who recorded the event. A short distance into the tunnel, the Stalker swiftly ambushed, killed and dragged the young man away from sight. The attack took place so quickly that not a sound was made. Realizing her boyfriend disappeared, the woman cried and frantically tried to search for him, not knowing that he was already dead.
The Nightmare Begins[]
In 2008, one year after the water project scandal, News Journalist Natasha Warner and her crew; Peter Ferguson, Steve Miller, and Jim “Tangles” Williams entered the tunnels through the secondary entrance with hopes of producing a documentary regarding the controversy and scandal surrounding the government’s unexplained cancellation of its water irrigation project. As the group explored the long-abandoned underground tunnels, homeless squats, and air raid shelters, the Stalker noticed and secretly followed them. When the group arrived at the massive underground lake, mysterious sounds could be heard in the distance, as the group shot a scene for their documentary. However, only the crew’s sound expert Tangles could hear these sounds who brushed it off as a joke.
As the group ventured deeper into the tunnels, they came across an old air raid bell left behind from WWII. After the initial ringing of the bell distorted the film’s audio, Tangles decided to record the audio in one of the adjoining rooms. Only when the bell was rung a second time did the Stalker launch its assault on Tangles while he was separated from the group. Sounds of the horrific attack were all recorded in Tangles’ boom mic. The Stalker quickly ambushed and carried Tangles off through the tunnel, brutally killing him by wall collisions as the sound cuts to static.
Taking advantage of the group’s distraction to search for their missing friend, the Stalker proceeded to remove all of the crew’s equipment from their storage site to an unknown location before it continued the hunt. The crew managed to find a room blocked by a piece of metal, containing Tangles's blood all over the walls. After Peter placed Nat's camera on the floor to remove the obstruction, the Stalker secretly picked it up and filmed them. As they prepared to leave, the Stalker discarded it, revealing itself to be a frightening creature.
Only when the group encountered the security guard, who patrolled the entrance to the tunnel, did the Stalker finally make its presence known. After the security guard walked a few steps ahead of the group, the Stalker pounced on him with incredible force and speed, dragging him away. As the rest of the crew fled in terror, it ripped out the security guard’s eyes while he was still alive, and threw the severely wounded man into the lake. Natasha and her crew had arrived at the edge of the lake, coming across the wounded security guard. The Stalker then emerged behind the security guard, and proceeded to kill him by slowly twisting his head completely around until it broke. As it was leaving with the security guard’s body, Natasha let out a light scream, notifying it of the crew’s presence. The Stalker slowly emerged from the lake, and chased after them.
When the group attempted to escape through a small passageway, it managed to grab Peter but retreated when Steve shined his flashlight at it, making the group realize its vulnerability to light. Determined yet wary of the lights, it continued its pursuit of the group, attempting to abduct Steve and again retreat when confronted with the camera lights. After this failed second attempt, the Stalker chose to silently pursue the group from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike. That opportunity came when the battery for the flashlight died out, temporarily leaving the group in pitch darkness as they frantically tried to replace the flashlight's batteries. Just as they managed to restore power, the Stalker began its assault on the group. It violently knocked them to the ground, and broke the camera lens before it gave chase to Natasha who had fled aimlessly in terror.
The Stalker as it attacks Natasha.
Following her to its lair, (which was littered with bottles and jars containing the eyes and possible organs of its previous victims), the Stalker began searching the area for her, as the terrified woman quietly hid nearby. The Stalker noticed Natasha after she accidentally knocked several bottles that were strewn about the lair and viciously attacked the defenseless woman. It managed to subdue her, rendering her unconscious before proceeding to drag her deeper into the tunnels. As it reached the edge of the underground lake, it uttered strange guttural sounds resembling chants in an unidentified language. As Natasha regained consciousness, it threw her into the lake, and jumped in after her. The creature slowly began to drown her, as the young woman cried and gasped for breath. However, it stopped when Steve and Peter followed Natasha's screams back to the lake. Again confronted with the bright lights, it decided to abandon its would be victim as she fled with Steve, while Peter stayed behind to hold it at bay. Soon after Natasha and Steve left, the enraged creature attacked Peter, before letting him escape. Peter would die from his injuries soon after being rescued by Natasha and Steve. The Stalker disappeared in the tunnel, its fate remaining unknown.
It is likely that the government covered up its existence to avoid a panic, and that the documentary itself was made to shed light on this issue to prevent disappearances. Another theory is that Peter wounds it enough to kill it, however, this is unlikely.
Appearance[]
The Stalker is barely seen on camera, when it does appear it is usually very brief with several occasions it only being seen as an incredibly fast blur of movement. When captured on camera, The Stalker appears to be tall and emaciated, standing approximately 7–9 feet in height. It is relatively humanoid in shape and appearance, with long gangly arms and legs, and human-like hands. Its head is humanoid in shape with its flesh seemingly pulled tightly against the bone. It's head also has small patches of long stringy dark hair and large black eyes that appear to shine when seen in the night vision camera. It also appears to be covered in tattered remnants of clothing, wearing a dark coat and pants.
Personality[]
| “ | It was almost like it was trying to get us in a position where it could get to us as well. It reminded me of a lion trying to cut one animal out of a pack, the herd. You know, get the weak one out, easy to attack. | „ |
| ~ Steve Miller on The Stalker's behavior. |
During the course of the film, the Stalker is shown to be cunning, dangerous, emotionless, and violent. It appears to have human-level intelligence as shown during one point when it demonstrated the ability to use a video camera to record the crew as they were searching in one room. The Stalker is incredibly manipulative and treacherous, as it only started attacking the group once they were separated and attempted to separate the group once it made its presence known.
The Stalker displays a personality of extreme aggression and is shown to have sadistic tendencies, preferring to psychologically torture and frighten its victims before attacking them. It also seems to take pleasure in tormenting and inflicting pain on others, mutilating its victims while they are still alive before killing them a slow agonizing manner. When it attacked the security guard, the Stalker kept the man alive by removing his eyes and possibly his tongue, before it brutally murdered him by slowly breaking his neck. It seems to collect parts of its victims such as eyes, organs, and pieces of flesh which it stores in various places throughout the abandoned tunnels as souvenirs. It communicates with grunts and growls. When it tried to drown Natasha, it was heard mumbling in what sounded like an incomprehensible language.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Superhuman Speed and Stamina: The Stalker is able to move at superhuman speeds, easily able to outrun the average human with ease. Its movements are so fast that it was able to abduct an average size man in a matter of seconds.
- Superhuman Strength: The Stalker is superhumanly strong, able to carry an average sized human with little effort. It was able to remove hundreds of pounds of equipment in a matter of several minutes and was able to knock down three people in one hit.
- Adapted Night Vision: The Stalker is well adapted to its environment, being able to see in complete darkness. However, due to this, it is sensitive to bright lights and will flee when confronted with them.
- Expanded Lungs: The Stalker appears to have an abnormally large set of lungs which it uses to hold its breath for extended amounts of time while it's underwater.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Behind the Scenes[]
The Tunnel (2011)[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- The Stalker's name is never mentioned in the film and is only credited as "Stalker" in the end credits.
- In an interview, director Carlo Ledesma stated that The Stalker was partially inspired by his love of cryptozoology (the study of "mysterious animals").