As Above So Below / 2014
Whoa. How did I miss this one? I have heard great things since it's release a year ago and just now was able to catch it at home. SO MUCH BETTER than I had hoped for. It takes the tired found footage approach and enriches it with a deep story, mythology and a dash of the occult. Admittedly, I had low expectations going in so I was pleasantly surprised with the unrelenting pace and interesting story. Scarlett sneaks into Iran at the beginning and finds a giant Black Bull Head in a cavern with strange writing she has been searching for - this leads her to the catacombs of France, a locale that is used to creepy perfection. She, along with her cameraman, an old flame, and some shady spelunkers take on a mysterious trek deep into the Earth to find some kind of revelation and treasure. Nope.
There's an intense claustrophobic vibe as they crawl over bones, witness seances and visions, and continue to go deeper into the darkest corners below.
NOPE!
I cannot spoil this journey here, but what they find essentially leads to most evil of places of earth. It becomes a race to escape as the party members are slowly consumed by madness and the caverns themselves. Super creepy. Various freak out scenes include booby traps, a telephone a la 1960, a lost cavern dweller, and a Knight's Tomb. Ridiculous and effective atmosphere throughout. Oh, and did I mention demons? Hordes and hordes of them always at their (our) heels...
NOPE!!!
A very effective film given its conventions. I only wish I Had seen it in a darkened theater.
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