"As Above, So Below" is one of the better found-footage horror films to emerge in the wake of the one-two punch that was "Cloverfield" in 2008 and "Paranormal Activity" in 2009. Where many of its peers struggled to put a fresh spin on the subgenre's tropes, the Dowdle Brothers' 2014 flick is a pulpy Indiana Jones-lite action-adventure that cleverly incorporates mythical elements like the philosopher's stone -- or, as we uncultured Yanks call it, the sorcerer's stone -- and the Nine Circles of Hell from Dante Alighieri's epic 14th-century poem "Divine Comedy." Admittedly, it doesn't go so far as to reinvent the found-footage wheel, nor does it overcome some of the format's worst tendencies. But it does breathe a little more life into that formula, especially when the action inevitably devolves into people incessantly shaking the camera as they run screaming for their lives.
Of course, the biggest weapon in the film's arsenal is its setting.
Of course, the biggest weapon in the film's arsenal is its setting.
- 10/31/2023
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
AFM slate also includes a blend of local drama, comedy and thriller titles.
Orange Studio will kick off sales at AFM for Like A Prince, the debut feature from actor Ali Marhyar about a star boxer attempting a career comeback in a French chateau after a bar fight gone wrong.
Like A Prince stars Ahmed Sylla as the titular athlete who is sentenced to community service at the prestigious Château de Chambord following a bar fight that injures him and threatens his career. There, amidst horses, strange bosses and knight-inspired stunts, he meets a foster child with a knack for...
Orange Studio will kick off sales at AFM for Like A Prince, the debut feature from actor Ali Marhyar about a star boxer attempting a career comeback in a French chateau after a bar fight gone wrong.
Like A Prince stars Ahmed Sylla as the titular athlete who is sentenced to community service at the prestigious Château de Chambord following a bar fight that injures him and threatens his career. There, amidst horses, strange bosses and knight-inspired stunts, he meets a foster child with a knack for...
- 10/30/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – “As Above/So Below” is strictly the pits. It’s a found footage horror film set in the Paris catacombs that defies logic, and relentlessly keeps digging itself into a hole until it’s dragged everyone in the audience down with it.
It’s a movie that starts at stupid and then somehow proceeds to get progressively dumber and dumber, until it’s completely nonsensical and insane – and not in a good way. It’s quite simply the longest 90 minutes I’ve spent in a theater all year.
Rating: 0.0/5.0
By this point, the “found footage” horror genre has become as formulaic as a mad slasher movie. Its beats are familiar, its tropes increasingly annoying and ridiculous. It takes either a fresh new twist, or a master stylist to wring shocks out of this kind of premise, but “As Above/So Below” doesn’t even seem to be trying. It barely manages a single jump-scare.
It’s a movie that starts at stupid and then somehow proceeds to get progressively dumber and dumber, until it’s completely nonsensical and insane – and not in a good way. It’s quite simply the longest 90 minutes I’ve spent in a theater all year.
Rating: 0.0/5.0
By this point, the “found footage” horror genre has become as formulaic as a mad slasher movie. Its beats are familiar, its tropes increasingly annoying and ridiculous. It takes either a fresh new twist, or a master stylist to wring shocks out of this kind of premise, but “As Above/So Below” doesn’t even seem to be trying. It barely manages a single jump-scare.
- 8/29/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
There is a story about the Paris catacombs that I love dearly. In August of 2004, several police officers were exploring a section of the infamous maze of tunnels near the Eiffel Tower when they came across a particular doorway covered in plastic with a sign that said, "No entry." Inside, the police were momentarily terrified by the sound of attacking guard dogs, but they realized it was a recording. Pushing further into the tunnel, they found a full working cinema, complete with lights, a projector, a bar, a dining area, and seats carved directly into the rocks. When they went topside to report their find to their superior officers, they were pleased with what they'd found. By the time they got back, though, everything was gone, and all that was left was a note that said, "Do not look for us. Signed, The Society Of The Perforated Mexicans." Since then,...
- 8/29/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 20 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new psychological thriller “As Above, So Below”!
