As Above, So Below is an Unlikely Success
Perdita Weeks and Ben Feldman in As Above, So Below. Still courtesy Universal Pictures.
September 9, 2014
Under the sprawl of Paris is the catacombs, the final resting place of 6 million people. Surprisingly, not many movies have used this actual place as a backdrop. As Above, So Below fills that gap, set in the massive tomb.
Scarlet (Perdita Weeks), following in her father’s footsteps, has spent her life looking for the Philosopher’s Stone (yes, the same one that’s in Harry Potter), and spends much of the movie journeying to the spot she thinks holds the magical object. Underground with her are: George (Ben Feldman), her old love interest; Benji (Edwin Hodge), the main cameraman; and three guides (François Civil, Marion Lambert and Ali Marhyar). Despite having a plan that may or may not lead the group into the netherworld, they venture in.
Weeks is remarkably good at acting towards a mounted camera, giving a deceptively effortless terrified reaction face. Hodge is also a gem, acting exactly how anyone would while trapped underground being tormented by demons. In the best scene of the movie, Benji finds himself stuck in a pile of bones. For just a moment, his face flashes the terror of claustrophobia in the most effective way. This is the only scene that is actually hard to watch. Found footage has become a joke in the past few years – did anyone see Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones? Or Into the Storm? No one really wants to watch fake real stories after they’ve seen the perfection of The Blair Witch Project. However, this technique is used to great effect in As Above. The audience can relate to the pure terror on the faces of the actors and feel as claustrophobic and vulnerable as the characters.
Don’t get me wrong, As Above is not perfect. The rules of the netherworld are tough to understand. Characters seem unaware, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that they are heading a bit south of heaven. In one particularly confusing scene, code written in ancient Aramaic is translated into perfectly rhyming English couplets. Horror movies have a special place in American pop culture, albeit one that doesn’t earn a lot of money. On top of the already low place in the box office, many reviewers think themselves above a classic found-footage horror movie. My own theater had only as many people in it as the group venturing into the Catacombs in the movie. Sure, this movie isn’t destined for an Oscar, but claustrophobia and Satan are good fun in this setting.
Despite its troubles, As Above is fun to watch, compounding the terror of claustrophobia with ancient religious uneasiness. This movie isn’t for everyone. Be prepared to struggle to follow the plot; however, if you are a fan of horror, you will most likely be a fan of this movie.
