Below (2002)

I watched this primarily because I was home sick and not much else was available. I didn't expect a heck of a lot since so many movies about monsters and deep sea creatures have been made, I pictured another lousy one but, eh, I wanted to kill some time.WHAT A SURPRISE! At no point does this movie get in your face with the spookiness like some movies do and it relies far more on the psychological aspects of 'spooky' than beating you over the head with special effects. It keeps you guessing. Sure there are some things that make you go, "Oh come on, REALLY?" but that's more along the lines of, "I can't see that being allowed on a submarine in WW2!" so, like with most movies, you do have to suspend your belief a bit, but the basic story, as it goes along and as it unfolds did make me think and I found it generally quite plausible on the whole.I tried to describe it at work and found myself saying over and over that I couldn't say too much for it would ruin it for anyone who watched. On that note, I'll quit with one last line...BETTER THAN YOU MIGHT EXPECT-GOOD MOVIE!

So, should you give up a couple of hours and watch this film. If you're one of those people that are happy to chat with everyone around you while watching films or laugh at parts that are meant to be touching or scary, then no. (Okay, don't get me started on that.) If not, you'll enjoy this film, you'll enjoy the acting and you'll enjoy the atmosphere and the tension. I think the 6.? score is to be honest down to people who'd rather watch a documentary on WW II. Yes the submarine seems a bit roomy at times but that doesn't spoil the drama for me. As for the plot, without giving anything away, the sin at the heart of the story grows larger and darker. I won't say any more, just that you'll see some good actors here that have popped up and become more famous 10 years after this film.

Below is directed by David Twohy and C0-written by Lucas Sussman, Twohy and Darren Aronofsky. It stars Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Matthew Davis, Holt McCallany, Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Flemyng, Nick Chinlund & Dexter Fletcher.1943 and The USS Tiger Shark submarine is patrolling the Atlantic Ocean. After taking on board three survivors of a wreckage and a battle with a German warship, mysterious things start to happen on board the sub....It wouldn't be the first or last time that they did it, but Dimension Films failed to support a rather good horror film in their care. Coming a few months after Harrison Ford submarine thriller K-19: The Widowmaker sank without grace, Below was barely given a release or publicity junket to give it a chance. Which considering that $40 million was given to produce it comes off as mighty strange. More so when one looks at the credentials on offer. A cast featuring fine character actors from Britain & America, directed by the man who was hot from the popular Pitch Black and a certain Darren Aronofsky involved in the writing. OK, so admittedly a haunted submarine premise on the surface doesn't sound too demanding on the cerebral front, but this is much more than an underwater spooker.Below gets all the key ingredients right for such a genre production. It's intensively tight in claustrophobic atmosphere, creepy in narrative, adroit with the kill dispatches and crucially pays off with the big reveal. It also has some great underwater sequences to sample as the cast do justice to the smart script. True it's a little derivative of similar themed film's like The Keep, The Bunker et all, but what it lacks in freshness it more than makes up for in slick story telling. Also of note is that Twohy and his co-writers are aware enough to know that their story has to be a bit more than just another Rod Serlingesque tale. At the hour mark the characters even bring this into play with a wonderful discussion that richly subverts our expectations of where we are going with this movie.With its metallic blue tints (Ian Wilson on cinematography) aiding the feel of submarine life, we the audience are thrust into the confines of sub life as well. This really is a film that asks us to turn off the lights, switch the phone off and invest your very being into the story. Be part of this crew and the rewards are there to be had for the ghostly movie seeker. Cast wise Greenwood is classy as usual, and Williams refuses to let her character be the token it could have been. In support it's always good to see Chinlund & Flemyng performing, while Galifianakis delivers the goods in the colourful part.With visual smarts and a knowing sense of dread, Twohy's film is on the money. It may not be breaking new ground in the genre it sits in, but it's certainly one of the better told, and produced, of said genre stories. 7.5/10

Much underrated (although you don't trust me, I spent a few years on the planet, and am very picky). Truly great scary story. So I came back to edit, and it is to say that this story is, rhyme, understated. Film is your bedtime story come to life. Film is an eclectic medium, taking from all the arts except perhaps the tactile, and who knows how long before we will be able to feel the story physically by literally touching it."Below" is rather poetic, in the sense that it presents a "normal" war story in the context of what war signifies, its meaning and affect on us, yet places the characters in a situation that does not involve war as much as it does the simple unknowns of life. The demon, the ghost here, might very well be the "enemy," in this case the Germans, yet the art is in using this as a metaphor for our process of dealing with felt generalized fear. Of each other, of chaos, of death, of the devil, of God, of candy, slugs, spiders? Up to you. Still, I think, it is always what we think of as our demise, death.But "physical" isn't currently the question. This film has elements of Hitchcock, in that it provides an invitation to look into the mirror that reflects back our emotional life, and asks each of us to make our own decisions. And because of the supernatural/paranormal elements, it touches on what I perceive as something spiritual. Bottom line, it involves us in the character and experiences of the players.War, ghosts, a presence, an intimation, sensitivity, a sense. We do have a problem with death, many of us. This story is about dying in a can, that is, what they tell us about all these things, death, how to do this or that, like live one's life, failed relationships, wanting to do more than you think you are doing, or survival outside, or rather, no matter what your situation, whether you're sinking or floating or on solid earth, you will be asked, at some point, and like the characters in this story, to make a simple "yes" or "no" decision as to how much you appreciate life. It involves that leap of faith that we, some of us, hope to make, amidst a bit of doubt and sadness, and some appreciation of life.Very well filmed, quite well acted, an intriguing and expansive story. It is a bit dark, but that's what leads us to the light.Think about how much you judge.Greg Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (home, btw, of the first nickelodeon theater)