[2][3] The film opens with an excavation for the Rome Metro collapsing a wall in a nearby archaeological site, exposing a previously undiscovered section of the ruins.

This delights Professor Lasky, who has been leading an expedition at the ruins in search of the unidentified Tomb of Domitian.

Excited, Lasky informs his team, made up of Barbara, Marcus, and Andrea, that legends claim that pagans used the site to perform human sacrifice in order to pacify an evil god.

Later Marcus travels through the new section of the ruins as his team watches him progress via handheld footage back at base camp.

One of the teammates, Andrea, is killed by a largely unseen demonic presence, putting the teammembers on edge.

Because they unsealed the tomb, the entity was once again allowed to roam free and that Marcus must find a way to seal the demon away as well.

[1] Avallone worked on the script with Andrea Purgatori, a reporter for Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Among the cast was John Pepper who had worked as an assistant director on films such as The World According to Garp and Ghostbusters.

"[6] In 1989, Michael J. Weldon observed that the plot was "inspired by the excellent Quatermass And The Pit" and that the monster was only "shown for about two seconds".

He also commented, "There's a Nightmare on Elm St. bed scene rip-off, and one good part in an otherwise boring movie.