As Above, So Below

Once upon a time, when someone in a horror movie turned a doorknob or drove toward a storm, you got to feel superior and shout, "Don't go in there!" Now it's more like, "Seriously? You're not gonna put down that camera first?"

Once the characters go underground, things start happening. Not scary things, mind you, but things.

The movie's signature signage - "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" - is the only instruction we really need.

"As Above, So Below" is novel enough to be worth the price of admission, but you'll think twice before getting back in line for a second visit.

While the film has a reasonably engaging cast and some decent scares, the script feels like an uneasy blend of The Blair Witch Project and Tomb Raider.

An entertainment-free sinkhole of Dramamine-worthy nonsense ...

It just isn't scary or clever enough and doesn't really gain momentum until a last minute dash towards a toe-curlingly obvious resolution.

It's [Perdita Weeks'] strangely believable performance that saves the film from itself, planting us firmly in its corner, often against our will.

This movie has a truly uninspired premise and wallows in so much inanity that it might as well have been buried in the catacombs, too.

I have seen dozens of these "queasy-cam" vehicles in my 18 years as a writer of film, and so few of them ever surpass the limitations of their technique. This is one that carves out a spot in the upper tiers.

As Above gets lost down in the dark with its characters, rendering Dante's iconic warning equally relevant to an audience looking for original frights.

As Above, So Below is a film that gets in its own way as much as dead ends block the paths of its characters.