“As Above, So Below,” which opens on Aug. 29, 2014, stars Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro and Hamid Djavadan from writer and director John Erick Dowdle and writer Drew Dowdle.
To win your free “As Above, So Below” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!
Preferably, use your computer to enter rather than your smartphone.
If you must enter on your smartphone,...
“As Above, So Below,” which opens on Aug. 29, 2014, stars Perdita Weeks, Ben Feldman, Edwin Hodge, François Civil, Marion Lambert, Ali Marhyar, Cosme Castro and Hamid Djavadan from writer and director John Erick Dowdle and writer Drew Dowdle.
To win your free “As Above, So Below” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition!
Preferably, use your computer to enter rather than your smartphone.
If you must enter on your smartphone,...
- 8/25/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Director/writer: Gilles Marchand.
Black Heaven is a film from Gilles Marchand (Who Killed Bambi?), which centrally stars Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet and Louise Bourgoin. Released April 12th on various platforms, Black Heaven or L'Autre Monde (The Other World) warns viewers of those mermaids of the sea, who sometimes appear in film, seducing characters and enticing watchers to see what happens next. The beautiful Bourgoin plays the vixen, while Leprnce-Ringuet as Gaspard plays the soon to be trapped. This is a trap that you do not want to be caught in, as a suicide club turns to murder, when there are no more volunteers to cross over. Black Heaven is compelling for asking that age-old, and unaswerable question: is there life after death?
If you said yes, then you need to show this reviewer proof. However, the film is smart enough not to ask this question upfront, but this topic is interwoven into the compelling narrative.
Black Heaven is a film from Gilles Marchand (Who Killed Bambi?), which centrally stars Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet and Louise Bourgoin. Released April 12th on various platforms, Black Heaven or L'Autre Monde (The Other World) warns viewers of those mermaids of the sea, who sometimes appear in film, seducing characters and enticing watchers to see what happens next. The beautiful Bourgoin plays the vixen, while Leprnce-Ringuet as Gaspard plays the soon to be trapped. This is a trap that you do not want to be caught in, as a suicide club turns to murder, when there are no more volunteers to cross over. Black Heaven is compelling for asking that age-old, and unaswerable question: is there life after death?
If you said yes, then you need to show this reviewer proof. However, the film is smart enough not to ask this question upfront, but this topic is interwoven into the compelling narrative.
- 6/9/2011
- by Remove28DaysLaterAnalysisThis@gmail.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
"L'Autre Monde" ("The Other World") aka "Black Heaven" is the French techno-thriller directed by Gilles Marchand, now available on DVD.
Set partially in a virtual world called 'Black Hole', the film features CG animation. starring Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet as 'Gaspard', Louise Bourgoin as 'Audrey', Melvil Poupaud as 'Vincent', Pauline Etienne as 'Marion', Pierre Niney as 'Yann' and Ali Marhyar as 'Ludo'.
"...Teenagers 'Gaspard' and 'Marion' are madly in love and enjoying summer in the south of France, until they stumble upon a lost cell phone. At first they playfully decide to track down the owner. But the game takes on a much somber path when they find him dead, in a mysterious suicide ceremony.
"Next to him, lies a half unconscious girl, 'Audrey'. With her enigmatic tattoo and her gothic looks, she soon lures Gaspard into 'Black Heaven', a dangerously addictive video game.
"Gaspard discovers an obscure universe,...
Set partially in a virtual world called 'Black Hole', the film features CG animation. starring Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet as 'Gaspard', Louise Bourgoin as 'Audrey', Melvil Poupaud as 'Vincent', Pauline Etienne as 'Marion', Pierre Niney as 'Yann' and Ali Marhyar as 'Ludo'.
"...Teenagers 'Gaspard' and 'Marion' are madly in love and enjoying summer in the south of France, until they stumble upon a lost cell phone. At first they playfully decide to track down the owner. But the game takes on a much somber path when they find him dead, in a mysterious suicide ceremony.
"Next to him, lies a half unconscious girl, 'Audrey'. With her enigmatic tattoo and her gothic looks, she soon lures Gaspard into 'Black Heaven', a dangerously addictive video game.
"Gaspard discovers an obscure universe,...
- 5/1/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
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