“The Tank” is a monster horror film, and it is pretty much a cliche when it comes to the genre. While I don’t mind a cliche, the film is a major bore. The monstrous creatures took ages to introduce themselves to the new occupants; the characters lack depth; the story is wafer-thin, and it is just not scary. Jules and Ben owned a pet store that they hoped to convert into a practice after receiving their vet degrees from UC Davis. Their little daughter, Reia, enjoyed spending time at the store. Their lives changed when, one morning, a lawyer walked through the door and disclosed that Ben had inherited a property after his mother’s death. Amos Tilbury explained that his father had bought the property in 1935, and now that his mother was no more, the property belonged to Ben. Hobbit’s Bay was a coastal property in Oregon, and even though Ben had never heard his mother mention the property, he decided to explore it.
Spoilers Alert
‘The Tank’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?
With the rusty key in his hand, Ben was excited about the secret property that he had inherited. The family went to find their new home, but their excitement faded when they realized it was located deep within the woods, and they could not drive their car up to the property. They walked through the woods and discovered an old house covered in shrubs. At first glance, it was not their dream house, but the view of the sea made it perfect. Strangely enough, Ben decided to explore the water tank right after finding the cottage covered in shrubs. He found an old, dirty lantern there and warned Reia to never go there alone. After finding the abandoned cottage cut off from civilization and its mysterious tank, just like in any other horror film, the family decided it was the perfect place for them to settle down.
When people leave, they tend to empty their house, but it was peculiar that Ben’s family left everything behind. It almost looked like they decided to abandon the house one fine morning, but that was not strange enough to compel Ben and Jules to leave as well. They found several newspaper cuttings that discussed the tainted past of Hobbit’s Bay. Ben’s father and sister lost their lives by drowning in the sea, but their bodies were never found. The newspaper suspected his mother, and the incident left her mentally unstable. Ben’s mother, Linda, was institutionalized, and she never recovered from the accident. Jules later found Linda’s diary, where she discussed how happy she was after settling in Hobbit’s Bay. Ben’s father, Alec, built a water tank that could get them access to the sweet spring water. One stormy night, he went in to check the water tank, and Linda could not find him after. The police reassured her that he would return, but he never did. The rest of the journal entries were missing, but clearly, there was something that haunted Linda all her life. Reia heard strange noises in her basement room, and she ran to Jules for help. The monster was out of the tank, and it was making alarming noises, but luckily for the family, it chose not to attack that night.
‘The Tank’ Ending Explained: Did Ben, Jules, And Reia Survive?
Ben was initially dismissive of the ominous presence, but when he found the dismembered body of Merial, the realtor, in the woods, he decided that they must leave Hobbit’s Bay. He called the police, but the police officer was devoured by the creature as soon as he arrived. The death of the only Black character within a few seconds of screen time was a little too 70s!
Ben hurried back to the house while Jules and Reia locked themselves in the room upstairs. Jules came across the rest of Linda’s journal, in which she stated that Alec and Rosie did not drown; they were taken away by the creature. Linda managed to escape Hobbit’s Bay, and her only instruction to the person reading her journal was to run from the property immediately. The creature was out of the tank and had found its way into the cottage. After arriving at the cottage, Ben decided to climb down the tank to trap it. He realized that the creature’s nest must have been near the water tank, and the sudden water flow and noise attracted them to the cottage. He planned on mixing the spare gas with fertilizer to create an explosion in the tank. It was a risky plan, but Ben was ready to do whatever it took to protect his family.
The fuse went off sooner than Ben had intended, and he was unable to stop the creatures from leaving the tank. Ben was severely injured, and in the meantime, the creatures attacked the cottage. While Jules tried to stop the creature from entering through the door, another one came through the window and got hold of Reia. After facing the creature up close, Jules realized that it was an amphibian. Since amphibians breathe through their skin, Jules decided to spray it with chemicals to create a distraction long enough to rescue her daughter. After entering the tank, Jules was attacked by the creatures from all around, but with the help of her fire torch, chemical, and compost fork, she managed to tackle them. She found Reia in the tank and rescued her. Jules hurried to the car with Reia, only to realize that she did not have the car keys. She locked Reia in the car while she went to the cottage to bring the car keys and Ben along. By the time Jules returned to the car with Ben, the creatures had surrounded the car. Jules and Ben managed to get in it, and before driving away, Jules shot one right in the mouth. “The Tank” ends with the family escaping the horror, and even though Ben was injured, he did survive.
What Does The Post-Credits Scene Indicate?
Nearly twenty years after the incident, Hobbit’s Bay was swarming with construction workers. It seems that Ben and Jules found a buyer for their cursed property. The Hobbit’s Bay development plan was in full swing, but the workers did not know what awaited them in the tank. At the very beginning of the film, Jules discussed how amphibians are usually territorial and that they could react violently if there was a change in the water. Jules later examined an amphibious larva that Ben found in the tank. Jules was quite surprised to find that the creature did not have eyes. She concluded that it was subterranean and had evolved to exist without eyes. Jules predicted that perhaps it was the spring water that had attracted the creature to the water tank. Since the creatures never left Hobbit’s Bay (assuming), it must have been human activity and the change in water that woke them up from dormancy, and they attacked to protect their existence. Jules and Ben clearly chose not to disclose the ugly truth behind their abandoned property, and maybe the sudden construction work will attract attention to Hobbit’s Bay once again.
