Blu-ray Review: As Above, So Below (2014)

(aka Yeah, Let's Go Down There.)
Release Date: December 2nd (BD)
Country: USA.. 
Rating: Unrated.
Written by: Drew Dowdle & John Erick Dowdle.
Directed by: John Erick Dowdle.
Starring: Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, and Francois Civil.

The Dowdle Brothers have a pretty decent track record when it comes to making Horror flicks: The Poughkeepise Tapes (Review), Quarantine (Review), and Devil all have their strong points, even if they weren't perfect efforts. They can craft a solid story, that much is evident.


With their new effort, As Above, So Below, they have maybe made the best film of their career, or at least their most engaging one.

Scarlett is a QT Scholar of Alchemy who is in search of the fabled Philosopher's Stone; a legendary substance that is said to be able to turn lead into gold, and may also have the ability to heal wounds, and possibly even grant immortality. If only she'd taken the time to watch any of the Harry Potter films, she would have known that it had been tucked safely away at Hogwarts the entire time.

WORST SHADOW TURKEY EVER.

She'll stop at nothing to get the stone (because she's selfish and careless) including risking death in Iran, or conning her claustrophobic ex-boyfriend into traveling into the depths of the massive tunnels that lie far below Paris, where it's apparently hidden. I mean, she abandoned the guy once while searching for the stone, so it really takes some nerve to ask him to help her again, especially considering his petrifying fear of being underground (due to a personal tragedy he suffered as a kid.) She's obviously thoughtful and caring, folks.

"I KNOW YOUR LITTLE BROTHER DIED IN A BIZARRE MINING ACCIDENT, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT!"

She assembles a rag-tag group of young Urban Explorers to take them into the tunnels below Paris, and they waste no time getting started. Soon after they enter the "forbidden zone" of the tunnel system, the path behind them collapses, which forces them to take a new, more perilous path, from which from no one foolish enough to venture down has ever returned. Scarlett thinks that sounds like a great idea, and that nothing bad could possibly happen from delving deeper into the dark, abandoned, forbidden zone, which according to ancient legend, is the home to the Gateway to Hell itself. Sure thing.

YEAH, YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY KEEP MOVING FORWARD.

Form here on out, shit gets really tight (physically) and creepy (physically and mentally), and it's not long before the group realizes that they should have stayed above ground, because Satan is down here with them, and he's intent on killing them all for being so blatantly stupid. Supernatural shenanigans ensue.

THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, DUMMY.

Lots of critics shit on this movie, most of them dismissing it outright as a poor offering that did little right, which we do not understand. Not that most critics that make up the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate don't have a stick shoved up their ass to begin with, but this movie was far from being as bad as they would have you believe.In fact, it's actually pretty good.

As Above, So Below is a very effective Cinema Verite effort that was filled with some great ideas, a better backstory than most other films of its kind would bother to conjure up, and some genuinely harrowing, terrifying, scenes & sequences. Are you claustrophobic? If so, this movie will give you fits. To me, the idea of anybody of sound mind willingly crawling through tight spaces and spelunking into the depths of the Earth is a terrifying prospect, and this movie conveys that sense of danger perfectly.

"ENTER HERE, ALL YE WHO WISH TO PASS AWAY."

Any film that deals with the idea of its characters exploring or drawing close to the Gateway to Hell (Event Horizon, for example) is compelling to us. When you take that whole conceit and set it hundreds of feet underground, it of course gets even more compelling, mainly because the idea of being trapped underground makes any scenario extra terrifying. Much like Beneath (Review) or The Descent, both of which involve people being trapped underground while fighting off some sort of evil threat, As Above, So Below plays on the condition of claustrophobia to maximum effect. As we said above, if tight spaces terrify you, then this movie will absolutely give you fits.

The bottom line is that this movie entertained us without making us feel like morons for liking it, and in the end, that's all that really matters.

WELL GO ON. WE'LL WAIT HERE FOR YOU TO NOT RETURN.

Anyone who willingly ventures into the bowels of the Earth for any reason, is insane.

"WHAT'S IT LIKE TO STARE INTO THE EYE OF SATAN'S BUTTHOLE?" IT'S PRETTY MUCH JUST LIKE THIS.

Why do so many "strong" female characters come off as pushy, careless, and selfish? Scarlett really does come off as some spoiled little girl who thinks that she can do whatever she wants to achieve her goals, without seriously considering how dire the consequences of her actions could be for not only herself, but for everyone else she's involved in her crazy schemes.

She's really cute though, so I suppose that makes it alright?

OH, ALL YOU WANT IT THE TRUTH? WELL THE TRUTH IS THAT YOU'RE AN ASSHOLE.

This one isn't all that heavy on the blood & gore; one or two graphic scenes, and that's about it.

Nope. Not even so much as a menage a trois.

Don't ever let an overly-ambitious girl talk you into exploring catacombs that are hundreds of feet below ground; she'll only get you killed.

OH NOW YOU'RE CONCERNED?

Don't listen to critics who decry this movie as being bland or sub-par, because As Above, So Below is a solid movie that played better than do most Found Footage/POV flicks. The bottom line is that this is an entertaining movie that will most likely give you a good fright or two along the way, and it's definitely worthy of a rent, if not a buy.

B+

As Above, So Below is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.

Perdita Weeks is a fairly accomplished actress who isn't afraid to show up n a Horror flick like this one or Prowl (Review), every now and then. She's also fairly hot. She's also got a sister named Honeysuckle and a brother named Rollo, which makes us wonder what their parents were thinking.