Found footage horror films have divided movie going audiences.

“The Blair Witch Project” was released in 1999 and blew away the box office. This allowed for found footage films to go from being a sparsely used gimmick, to its own subgenre.

The release and success of “Paranormal Activity” in 2007 caused a slew of films like it to come out and it is still a craze today.

Advertisement

As Hollywood is apt to do, the market became oversaturated. There were so many found footage movies coming out, people started to hate them. The entire subgenre has found itself fighting an uphill battle. Any film with found footage, is instantly looked down upon with blind rage.

“As Above, So Below” is a step in the right direction for the found footage genre.

“As Above, So Below” is a horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and stars Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman and Edwin Hodge.

The film follows Scarlett Marlowe as she continues her father’s hunt for the philosopher’s stone. After finding a key piece of information relating to it, Marlowe enlists a friend help navigate through the secret parts of Paris’ catacombs. As they make their way through, they find out they are in for more than they bargained as they fight for their survival.

“As Above, So Below” is by no means a great film.

Many of the tropes and clichés that haunt today’s horror genre are riddled throughout this film. Jump scares, randomly placed cults and creepy little kids fill this movie and at times make it hard not to groan.

This movie does a lot to try and bring itself down.

Advertisement*

While there are many bad things throughout this film, it is hard to walk out of the theater and not be impressed by its ability to be unique.

The film starts out as an interesting character study early on. Marlowe is an Indiana Jones like treasure hunter. She holds several doctorates, is a black belt in Krav Manga and a historian.

But, she is more than that.

Taking a hint from Captain Ahab, Marlowe finds herself obsessed with finding the stone. She is obsessed to the point that she brings everyone around her down in pursuit of it. She is continually putting herself in danger, but always finds a way out.

The film surrounds Marlowe with interesting, broken characters, characters who play off of her well and bring their own baggage. The movie is disappointing at times because of the lack of character development, excluding Marlowe.

The effectiveness of a horror movie is based upon how well it scares its audience and this film does not disappoint. While this film was a lot of scares, it is also a psychological horror.

The movie can be described as lovecraftian at times. It is about the fear that comes with helplessness.

The film even makes its set a villain of its own. The catacombs are just as likely to hurt the main characters, as what lies in it. The feeling of claustrophobia and inevitability linger even as our heroes win their little battles.

As stated before, this film is not perfect. It is not going to change how everyone looks at horror films nor found footage movies. But within a sea of genericness, “As Above, So Below” is an enjoyable movie.

Jacob Pierce can be reached at [email protected] , on Twitter @JacobPierce1_DE or at 536-3311 ext. 273