13 Days of Halloween: As Above So Below (2014)

The Paris catacombs is one of the creepiest and sinister places on earth and the worst part is it's a real place. Deep underground in Paris, France the catacombs are home to many, many skeletal remains of the dead including skull chandeliers and furniture adorning the deep chasms. Making a film about this all too real location is something you would think a filmmaker would have made long before 2014 but here we are with 'As Above So Below' from the director of 'Poughkeepsie Tapes' and 'Quarantine'. Sadly, this film passed me by during its initial theatrical run as I had long had my fill of found footage horror by that point and really never came out that impressed with the various efforts. I wish I had the chance to see this one the big screen because it must have been pretty damned impressive and something seemingly unheard of nowadays...actually scary.

Now, it's not really what you see in front of you though there are plenty of horrific images that will scare you here, but it's the overall themes, atmosphere and the horrible reality of the location that rises the film above the others. The catacombs were notorious for sinister happenings in the many years since they began giving tours through them and even if you're not the superstitious or religious type, one cannot help but feel uncomfortable with a place like this. It's in our nature to fear death regardless of its form and to see it physically manifested in a place like this it's hard to not feel uneasy when seeing people or even yourself going through them. That's what works here in the film, those natural instincts do give the movie a creepy vibe throughout even when the hokey CGI effects do rear their ugly head. But even with a strong tone, those effects do shatter the immersion a little too frequently so where does that leave it as an overall film? Is it bad for using too many tropes and bad effects? Or can those be overcome by the film's strong premise and creepy environments?

I think it results in a somewhat mixed bag that's nonetheless satisfying enough and genuinely creepy that I still recommend it. It is probably the best found footage movie you'll see out of the many imitators and unlike those it does have some rewatch value. It's also the perfect Halloween movie to watch late at night so if you don't mind those little gripes I say give it a watch.

( B )