"As Above, So Below" (2014) REVIEW

Found-footage horror movie, anyone? No? Too cliche at this point?

As Above, So Below documents the journey of a group of excavators as they go through the catacombs that lie underneath Paris to search for the treasure know as The Philosopher's Stone. However, when the group attempt to go back up to the surface after recovering the Stone, things are different. Something threatens them, keeping them trapped, and using the nightmares of their past to manipulate them.

As mentioned, As Above, So Below is a found-footage horror movie, and it gets the basics right. The script for this film is, to be honest, rather intriguing. It's a combination of a treasure-hunter movie and a jump-scare horror film well blended together. The writer knows how not to give away too much information and leave just enough space to give the audience to come up with their own theories (so if you don't like those kind of movies, then you won't like this one).

Everything else is in the film fluctuates from mediocre to pretty well-done. The acting is on par, though at times a bit below. The lighting in the movie (or, more notably, the lack thereof) was well-executed, definitely keeping me at the edge of my seat. The sound? Oh my, the sound is amazing. Sound plays a pivotal role in horror movies and the director seems to acknowledge this factor because the sound design was extremely well-done. Seriously, I had goosebumps at times.

Overall, As Above, So Below is a decent found-footage horror movie, being better than The Blair Witch Project in my opinion. Is it worth a watch by all horror movie junkies, though? Unfortunately, it is not that good (but I would not mind watching it again).

3/5 Stars

Comments

"Need for Speed" (2014) REVIEW

I know I'm not the only one who thought this movie was going to be a flop. I mean, not only is it a high-speed street racing movie, but it's also a videogame movie. Still, I gave it a shot, but mostly for the D-Box experience. Even with the earnings from winning illegal street races, Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is still unable to keep his auto repair shop from his father open. For a chance to get $500,000, Tobey takes an offer from his street racing rival and successful car dealer Dino Brewster (Domonic Cooper) to finish building the Ford Mustang that Caroll Shelby was working on when he died. After building the car and selling it without Dino's consent, Dino challenges Tobey and Tobey's friend, Pete, to a street race for the money. Nearing the end of the race, desperate for revenge, Dino pushes Pete over a bridge and drives away, leaving Tobey to be blamed for vehicular manslaughter. Two years later, fresh out of prison, Tobey seeks out to knock Dino off his p...

Books on Film by Black Authors

There's no real order to this list, nor can I guarantee which ones are worth reading or not. However, the quality of the books are not the point, but rather we should lend these voices our eyes, ears, and time, giving them a stronger voice than they would have had without at least mentioning them. Titles link to the Goodreads page for the specific book and additional links will be listed to buy the book from Barnes & Noble and/or Thriftbooks (non-affiliated). Don't forget to see if your local bookstore might have these in stock! Missing your favorite? Tweet me @AuthorKLau and I'll update the article! Independent Visions: A Critical Introduction to Recent Independent American Film by Donald Lyon Far from the big money movie machine of Hollywood lies the cutting-edge, artistically fresh world of American independent film. These independent filmmakers, working outside the formulas and constraints of the big studios, produce today’s most exciting and innovative movies. In ...

Blue Beetle Rebirth Vol. 1: The More Things Change (Rebirth #1, #1-#6)

2/5 Jaime Reyes as the Blue Beetle has interested me and been on my reading list for a while. When I first discovered the character watching Batman: The Brave and the Bold , seeing Jaime as a relatable teen arguing with the sentient suit that gives him his powers, his New 52 line had already been cancelled. Then Geoff Johns wrote Rebirth and added a little scene with Jaime Reyes that I thought was both very interesting and promising. In short, Keith Giffen doesn't deliver in this volume until issue #6, where he kind of gives a small splice of what the series could be. Getting the obvious out of the way, the dialogue here is absolutely horrible. I tell myself it feels like a first draft, but then there are moments of repetition and sentences upon sentences of nothing going on. By then, it feels more like a very bloated outline with the characters speaking mostly hot air. The dialogue here isn't flat, it's completely empty. This, in turn, makes all the charac...

Kevin Lau

Search This Blog