As Above So Below – 2014 – Exploring the Catacombs
I don’t know how many times I said it already, but once the cover art is as appealing as this, the movie just has to be good! That’s not true of course. No film should be judged solely by the cover art. But still, I think people develop a sixth sense for these kinds of things. When you can enough experience you can tell the probability of this och that movie being good. As far as As Above So Below is concerned I had no idea what it was about. Once I read that it would take place in the catacombs under Paris I was a bit worried. Was this another movie like The Descent or the Cave that explores claustrophobia under the ground?
Well, As Above So Below certainly has those elements in there. But there are no monsters hidden in the dark. At least not in the conventional way of looking at it. I think the creatures that appear are more in the participants’ minds. But let’s take it from the beginning. As Above So Below, which is a great quote, by the way, revolves around this scientist looking for answers. She has a heavy luggage since her father was once the leading authority on what she’s looking for. Since it has to do with alchemy it’s not really considered to be ‘real’ and I guess that’s one of the things that drives her. To prove to the world that her father wasn’t crazy.
As Above So Below starts off with a teaser. That’s a great way to start a movie. This teaser is actually important to the rest of the plot so pay attention. It’s not like every other Bond-film, that has some action scenes at the beginning that later has nothing to do with whats going on. This is a continuous adventure so to speak. Anyway, eventually, the clues lead her down to the catacombs. I love movies where ancient clues are solved and lead to adventure. Of course, the Indiana Jones flicks are among the most famous but there are others as well. And there’s not just ancient lues, there are ancient traps as well. Even better!
There are legends of passages that you just avoid in the catacombs. They might be the closest path to were you’re going but you just don’t use them anyway. They are evil, have bad karma or whatever. When no other options remain, the team finds themselves on such a path. Once there, nothing is what it seems anymore. The laws of psychics don’t seem to apply anymore. And they’re starting to see things. They cannot trust their own senses anymore.
As Above So Below is a dense horror-thriller with an occult theme. I liked it a lot and I feel that it’s very different from the most films I see. It’s a film that can make you start to think a bit outside of the box in existential terms. That’s a kind of movie I like every day of the week!
