AS ABOVE, SO BELOW

Ben Feldman and Perdita Weeks

AS ABOVE, SO BELOW (2014). Director and co-writer: John Erick Dowdle. 

Scarlett Marlowe (Perdita Weeks of Penny Dreadful) is a British professor in Paris who thinks she has found a clue to finding the famous Philosopher's Stone. Along with her photographer, Benji (Edwin Hodge), she enlists the aid of a Parisian named Papillon (Francois Civil), who knows his way around the catacombs and sewers of Paris. Scarlett is sure she has discovered the whereabouts of a secret chamber and only needs Papillon to guide her there, along with Benji, her reluctant friend, George (Ben Feldman of Cloverfield), whose brother drowned inside a cave, and Papillon's friends, Souxie (Marion Lambert) and Zed (Ali Marhyar). Descending beneath the city, they all get much more than they bargained for. 

Edwin Hodge as the ill-fated Benji

As Above, So Below has an off-putting style, similar to a "found footage" movie with everything being photographed during the trip via shaky hand held cameras that make you seasick and occasionally mask the action. That being said, As Above is extremely well-done for what it is, with generally excellent performances, outstanding production design (tunnels look like orifices), some top-notch FX work, and a genuinely creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere. Unfortunately, director/co-writer Dowdle is not content to make a satisfying thriller or horror flick, but tries to get metaphysical, with pretentious, unoriginal intimations that people create their own Hells, and throwing in supernatural stuff that may or may not be hallucinatory. Eventually all of the crawling around becomes a little silly and tiresome. But this is still quite a disquieting journey into the underground for most of the movie's length. 

Verdict: A trip you'll be glad you're watching instead of participating in. **3/4.