Liz’s Review: ‘As Above, So Below’

Last year I toured the Catacombs of Paris. If you are at all claustrophobic, this may not be the tour for you. They are very deep beneath the streets of Paris and not for the faint of heart. If you don’t know, they are the resting place for over 6 million bodies; skeletal remains. Check out a few pics from my trip.

Catacombs of Paris Photo by Liz Whittemore

Catacombs of Paris. Photo by Liz Whittemore

One of the long hallways down into the tunnels. Photo by Liz Whittemore

This is the famed entrance. “Stop. This is the Empire of The Dead”… and yes, that’s me. It’s tricky to photograph down there. You CANNOT use flash!

In the new film As Above, So Below we follow Scarlett (Perdita Weeks)and her fellow archeologist, George (Ben Feldman), on a quest for Flamel’s Stone.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Flamel ) If this sound familiar, you might be a Harry Potter fan. AKA the Sorcerer’s Stone or The Philosopher’s Stone, a red stone that has the properties to heal and bring eternal life. They venture deep into the catacombs on a scientific/historical theory of a hidden chamber that may contain the stone. With the guidance of a team of rogue explorers, led by François Civil (Frank), the group pretty quickly gets into some eerie trouble. 

Touted as a “found footage” genre horror, in my opinion is more horror documentary style. I found this film to be a great mix of National Treasure meets The Descent. I was fully engaged the entire time. In a packed theater last night, the scares were plenty and consistent. I found myself covering my eyes more than once, which is quite unlike me. The script, by Drew and John Erick Dowdle, is smart and creative. I really enjoyed the tie in to religion, history, and theoretical occult writings. For me insight on some of that click the link —-> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeticism) For me, it made the suspension of disbelief much easier to swallow. The tight spaces and natural dark lighting of the environment ramp up the fear factor for sure. I totally bought Weeks ( The Invisible Woman) as an ambitious young phenom trying desperately to finish the life’s work of her deceased father. Feldman (Mad Men) is awesome as the apprehensive genius. Both performances are genuine and interesting.

As Above, So Below worked well for me. I was never bored and mostly fascinated by the fact that the filmmakers and actors were actually granted access to parts of the catacombs off limits to the public. Very impressive. You can catch As Above, So Below in theaters today.