Below (2002)
Six hundred feet beneath the surface terror runs deep
Starring: Chuck Ellsworth, Crispin Layfield, Holt McCallany, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Davis, Jonathan Hartman, Dexter Fletcher, Sebastian Knapp, Olivia Williams, Scott Foley, Max Casali, Nick Chinlund, Alexis Conran, Matthew Leitch, Jason Flemyng
Director: David Twohy
Running Time: 107 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 15
Drama, Horror, Science Fiction
On DVD Set within the confines of a US submarine during World War II, this clunky attempt at a chiller seldom reaches the level of spine-tingling it sets out to achieve. The basic premise is that after the captain snuffs it under suspicious circumstances, the crew start falling victim to a number of increasingly eerie accidents. Sensing ghostliness is afoot, the whole lot of them slowly start to go mad and, in one of the film's more entertaining moments, think that they're maybe all dead already (almost certainly a wink in the general direction of The Others).
A major problem with the film is that's it's virtually impossible to tell one crew member from the next. Olivia 'Rushmore' Williams stands out predominantly because she's the only woman on board, and Bruce 'Thirteen Days' Greenwood because his Lieutenant Brice character has a bit of bite to him. But none of the rest have been given any noteworthy characteristics, and caring about them seems a laborious task as a result.
The movie's main strength is its cinematography, with some great shots both inside the submarine and out. But the "shocks" don't cut the mustard and, after a decent opening, it sinks swiftly into the murky waters of boredom.
DVD Extras: A trailer, a handful of deleted scenes (with optional commentary), a standard run-of-the-mill 'making of' featurette, and a full-length commentary from Twohy.
It's Got: Matthew 'Blue Crush' Davis fulfilling his usual role of standing about looking handsome.
It Needs: To make better use of all that darkness by injecting some proper scares.
Alternatives: Ghost Ship, Ghost Rig, The Others, Pitch Black
Summary: A totally unremarkable underwater creepfest.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 24th December 2003
External Links
Official Web Site
Below at the IMDB
