On the surface, John Erik Dowdle’s As Above, So Below appears to be a typical horror movie populated
with stereotypes stuck in an all-too familiar situation. However, it quickly becomes apparent that what
with its uncommonly intelligent script and its precise, economic execution that
this low-budget fright film is a cut above the typical genre fare. Surprisingly, the movie winds up living up to
its auspicious beginning as it plays against its own conventions in the final
act resulting in the best found-footage horror film since the first Paranormal Activity (2007).
Urban archeologist Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) is cut from the
same cloth as Indiana Jones, fearlessly venturing into dangerous areas on her
single-minded quest to find an artifact known as the Philosopher’s Stone, an
object created in the Middle Ages that supposedly is able to turn base metals into
gold and is the key to eternal life.
While the young woman knows that finding this object would do her career
a world of good, she also wants to clear her father’s name, who was driven mad
seeking the same object, ultimately committing suicide. Having discovered a key
clue to the stone’s whereabouts with the help of her former colleague George (Ben
Feldman), she enlists the aid of Papillon (Francois Civil), an expert at
navigating the catacombs that lie beneath Paris, where she thinks this relic lies. With fellow explorers Souxie (Marion Lambert)
and Zed (Ali Marhyar) as well as documentary filmmaker Benji (Edwin Hodge) in
tow, these six head to beneath the City of Light seeking treasure but finding
something very different indeed.
Some may knock the use of the found footage technique used
here as being obvious and overdone, but Dowdle and his brother Drew who
co-authored the script, employ it in a logical manner and utilize it in a way
that doesn’t distract from the story but enhances it. Much of the suspense in the film is built
around the increasing sense of claustrophobia that builds as the group travels
deeper and deeper beneath the streets, which the handheld aesthetic intensifies
as the cameras – one mounted on each of the character’s headlamps – move in a
tighter and more limited manner as the walls close in.
However, it’s the Dowdles’ script that ultimately surprises,
leading us down a familiar path, only to take an interesting turn in the third
act, undercutting our expectations. As
the group’s journey continues, their surroundings slowly change until it
becomes apparent that their reality has somehow been altered. From paths that appear straight yet circle
back to where they began, the appearance of objects that couldn’t logically be
in the catacombs and the sighting of people from the character’s lives who have
died, Dowdle effectively builds upon each of these inexplicable events,
effectively creating a sense of dread that’s underscored by the game and
capable cast.
In the end, it’s the fact that the film actually offers a
degree of hope for its characters that separates it from the genre pack. Whereas most exercises such as these lead
each member of the group to certain doom, Above is ultimately about redemption. Each of
the survivors is forced to come to terms with an event from their past that
haunts them and in doing so, are allowed to make amends, offering each a degree
of salvation. When Scarlett says earlier
in the film “we should just keep moving forward,” it appears to be a horrible
suggestion as the group’s troubles only worsen.
Ultimately, it proves to be sound advice that only those willing to
acknowledge their past mistakes will have the opportunity to follow.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2014.
