With the exception of “The Blair Witch Project,” I’ve always thought the “found footage” technique of making a movie was nothing more than an excuse for lazy directing or to keep a project’s budget down. Instead of taking the time to plan and film a scene in a traditional manner, the director simply gives one or more of the movie’s characters a video camera and then sends them on their way.
That might be convenient for the filmmaker, but it can ruin the experience of watching the movie, as found footage films typically contain lots of poorly framed, blurry action. This is especially true of “As Above, So Below,” a newly released horror movie that employs the found footage approach. Not only is the film nauseating to watch, it was often impossible for me to tell what was going on.
That’s unfortunate because “As Above, So Below” has an interesting premise. The film follows Scarlett, a young archeologist with a passion for uncovering the truth about historical myths. In the movie, she’s driven to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a relic her late father spent his life pursuing but failed to uncover. Her search brings her, a friend, and a documentary filmmaker to the real life catacombs beneath Paris, France, where the bones of six million people form a twisting series of passages. To help her navigate the catacombs and find the Stone, she hires a tour guide who’s familiar with the underground maze and his team.
Once everyone is outfitted with a helmet cam, they enter the catacombs in search of a secret passage Scarlett believes will lead them to the Stone. Immediately, creepiness ensues. Around one bend, Scarlett’s friend finds a replica of a piano from his childhood home; around another, an old telephone rings incessantly. When Scarlett answers it, she hears strange voices. Things get weirder from there.
Although the found footage technique was putting me off, I was invested in the story. A nice Indiana Jones, “National Treasure” vibe propels the characters forward, and I got goose bumps more than a few times. Despite the shaky footage, co-writer and director John Erick Dowdle, and his brother, co-writer Drew, use the claustrophobic conditions and a seriously ominous soundscape to develop a gripping sense of atmosphere.
And then everything goes to Hell – literally. At one point, the group finds an Aramaic inscription on a catacomb wall that translates to “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” (I’m no linguistic expert, but does Aramaic really have a word that translates to the King James “ye?”) The quote suggests the characters have entered Hell itself.
I’d hoped there would be an explanation for the strange goings-on – perhaps an evil entity was leading the group on a wild goose chase to their deaths, or the physical conditions combined with stress was creating mass hysteria. But the filmmakers never provide an explanation. While they devised some truly creepy situations, they provided no explanation for their existence
In the end, “As Above, So Below” turns into an escape movie. The means by which the remaining characters must leave the catacombs is rather clever – I perked up when I realized what was going on. But as with nearly every potentially effective moment in the film, blurry, visually incomprehensible footage ruins the view.
Here’s the odd part about all of the shakiness: Scarlett hires a filmmaker to document her quest for the Stone, but even in the scenes he shoots above ground, he zooms in too close to the character’s faces, and whips the camera around like a tourist who doesn’t know where the stop button is on his iPhone. Maybe she should have spent more money on a better filmmaker.
And maybe Legendary Pictures, the production company, should have given the Dowdle brothers more money to make “As Above, So Below.” Filmed with a larger budget using techniques that allow viewers to actually SEE the movie, and told with more clarity, it could have been a rare, terrific blend of action, adventure, and horror. As is, it’s a stomach churning mess.
One and a half stars out of four. Rated R for bloody violence, terror, and language.