#drewdowdle

[adamwatchesmovies]

As Above, So Below (2014)

As Above, So Below got me. While not a great horror film, it contains good moments that make it worth your while. You can see the opportunities it misses but this time, the untapped potential is a forgivable offense.

Scarlett Marlowe (Perdita Weeks) is following in her father’s footsteps and searching for the tomb of Nicolas Flamel, creator of the philosopher’s stone. Her journey has brought the young scholar and her friends to the catacombs of Paris, France, where they find something evil within the endless tunnels beneath the city.

The film’s got a solid setup. Can you think of anything creepier than crawling through abandoned passages beneath a place you don’t know, sifting through the bones of the dead? No one would dare... unless the juice was really worth the squeeze and the philosopher’s stone is just that. It's a compelling reason to go to such a creepy place, but this being a horror movie generates further intrigue. Eternal life could simply mean turning you into a zombie or preventing your spirit from leaving our world once your flesh finishes rotting.

The setting lends itself well to claustrophobic scares. As our heroes travel deeper into the bowels of this ancient tomb, they encounter “normal” dangers such as collapsing and flooded tunnels, and otherworldly threats as well. Tunnels that circle around inexplicably, visions from their’ past, nonsensical geometry that’s wild enough to drive you mad.

For the most part, the film focuses more on the frightening concept of the weird and inexplicable. We hardly ever see that kind of horror and the laws of physics we take for granted suddenly being upheavaled is an unexpected novelty. Where As Above, So Below becomes less effective is towards the end. Like many horror films, it suddenly runs out of things to do with its mysteries and begins relying on explaining things to fill its 93-minute running time. It becomes incrementally less scary once you know the rules of the catacombs and this story spells it out for you pretty clearly. It doesn’t ruin the dread completely, but it makes you wish the picture had taken more cues from other, more successful fright-fests like The Descent.

In As Above, So Below you will find another film shot from the first-person POV that didn’t really need to be made that way. The momentum it loses momentum towards the end is also worth noting. That’s hardly enough to dismiss the picture. This horror film tries something new by having the horror come from a location. Not from ghosts haunting a house, or from a mad slasher, no demons or zombies here either. For that, I found it refreshing and say it's worth checking out for horror enthusiasts. (On Blu-ray, July 31, 2016)

#as above so below #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #JohnErickDowdle #DrewDowdle #PerditaWeeks #BenFeldman #EdwinHodge #FrancoisCivilMarionLambert #AliMarhyar #2014movies #2014films #horrorMovies #Horrorfilms

[lowellryanprojects]

Robert Lazzarini, Rated R for BLOODY VIOLENCE: TERROR AND LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT (As Above, So Below), 2021, Oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 ¼ x 96 inches . . . #paris #catacombs #gatesofhell #universalpictures #johnerickdowdle #asabovesobelow #stopviolence #philosophersstone #foundfootage #perditaweeks #benfeldman #thomastull #drewdowdle #ratedr #patrickaiello #legendarypictures #knightstemplar @universalpictures @perdita_weeks_ @benmfeldman @legendarypictures (at Lowell Ryan Projects) https://www.instagram.com/p/CREpt3InTGh/?utm_medium=tumblr

#paris #catacombs #gatesofhell #universalpictures #johnerickdowdle #asabovesobelow #stopviolence #philosophersstone #foundfootage #perditaweeks #benfeldman #thomastull #drewdowdle #ratedr #patrickaiello #legendarypictures #knightstemplar

[rosstownacademy]

I am not a firefighter but I play one on TV. #quarantine #quarantined #sonypictures #drewdowdle #johndowdle (at Downtown Los Angeles)

#sonypictures #quarantine #drewdowdle #johndowdle #quarantined

[adamwatchesmovies]

Quarantine (2008)

I know Quarantine is a remake of REC but no one has seen every movie out there; it's valid to judge a movie on its own. Usually found footage horror means something cheap scraped together, shipped to theatres for a quick buck, and then gone before the bad reviews come in. This isn't one of those.

News reporter Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) are assigned to follow firefighters Jake (Jay Hernandez) and Fletcher (Johnathon Schaech) on their night shift as part of a fluff piece for the station. When the crew responds to an emergency call from an apartment building, they discover that a number of its residents are infected with a rabies-like disease. Before they know it, the building has been quarantined and no one is allowed in, or out.

Although the concept of "found footage" is inherently problematic, the story's premise lends itself well to this format. Our main characters are newspeople, so of course, they want to capture what's happening. The people need to know and this isn't that much different from a war zone or the middle of a disaster. When the action starts getting intense you'd think Scott would put the camera down but it proves itself useful thanks to the built-in flashlight and night vision. The direr the situation becomes, the more they need that camera. It's clever.

Though Quarantine only lasts 89 minutes, there's ample time spent on the characters, meaning you care about them when danger looms ahead. By showing us Angela, Scott, and the firefighters on a normal day at first, you get to relate to them. Later, you admire their dedication once the quarantine is set. Even when Angela is overwhelmed by panic later in the film, you still care for her instead of becoming annoyed. The first-person point of view puts you right there next to her. You get frightened as the building devolves into chaos. How can you blame her for feeling the same?

A key to the film's success is that while the scenario is dire, it isn't hopeless. With no one allowed in or out, there are only so many people that can be infected. If our heroes band together and hold up for however long the quarantine lasts, they’ll be alright. The odds are slim but they're there, which makes a cheap scare towards the end - the very last frame - a bad call. There are quite a few of them as things wrap up. The story behind the chaos is overly and unnecessarily explained. We got plenty frightened not knowing where the disease came from and what exactly the government’s plan was for 79 minutes. Throwing some quick material to clarify the situation adds nothing.

Quarantine uses its location, characters, and central premise well. It’s like a zombie movie in many ways, but there’s new material present that makes it original. Or maybe all the ingenuity comes from REC. I couldn't say, and until you’ve seen both films, how can you know for sure? It’s a horror movie that frightens. I recommend it. (On DVD, November 8, 2015)

#Quarantine #movies #films #movieReviews #FilmReviews #JohnErickDowdle #DrewDowdle #REC #JenniferCarpenter #JayHernandez #ColumbusShort #GregGermann #steve harringrove #dania ramirez #RadeSerbezija #JohnathonSchaech #2008movies #2008films