Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in hell? This found footage film from 2014 will make you feel tormented but wanting more.
As Above So Below is a horror movie in the style of found footage; a technique in cinema that presents a movie as if the shots were discovered.
Although the film has a 29% on rotten tomatoes and a 6.3/10 on IMDb, the movie proved many angles and characteristics to receive a better critic rating.
As Above So Below follows the story of a young archeologist, Scarlett Marlowe who lives her life in dedication to her father who was devoted to finding one of history’s most valuable treasures: the philosopher’s stone. This stone is said to grant eternal life and turn metals into gold.
Majority of the film takes place in the Parisian Catacombs where each character descends into a hell-like cave. Not knowing that finding the stone would drive them into madness and take them with it.
There is much information to gather in this film, sometimes going over the viewer’s heads. The film also fails to explain a few key points in the last twenty minutes that can leave its audience feeling lost.
The value of the shock effects can be debated based on its lack of use butting heads with its creativity. It can be described as over an hour of an eerie feeling falling flat on its face and being picked up and thrown in the viewer’s faces in the last part of the film.
Unfortunately, the film could have worked more on basic horror elements, but the story plot is an amazing idea that deserves a critic’s respect. It’s obvious that there was a struggle with keeping the great detailed adventure turned living hell plot going when trying to squeeze in a want for skin crawling shots which lead to a lack of explanation for most of the plot.
As Above So Below is not a fantastic movie, but a good creepy film to watch with friends on a Saturday night. There may be some confusion and questions after watching this film for the first time, but it will be worth the time spent dissecting information on the second watch.
