As Above, So Below (AKA Another Found Footage Horror Movie)

[levcore]

My two cents:

As Above, So Below (John Erick Dowdle)

As Above, So Below is a very well made found footage horror movie that transcends its somewhat cliché set up to provide a terrifying and claustrophobic thrill ride. For my money, this is the best subterranean horror since The Descent. The cast is strong with Perdita Weeks being a fantastic lead and a very striking presence, she is ably supported by an attractive young cast of Americans and French urban explorers. The idea is to explore the vast catacombs below Paris in the hope of locating the fabled Philosopher's Stone which the lead characters father was searching for prior to his mysterious death. The movie opens with a bang in Iran as Week's character Scarlett is searching for clues. This sets up the tone of the movie very well and it's a really exciting intro sequence. The rest of the action takes place in Paris and I'm always fond of seeing this city on film. Scarlett and he friends recruit some French locals to help them gain access to the catacombs and once they get in, the movie really kicks into gear.

Director John Erick Dowdle was behind the very effective remake of Rec, Quarantine. He also directed Devil which was a fun, if slightly ridiculous horror. As Above, So Below is his best effort and he excels at generating effective atmosphere and scares. The amazing locations in the underground tunnels are a character unto themselves and they are a great place for a horror movie to take place. The story is also quite deep for this kind of movie with a lot of research having been done into the philosophers stone and it's history. There is a great story element about them crossing over into another realm and how everything is a reversed, twisted version of where they have already been. The production design provides us with lots of creepy areas and rooms and the acting is very good throughout.

I was also very pleased with the ending to this movie and it was fairly refreshing for a found footage movie. This is horror done right and it doesn't really on any overt gore or explicit sequences, it's just good old fashioned scares with a well thought out and put together story.