Review of As Above, So Below (2014) by Taylor S — 20 Sep 2018

This is by far one of the most underrated horror movies of the past five to ten years. It's 2007 predecessor did a decent job of utilizing the truly chilling atmosphere of the Paris catacombs, but being more of a stalker/slasher-style film, my attention span was marginal at best.

On the other hand, As Above, So Below really captivated me. As a firm believer in hell and demonic activity, it really made my hair stand up. The sense of claustrophobia as the crew descends deeper into the bowels of the un-traversed sections of the catacombs is palpable and tense.

I have seen this film both in the theater and at home on my laptop, and very single viewing experience is just as unnerving as the first. To me, this is a sign of a well-developed on-screen atmosphere and setting.

Director John Erick Dowdle did an excellent job wetting our horror seeking appetites through atmosphere-establishing shots such as the eerie singing female satanic cult, the tight crawl through the mound of bones, and without question, the absolutely terrifying hooded guardians of hell during the last third of the film.

At the same time, this film does an excellent job of combining action adventure experienced in The Mummy and Tomb Raider with an ominous undertone of supernatural/religious horror! The dialogue wasn't that bad either.

I have definitely seen worse in my 32 years of being an avid horror movie fan. My only criticism would be that the last third of the movie felt a little rushed. Great movie poster art concept as well! I would recommend this one to fans of the genre in general, and especially to those with a particular infatuation with religion-based/satanic horror.

I am absolutely ecstatic that this one finally made it to Netflix, and to be quite honest, I'm not sure why this film received such a slew of negative reviews and criticism. Oh well.