Wednesday, March 30, 2016

As Above, So Below (2014)

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Writers: John Erick Dowdle, Drew Dowdle

Composer: Keefus Ciancia

Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, Francois Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro, Hamid Djavadan, Theo Cholbi, Emy Levy

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The only way out is down.

Plot: When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.



My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

I didn't know what to expect going in.  I hadn't watched any trailers or read anything about it except that it was generally well-received and it took place in the catacombs below Paris.  The setting was great, different, unusual and creepy.  I really dug it.  Horror movies that have a reality-based story and scares tend to do better with me and for a while it looked like that's where this picture was going.  Then the supernatural aspect works its way into it and it took a few minutes for me to accept it.  Once I did, though, I enjoyed it more.  There's an interesting concept that gets realized in the final act that also took a while to seep in (for me at least) but it made for an unusual and satisfying conclusion.  The filmmakers do a wonderful job of creating the catacombs and the creepy atmosphere therein. It is a found footage-ish film and the hand-held camera work got on my nerves a few times so if this isn't your bag you should probably skip it.  I would've preferred a more traditional approach to the filming or at least keep the damn camera steady instead of giving the feeling like your slinging it around on a rope from time to time. 

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