Pulling out an older one here, As Above, So Below is a found footage film (I know…) that tells the story of a woman looking for the grave of Nicholas Flamel (who ISN’T just a Harry Potter character, apparently) and in turn, the Philosopher’s Stone. She figures out it’s in the Paris Catacombs and recruits a group of people to go claim it. Yeah, it goes bad.
I was expecting them to just run into a bunch of ghosts or monsters and slowly get picked off one by one, and where that is kinda what happens, it’s not as random as I thought it would be. It does have a treasure hunter vibe that works pretty well. I don’t want to give too much away, but the repeating nature of the catacombs was pretty cool.
The characters are pretty good, with more real personality and less caricature, and the actors playing them did a good job. Nothing to really comment about there. At some point I’m sure they just tell the actors “OK, you’re losing your shit. Action”
I’m deducting a point because they have to do all the normal “found footage” stuff to make it seem “authentic” when really it just makes it hard to follow what is happening. Oh, wait, I think get it. It enables lazy filmmaking! Instead of actually shooting a scene, just juggle your Go Pro and drop in some screams and running foley. Boom, chase scene! It does have a really good and creative ending, though.
3 out of 5
As Above So Below (2014) on IMDB
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