Photo courtesy: Legendary Pictures
Written by Steven Bielefield
Can we just all come to an agreement that found footage horror films don’t work anymore? Ever since Paranormal Activity came out there has been a flood of these damn things, and they have almost never worked. But still, since they’re pretty cheap and relatively easy to make, they keep getting made every year, and they just keep getting worse. They need to go away. In fact, after seeing As Above, So Below, I’m convinced that the entire horror genre needs to take a break.
As Above, So Below is an apt title, as it’s one of the worst kinds of horror films: the kind that start out good, then gets bad. The film starts out with a small team of explorers discovering evidence that the fabled Philosopher’s Stone may rest in the mysterious catacombs beneath Paris. They organize a secret expedition to the catacombs and become trapped down there. While exploring, the team members must confront their personal demons, manifested by dark supernatural forces in the catacombs.
It’s a solid premise, and open for many horror possibilities. The trailer was also quite promising, and was a big factor in my decision to see it. Indeed, the first half of the film is quite good, with a lot of great buildup to some intriguing, suspenseful moments.
Then the second half started up. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say it falls into the same exact traps that every single terrible horror movie falls into. Clichéd sequences we’ve seen several times, random plot turns, undeserved jump scares that only annoy the hell out of me, etc. Then there’s my personal favorite affliction, a little thing I call SWPS. That stands for “Stupid White People Syndrome,” and it’s an issue that affects pretty much every cheap horror flick made ever since the first slasher films from the 80s.
Characters go off into places that they really shouldn’t go off to, for no particular reason. They make stupid decisions on the basis of, “Let’s see what happens when we do this!” They say, “The only way out is down,” and don’t explain why. And they don’t immediately abandon their quest when they see that things around them are getting really weird and freaky. I mean, yeah, they are trapped there, but if I were there, I’d tell them, “Forget the rock, how about we find another way out of this place!”
The real hindrance of the film, however, is the found footage aspect. In an age when “found footage” is even a genre in and of itself, a found footage film needs to do something incredible to stand out. That’s true of all movies, of course, but the overall issue is that all found footage movies look exactly alike. As Above, So Below is no exception. It looks just like every other movie in this genre, and brings nothing new.
And really, it’s not necessary to tell a good horror story. The plot is quite intriguing in and of itself, so I don’t see why they need the found footage aspect. Just make a movie the normal way! I want to see a movie that has an actual cameraman, not some random dude they pulled off the street.
It’s really quite tragic, because it’s so close to being good; the setting and overall story is interesting, and the actors are competent. If they had made it the old-fashioned way and given the story just a little more focus and attention, this could’ve been a really good horror film. Instead, it just falls in with the rest of the forgettable crap. I mean, really, how many of you actually remember that this movie exists? Exactly. As is, As Above, So Below is a movie not worth remembering.
