As Above, So Below

Year: 2014
Genre: Horror thriller
Director: John Erick Dowdle


Plot: Six individuals explore the catacombs beneath Paris to obtain a mysterious artifact, only to find themselves trapped in the dark and discovering something very sinister down there.


The gist: Found footage flicks have been done to death at this point, with very little variation. But every now and then, one or two rare ones stand out by doing things a tad differently. This year's Unfriended is one example. As Above, So Below is another.

In this film, six individuals led by a girl named Scarlett explore the famed catacombs beneath the streets of Paris, in search of alchemist Nicolas Flamel's legendary philosopher's stone. Scarlett is hoping to finish her late father's work by successfully finding this stone. So with her claustrophobic friend, a cameraman and three French cave explorers, she goes deep into the catacombs with a map and some clues. But as expected in films like this, trouble ensues when the group gets lost in the tunnels and really strange things start happening.

John Erick Dowdle, who directed and co-wrote the film with his brother Drew, does well in keeping the film moving constantly, never letting it stall. He also seems to have done some research in making the mythical and supernatural elements in the story seem plausible. 


The good: The cast perform up to mark, especially Perdita Weeks as Scarlett, who is easy on the eye and comes off as very likable. Credit also goes to the camera guys for keeping the shaky cam effects minimal, as well as successfully capturing the claustrophobic feel of the film. I also loved how the film breaks convention by not having a horrific, depressing ending like most found footage stories.

The bad: The film does suffer from lapses of logic at times, and the old "do stupid things when trouble hits" element is still there. There was also the presence of the spooky looking girl following them that was never explained.


Verdict: As Above, So Below is a nice little surprise in the found footage genre. It's not going to rewrite the book on the genre obviously, but it's very watchable for a scare or two. (7/10)