Day 73- Movie 58. Below (2002)

I thoroughly enjoyed the Darren Aronofsky-written Below. It is a movie that takes a number of familiar themes, yet mixes them together in a unique package. This is certainly a movie that you haven't seen before. While the movie does occasionally rely on some pretty cheap thrills, overall, it is a suspenseful, thrilling, entertaining film. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to see it.

The movie is basically a light horror movie set aboard an American submarine in World War II. I wouldn't call this film a "true" horror movie, as it is a deft blend of horror, mystery, and thriller. It combines the best aspects of those different films to create a unique experience. The story follows the crew of an American submarine who pick up the three remaining survivors of a British ship that was sunk by a German U-boat. As soon as the survivors get aboard, strange events start to occur on the ship, leaving some to believe they are cursed, others to believe the submarine is haunted. It's all quite interesting.

The film works because it does a terrific job of leveraging the strengths of the script. Submarine movies are always fun because they provide an intense, claustrophobic setting. There's something so unsettling about watching people standing perfectly still, trying to remain quiet, while an enemy ship with the capacity to destroy them floats close by. Below does a great job of portraying this suspenseful aspect of submarine movies, while also giving us some of the better scares that come with your typical horror film. This blend is what makes the movie original. It's so refreshing to watch something that you haven't seen dozens of times before.

I liked that this film was more of a psychological thriller. Sure, there are some good visual scares and intense, suspenseful moments, but so much of the tension hits us on an intellectual level. I'm sure much of that came from Aronofsky's script. While I loved the original script, I'm also glad Aronofsky chose not to direct this (he went with Requiem for a Dream instead). While I like Aronofsky, his movies always polarize the audience, sometimes for no good reason other than to do it. Below works better as a more straightforward film, aiming first to entertain.

This film does have some shortcomings- there are too many attempts at cheap scares (i.e., people turning their heads quickly to see- Nothing! Followed by the sudden appearance of another character, which scares them and- supposedly- us). The film does require you to suspend your disbelief a bit, and it does get somewhat messy towards the end. These small flaws prevent it from being a great movie, but they do not hurt it significantly.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film- it is one of the most suspenseful, entertaining, memorable films I've seen in a while. I do wish they had relied less on the cheap thrills, but overall, this is a very solid, entertaining movie. I give Below a very strong 7.5/10.

I'd like to write some more, but it's getting late, and I need to try to get another movie in. I haven't felt good at all the last few days, and I wasted two hours sleeping when I got home from work because I felt so bad. I could have gotten a movie in then, so now I've got to stay up late to try to squeeze one more in. Hopefully I can stay awake...