100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # As Above/ So Below

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Genre: Horror/ Thriller

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro, Hamid Djavadan, Théo Cholbi, Emy Lévy, Roger van Hool, Olivia Csiky Trnka, Hellyette Bess, Aryan Rahimian, Samuel Aouizerate, Kaya Blocksage

Description: When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.

Review: It’s not one of the main attractions op Paris, but some tourists probably have done it: a tour through the catacombs of Paris. Millions of skulls and bones. It’s a pretty creepy setting, perfect for a movie.

“As Above/ So Below” is about the young Scarlett Marlowe, an ambitious and brilliant archeologist who is following in her father’s footsteps. He dedicated his life to finding the Philosopher’s Stone and she is continuing that journey.

Scarlett is on the right track and this leads her to Paris. With her cameraman Benji, fellow archeologist George and a group of catacomb experts, Scarlett is exploring the catacombs of Paris. Strange and supernatural things happen down there.

The creators understand that a horror movie doesn’t always need gore. The sound of a ringing phone and the sight of a piano is enough to give you the chills. The movie is a strange mix of “The Descent” and “The Da Vinci Code”. “As Above/ So Below” takes its time. Its introduction could have been shorter, especially because the movie isn’t that long. As viewers we get the time to get used to the characters. As lots of horror movies, the characters die one by one. All of them carry a trauma with them, which haunts them in the catacombs. The traumas the characters have aren’t all explained well. This means you hardly care for most of them. The movie has some clichés and the mythical and historical theories aren’t developed that well either. This works against them.

“As Above/ So Below” is fresh and original, but doesn’t manage to perfect it all.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (154)

Here are this weeks trailers.

As Above/ So Below

Description: When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, Fraçois Civil

Trailer: Trailer "As Above/ So Below"

Comment: This reminds me of "The Descent", it gives you a claustrophobic feeling.

The Pyramid

Description: The ancient wonders of the world have long cursed explorers who've dared to uncover their secrets. But a team of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren't just trapped, they are being hunted.

Director: Gregory Levasseur

Starring: Ashley Hinshaw, James Buckley, Denis O'Hare, Christa-Marie Nicola, Amir K

Trailer: Trailer "The Pyramid"

Comment: Another claustrophobic horror film, creepy...

Rosewater

Description: Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) is a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi's supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad's victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. Bahari was arrested by police, led by a man identifying himself only as "Rosewater," who tortured and interrogated him over the next 118 days. With Bahari's wife leading an international campaign to have her husband freed, and Western media outlets keeping the story alive, Iranian authorities released Bahari on $300,000 bail and the promise he would act as a spy for the government.

Director: Jon Stewart

Starring: Gael Garcia Bernal

Trailer: Trailer "Rosewater"

Comment: This looks amazing!

Shaun the Sheep Movie

Description: Shaun's mischief inadvertently leads to the Farmer being taken away from the farm, Shaun, Bitzer and the flock have to go into the big city to rescue him, setting the stage for an epic adventure.

Director: Mark Burton, Richard Starzack

Starring: -

Trailer: Trailer "Shaun the Sheep Movie"

Comment: I love claymation.

The Equalizer

Description: Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) is a former black ops commando who faked his death for a quiet life in Boston comes out of his retirement to rescue a young girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and finds himself face to face with Russian gangsters.

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo

Trailer: Trailer "The Equalizer"

Comment: Denzel Washington hardly ever disappoints.