As Above, So Below

 

The idea of horror films being placed in one setting is not uncommon. The main idea of this is to put emphasis on the setting and to make for a claustrophobic film. The Blair Witch Project of 1999 or Evil Dead of 1981 involved settings in the woods and never left it once it was entered. In The Descent of 2005, the only setting was a cave. In Paranormal Activity of 2007, the setting was one house in San Diego. The list of horror films with a single setting could go on and on.    

As Above, So Below's director John Erick Dowdle is somebody who is very overlooked in the film world and is slowly turning into my favorite horror director around. His first film Poughkeepsie Tapes from 2007 never got a proper release through the theater and or on disk and can only be found on the internet but it got rave reviews from the few that did see it. Quarantine was a 2008 remake of a Spanish film that was set only in a apartment. In 2010, he puts out Devil which had a very interesting plot about a group of people trapped in an elevator with the devil being one of them. The film was so overlooked that the trilogy that was originally planned around it was cancelled. Now in 2014, his As Above, So Below is a horror movie following a very similar formula using claustrophobic ideas and the "found-footage" filmmaking technique. This is also kind of a Dowdle "formula film" but still, As Above, So Below is a very fun ride.                      

The movie follow around Scarlet Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) a middle-aged woman who's father has committed suicide and who's on a quest to continue her father's goal of finding the Flamel stone which can grant everlasting life. After going down to the catacombs beneath Paris to search for the stone with a group of explorers, strange hauntings and happenings occur.               


From the above plot described, it would seem like this is a magical-type adventure filled with fantasy. Well yeah, you could say that would be true but barely because unlike most horror films, As Above, So Far Below is quite full of culture, including Parisian, European and even the Middle East. Being set in Paris, it's uses European ideas and obviously has a French vibe. Lead character, Scarlet gives off such a vibe of being smart that she comes off as being a scholar. Once we enter the catacombs, it is full of many horror ingredients and to say this would be different ending for a found footage film would be quite correct.



Yes, it is silly for this to be a found-footage film because it really serves no purpose in the film. Even more problematic, these characters aren't very rich in substance and they are kind of all over the place but still the acting is far from a problem and just about everyone has a backstory which isn't necessarily common in these type of plots. The catacombs idea is quite original and brings a different vibe to the film but it becomes even more interesting once the film puts psychological and also metaphysical ideas on top of it. It's not the type of horror film that is going to outright scare you but at least you are going to be creeped out by the concept and for crying out loud, it is shot in the real catacombs of Paris which contain the remains of 6 million dead people!
    

In the end, As Above, So Below could be described "as Blair Witch in catacombs" or a really messed up version of "The Goonies". Anyway, As Above, So Far Below is an innovative shock to the horror genre in 2014. A film that literally came out of nowhere for me.



4/5  

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones

Released in 2007 for festival screening and than eventually to limited release in September 2009, Paranormal Activity was a good horror movie. Even though not an original idea, it was a scary film that introduced good new characters and along with "The Blair Witch Project", Paranormal Activity made found footage movies even more mainstream.

Now in 2014 after four sequels and a fifth one due in October, you can't really look at the first Paranormal Activity the same way. The series now seems like a money grab and it's sequels were an up and down thing with the third one being the best. The new spin off film, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is really an even bigger question mark.

The movie is set in a rundown Hispanic community and some would call it the hood. Recent high schools graduates Jesse (Andrew Jacobs) and best friend Hector (Jorge Diaz) learn and discover that Jesse's neighbor on the bottom level of their apartment, a very creepy lady, has died mysteriously. After her death, Jesse's life is turned upside down once he learns he has some type of bite mark on arm. The story involves black magic, witches and a possessed Jesse.

What first stands out about this film and what is different than the others, is the cast. Like the other films of the series, this cast is full of unknown actors which make this film seem real. Andrew Jacobs is a fresh lead who is likable and he's works with the others and there is a lot of character development in this movie. Jorge Diaz brings humor to this film which is something we have never seen before in this series. Even the grandmother of the story played by Renee Victor who speaks no English in this film works as being the foreign character and sparks her own laughs. Sure, most all the characters lack substance and most you can't tell the difference between them but they are still fun characters.

The movie is set in a different atmosphere that I like but the story lines follow similar paths. The characters go predictable ways, the kills are typical and besides it's ending, most of the movie is not very scary. The themes and substance which includes witches and black magic are light and really most of those ideas don't have much to them.

  


Who knows what the future holds for this series but I am not seeing how this movie connects to the rest of the series or connects at all just in itself. The ending which has references to the previous movies just looks thrown together and really has no meaning. This is a film that really leaves us in the middle and with a feeling of nowhere to go further. Its seems like it is up to us to figure out  just what is going on or what it means.

In the end, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is kind of a mess and it is hard to get used to but at the same time it's an above average film. It is a very interesting film that I can tell already is going be one of the most different films I am going to review all year long. Just like The Devil Inside from last year, this film is a strange way to start a new year.

