The Popcorner

Written: John Erick Dowdle (screenplay), Drew Dowdle(screenplay)

Director: John Erick Dowdle

Miles of twisting and turning catacombs lie beneath the streets of Paris, the eternal home to countless souls. When a team of explorers, headed by Scarlett (Peredita Weeks) ventures into the uncharted maze of bones, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead and themselves. A journey into madness and terror, As Above, So Below reaches deep into the human psyche to reveal the personal demons that come back to haunt us all.

The cinematography of the film was modeled after the traditional found footage style. The film was filmed through the perspective of the explorers utilizing go-pro cameras mounted on helmets and a hand held camera.

I went into this film after reading a recommendation about it. Personally, I thoroughly enjoy psychological thriller films but I believe As Above, So Below missed the mark. Yes, the film had an interesting concept but it ultimately lacked in extrapolating the descent into madness and explaining itself. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to many viewers, unless you are specifically looking for a found footage filmed type of movie.  

IMDB: 6.1/10

The Popcorner:  4.75/10

This is how I will be breaking down the films that I watch and attributing my own score.

1.    Good Story: A great movie must have a good plot that tells both an intriguing and unusual story. The plot needs to be captivating or the story isn’t going to have legs to walk on.

2.    Suspense: Some element of the film must keep the audience on edge and make them eagerly anticipate a resolution.

3.    Originality: The film must present some new concept or idea that has hardly been explored by its predecessors. Some amount of creativity and innovation should invent never-before-seen content.

4.    Good Actors/Good Cinematography: No matter how great a job the writers did coming up with a story, it must be properly executed. The actors must convince the audience they are the characters they're portraying, and the camera crew must capture the scenes in a manner that best illustrates the story.

5.    Profound Message: Within the story there should be brought to light a particular moral or ethic. It doesn’t need to be an original message, but a deliverable one that will resonate with the viewers

6.    Realism/Accuracy: A great film should portray events, people, etc. as they are in real-word settings despite controversial themes. Actions and interactions should be believable, plausible, and at least somewhat relatable.

7.    Good Setting: The characters must be placed inside an environment that contributes to their actions and interactions while also emphasizing the themes and moods of the film. The scenery should be pleasing to the eye while not detracting from the main focus of the scene.

8.    Soundtrack: I heavily subscribe to the adage "music is the language of the soul". Sound should complement the visuals, but also help convey the emotion of each scene. If those two aspects contradict each other, diagetic and non-diagetic soundtracks should each support a separate element in opposition to the other.

9.    Composition: Everything must be arranged in a comprehensive manner that upholds the story. Within the composition I will also look at the editing process and the smoothness of the editing.