As Above, So Below
2014 · Directed by John Erick Dowdle
Original language: English
- horror
- thriller
The story
When a team of explorers venture into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.
What it’s like
Claustrophobic found-footage look: handheld, jittery helmet-cam and head-mounted lights cutting through total black, so the frame is mostly dust, bone-white walls and sudden glare. Scenes shift between cramped tunnels of stacked skulls, sweating faces lit by flashlight beams, and the grey-blue washed-out daylight of Paris streets above. Sound leans on echoing drips, scraping stone and a low, creeping drone that swells into harsh, distorted shrieks when things go wrong. The vibe is claustrophobic dread with a restless, sweaty tension, best suited to a dark room late at night when you want to feel trapped. Pacing is brisk, with long stretches of crawling through narrow passages punctuated by jolting scares. Emotionally it is driven by grief and a protagonist's obsessive search for her missing father, slowly tipping into panic and hallucinatory unease. Intensity is high: frequent jump scares, frightening imagery, some bloody injuries and grisly death, with dread and gore both prominent. For people who want a tense, immersive horror ride and don't mind a shaky camera or a sudden shriek.
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