3/5

The Blair Witch Project

"In October 1994, three film student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary...."

"A year later their footage was found"

This great quote in short tells the details of the Blair Witch plot. It is a plot that like most horror films can be questioned. How can the woods be the only setting? What is the purpose to this? Could it really work with only three cast members? Taking this all together, still The Blair Witch Project is something we could never have experienced or predicted what it was going to be.

By using a small budget of only $20,000 to $25,000 aside from the opening shots, The Blair Witch Project is set only in the woods. The setting of the woods helps this film break the norm for horror movies. The woods here have a strange eerie feel, and is very original. You have the feeling along with characters of never getting out and no doubt it will you make at wilderness quite differently.

With the small budget, the film only needs three cast members. Heather (Heather Donahue) is the only girl of the group and really emerges as the leader as they try to get out of the woods. Mike (Michael Williams) is a character who becomes very creepy once the harmful effects in the woods prey on him. Josh (Joshua Leonard) is the quiet member of the group in this bad situation. The cast really works due to the good acting by actors who are unknowns who we don't recognize making it realistic.

After a plot and story that seems like it can't get much better, the ending is one that REALLY can't much better. The ending comes out of nowhere as again it is in the woods and in a place that seems like it's in the middle of nowhere. It is a heart-pounding and very scary ending. The final shot is very clever as there are different possible theories raised about what just happened. This is one of the best endings in movie history, no doubt.

The Blair Witch Project is not normal horror. It is horror that goes way above the normal common ground and makes it's own mark on the movie world. We know we are going to get good horror films in the years to come but The Blair Witch Project will always be beside those at the top.

5/5

Evil Dead

Kind of like the movie The Exorcist, if you have never seen Evil Dead, you get hounded. It is a film known and loved by many people and put director Sami Raimi on the map. The movie also has an "out of control" manner to it which I find appealing. I love this movie.

The plot revolves around a college student going to a Tennessee cabinet and as time goes on, learns of the demons inside. A film that could be now part Blair Witch Project, a little of the later sequels of Phantasm and also many voodoo films but at the time it was made, it was not like that. It was a film that is very different for it's time.

Evil Dead brings everything to the table. There are characters with depth and juice and includes the lead Bruce Campbell who put out a great performance that received a lot of attention. There are also great possession scenes with an Exorcist feel to them. Also included are killers spawned from demons and trees and all working on the same level. The guts and gore are put in their proper place with just the right timing.

This film also has great cinematography which is something you wouldn't expect in a movie like this. It has different aspects to it and adds tension with close-ups which add creepiness and much of this is unexpected.

As a person that grew up where Sami Raimi grew up and about an hour away from the college that he left to make this film, this helped me connect to this film which caused me to like it even more, That said, it is a film most people would probably like no matter where you live. Evil Dead is a film that pushes all the right buttons, makes all the right moves and eventually unspools into one little tight package that we now call a classic.


4.5/5

Top ten favorite horror films

October is really when we see a lot of horror films released and talked about obviously because of Halloween. This is good for me but actually I watch horror films all the time. Every week. Every month. I thought it might be a good time to list my top ten horror films. Here they are!

Long forgotten and could also be described as psychological horror. Brad Anderson's Session 9 is just great. Really creepy, great atmosphere and it has a great ending, Session 9 works on every level and is one you won't forget.

Even though most people that I know didn't like it and the sequels are really getting old, Paranormal Activity is a movie I have always liked a lot. It can be really creepy at times especially the ending. This low budget movie really works with it's claustrophobic feel.

In a lot of ways, Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street are kind of all the same thing. Even through most of sequels are not very good to their franchise, the originals are all very good and memorable. They also include young actors like Jamie Lee Curtis, Johnny Depp and Kevin Bacon. Frankly, I could watch each one of these over and over again.

I have seen all of Geroge Romero "Dead"  films and loved every one but Night of the Living Dead is my favorite of these. For the 60's, it was quite different and obviously scary for a movie from that time period. The ending is great as well. This is a film that brings back a lot of good memories from my younger teen years when I was just getting into horror movies.

Only die-hard horror fans know about this one called Let the Right One In. Really good stuff and it is one of the few horror films where kids are the lead characters. Oh and they are vampires!

I know the sequels are not so great and  most people didn't care for them and even the original got only a mixed reaction but Saw has always stood out for me. An orginal story with a very creepy concept. Count me as a fan.

This might more properly be in the science-fiction or comedy category but I will include Gremilns here. A real fun movie from the 80's with a great cast and strange killers. What more could you want? I still watch it.

No way can I leave off The Blair Witch Project. This film that has a lot of raw power and may have the greatest movie endings of all time. One of the best found footage movies ever.


I know I missed some great films but these are my top ten and are a must-see for horror movie fans.