As Above, So Below

As Above, So Below – Dir. John Erick Dowdle (2014)

Is there anything more that can be done with the found footage genre? If As Above, So Below is any evidence, then the answer would be an emphatic 'No.' That's a bit of a shame since the film has something of a pedigree courtesy of director John Erick Dowdle, who co-wrote the script with his brother Drew. The Brothers Dowdle are no strangers to found footage having made The Poughkeepsie Tapes and Quarantine, a remake of the Spanish horror film REC. As Above, So Below has a cool premise, a unique locale, and distinctive poster art, all of which are squandered on a substandard scarefest.

Scarlett Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) is a British scholar and archeologist who dabbles in the skeptical field of alchemy. She desperately wants to validate her late-father's work by finding the legendary Philosopher's Stone, an ancient artifact with the ability to transmute matter. Her first step is the Rose Key, a tablet located in Iran and inscribed with a clue to the Stone's location. She sneaks into the country at great risk and barely manages to escape the cave before the Iranian military bomb it.

Scarlett, accompanied by a documentarian named Benji (Edwin Hodge), jets off to Paris where she recruits ex-boyfriend George (Ben Feldman) to help her translate an Aramaic tablet. George is reluctant to help since Scarlett abandoned him to the Turkish authorities on one of their previous junkets. Our intrepid treasure hunters realize that the Stone is buried somewhere within the labyrinthian catacombs underneath the City of Lights. They hire Papillon (Francois Civil) and his assistants Souxie (Marion Lambert) and Zed (Ali Marhyar) to guide them through the tunnels with promise of treasure as payment.

As Scarlett and her cohorts delve deeper into the catacombs, they find themselves way off map as tunnels collapse and openings mysteriously collapse. They are haunted by strange noises, apparitions, and other oddities such as a ringing telephone and The Mole (Cosme Castro), an old friend who seemingly disappeared in the catacombs two years ago. Most ominous of all is a message carved above an entrance reading, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."

As Above earned the honor of being the first production granted permission by the French government to film in the actual catacombs without the luxuries of electricity of cell service. Shooting on location gives the movie an authenticity that would have been lacking if producers had built sets on a soundstage. The tunnels add to the claustrophobia and you can almost smell the musty air. Not to mention all the millions of bodies buried underneath Paris. Unfortunately, the story fails to capitalize on the setting.

The characters are utterly forgettable with most of them simply being present to rack up a body county. Benji's sole purpose is to be the cameraman. You know; the guy who flees in terror, but always helpfully holds the camera at eye level. Scarlett should have been an intriguing protagonist. During an interview, she runs down a resume that includes multiple PhDs, fluency in seven languages, and a black belt in Krav Maga. All while she's barely 30. She should have been the love child of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. Instead, she comes off as bland, self-serving, and just a bit callous when it comes to other peoples' lives.

Aside from Benji's digital camera, each actor is also outfitted with a smaller camera attached to their heads. There's a lot of shaky camerawork with the characters doing lots of running, climbing, and crawling. Grab some Dramamine if you're prone to motion sickness. Still, Dowdle manages to get a few creepy set pieces in, such as a close-up of Scarlett nearly drowning in a pool of blood. Another scene finds Benji trapped between a narrow opening and a pile of bones.

As Above, So Below is a high concept horror film that never lives up to its promise. It's just another paint-by-numbers production that will put you to sleep rather than keep you up at night.

Rating: * ½ (*****)