As Above, So Below [Blu-ray]

Just watched. Great movie. Scary. I liked it and U should buy it too.

Love this movie

A group of wanna-be Indiana Joneses go spelunking in the forbidden parts of the Paris Catacombs and get trapped inside. As they're forced to go deeper and deeper, things start getting weird and creepy. I've always been forgiving if a horror film has a story I enjoy, and I really did enjoy this. No, it's not incredibly scary. There are a few moments of good suspense and one of two jump-scares that work, but I didn't find myself on the edge of my seat. The premise is simple, even if it's not particularly unique. If you watch the trailer, you can probably guess where the story goes. Hell, even if you don't watch it, you can probably predict where it's going to go within 30 minutes. But, I admire how the story plays out. The have a concept for their story and they unapologetically go full-bore with it. They use the atmosphere of the setting to great advantage and they obviously have a lot of fun playing with it. They're willing to push the story to the brim of believability and then say, "Screw it, let's go over-the-top," in the final 20 minutes. And, as far as I'm concerned, the vast majority of it works. Not only does it work, it works with style. They treat their audience with respect by expecting them to add-up the clues as the characters are adding them up. Not once does a character explicitly say what's going on, they just allow the situation to be obvious in due time. All the technical requirements are met. The acting it strong, it looks and sounds good -- well, as good as a found-footage film should look. As far as the found-footage-ness goes, you don't need to worry about vomit-inducing shakey-cam, which is always a bonus. The set design is strong and atmospheric, probably because they used the actual catacombs. While trying to think of cons for the film, right now I only come back to one scene involving a burning car. I won't go into details, but it uses some CG that doesn't quite work, but which I'm willing to forgive since it marks the beginning of the film really going over-the-top. The final few minutes are brilliant. I loved that ending.

Better than I thought it was gonna be

An adventure-horror movie? Yes please! While higher budget among its subgenre, this is definitely one of the better found-footage horrors on the market in my opinion, but more for its style, genre-crossing and concepts than its horror filmy-ness. Director and co-writer John Erick Dowdle (The Poughkeepsie Tapes, Devil, Quarantine) clearly adored the Indiana Jones (1981-1989) and National Treasure movies (2004, 2007), and he wears this adoration proudly on his sleeve as archeology professor Scarlett (Perdita Weeks; Penny Dreadful, Prowl) is joined by tinkering rogue and fellow adventurer George (Ben Feldman; Friday the 13th), her cameraman Benji (Edwin Hodge; The Purge 1-3) and renegade catacomb spelunker Papillon (François Civil) in their pursuit of the Philosopher’s Stone, an artifact sought for its arcane powers of alchemy. They investigate relics in cathedrals, translate dead languages to solve riddles, uncover clues leading to more sleuthing and yet more clues, all just to bring them to the doors of their adventure. Guided by Papillon’s cave-diving team, they illegally “break in” to parts of the catacombs no longer meant for human navigation, traversing parts long forgotten and unknown. Strange people and superstition abound the catacombs as readily as wayward cultists and lost souls. Very early into their journey things begin to go wrong. Cave-ins trap and redirect them, crevices lead to impossible locations where perhaps impossible things have happened, and secret doors enable their passage through this ancient pyramid-like Labyrinth. Scarlett’s once-tidy plan unravels and her team is faced with a curio of encounters that feel as if they are spelunking their own subconsciouses, if not their own purgatory, as they wander yet deeper into the catacombs encountering riddle after ancient booby trap after secret corridor and yet new clue. To escape: “the only way out is down.” The first hour of this movie is all dark but lively adventure and practically no horror. Although the next 30 minutes shift gears strongly. There are some brief brutal scenes, macabre curiosities, and a hallucinatory menagerie of personal demons. Kind of strange: when I first saw this movie, I was unimpressed and somehow managed to remain completely unenamored by the Ford-Cage adventurer-sleuthing honorarium before me in the horror genre. Yet now, I just… adore that aspect of it! It’s not the best horror film out there, but it strives to be different in its genre while exploring some cool history and concepts. Consider Mark’s movie review, which addresses the abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score. I guess I get it… since upon my first watch, I didn’t get it as much. But I think it’s worthy of a “lower-end fresh” on RT. If for no more than its novelty, I strongly recommend this film. If you read this far and still remain on the fence, check out this podcast discussion (which will include spoilers).

good movie, good price

Movie storyline was good. In the beginning it gets you in and it’s cool but then it hypes up to nothing. Nothing really happened towards the end so little disappointed.

I love this film. It took me into another world with all my lights off on my 90" Screen. It was amazing. It was a found footage film about a girl having her search recorded so how can you expand on the characters she knows and hires? It makes sense since we are seeing just the footage recorded. The only issue with this movie was the over the top burning car scene. It wasn't spooky or creepy and in tone with the rest of the film. They also could of had a few more subtle, unnerving hell denizens since they were in actual hell.

Excelente producto, muy buena calidad

En mi opinión, de las mejores películas de terror contemporáneas. Viene con audio y subtítulos en inglés, español, francés, Italiano y Alemán.

Excelente calidad del producto, llego en tiempo y forma.

estupenda, una edicion espectacular, adoro el genero y esta serie mas por sobre otras. la recomiendo ampliamente. comprenla.no se arrepentiran

The film has a good idea at its core. The catacombs of Paris offer an atmospheric setting, and allow for some creepy scenes. The problem is that the setting is dragged down by the quality of the story, with no single element being given enough attention to really pique your interest. The lead actress is totally unconvincing as a university professor who goes around endangering those close to her while looking for the philosopher's stone. Much of the film's premise could have been kept without the pseudo-academic Indiana Jonesing, which would have left more time for the characters to be developed so you find out more about the inner demons that will ultimately come to haunt some of them while underground, seemingly stumbling across a gateway to hell (you won't find out about all of them - some are just fodder!). Occasionally someone will make a throwaway comment about something sinister that happened 'here' a while ago, but usually this is just another dead end - an idea tossed out to try to make the whole place seem more creepy, as if that's needed when you're trapped in an underground maze of human bones! This is not to say that the film is a write-off. There is the occasional v. creepy scene, but the trouble is there is rarely an explanation for what is happening. E.g. A weird person appears giving the camera a weird look. You won't ever find out more about them until they jump out at you, which will startle you for a moment, and then you go back to thinking...that was weird!