Below (2002)

Thrilling film about mysterious events happen into a submarine and carried out by a supernatural force ; being compellingly directed by nice filmmaker David Twohy . This fantastic movie packs thrills , chills , violence , horror , suspense with creepy and ghastly underwater scenarios . As six hundred feet beneath the surface terror runs deep . The submarine U.S.S. Tiger Shark commanded by officer Brice (Bruce Greenwood) along with crew (Dexter Fletcher ,Nick Chinlund , Scott Foley , Jason Flemyng ,Christopher Fairbank , Sebastian Knapp..) prowls on what should be a routine rescue mission , as they save a little group from a shipwreck , among them appears a woman (Olivia Williams) . But then strange happenings occur on the WW II submarine , as crew suffer runaway fear , astonishing deeds , sensory delusions and scary happenings . As a song was supposed to be mysteriously playing on the record player (the song results to be 'Benny Goodman''s "Sing Sing Sing , With a Swing") and a vengeful ghost haunting the crew . There shows up an evil that lurks just below the surface of the ocean and deep inside the human psyche causing panic , mental deceptions and terror .

This is a terror/thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat , though some moments turns out to be confusing and slow-moving . Exciting film packs intrigue , intense scenes , grisly killings and amazing suspense . This is a creepy flick in which ¨U-571¨ meets ¨Poltergeist¨. The star-studded cast is well headed by Bruce Greenwood , Olivia Williams , Matthew Davis and excellent plethora of secondaries as Holt McCallany , Dexter Fletcher , Nick Chinlund , Andrew Howard and Scott Foley . Some filming for this movie took place on an actual WW2 submarine . The USS Silversides -which is available for tours- located in Muskegon Michigan was towed out into the middle of Lake Michigan where scenes with Bruce Greenwood were filmed . The rest of the sets and models used in this movie were all based on the look and layout of the Silversides . Appropriate and suspenseful musical score by Graeme Revell . Atmospheric and colorful cinematography by Ian Wilson .

The motion picture was well written and directed by David Twohy , though Darren Aronofsky, who co-wrote the screenplay, was originally going to direct the film in 1999 but instead made Requiem for a dream (2000). David is an expert writer and director of splendid Sci-Fi movies . As his first picture was the acceptable ¨Timescape¨ and subsequently made ¨The arrival¨ with Charlie Sheen . He also wrote ¨Warlock¨, ¨Waterworld ¨, a script for ¨Alien 3¨ in 1988, but it was rejected . Back in May of 2000, Fox Studios once inquired for his availability to write and direct "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" , but turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts . David subsequently directed this ¨Below¨, the successful ¨Pich Black¨ as well as its sequels ¨ The chronicles of Riddick¨ and his last movie ¨Riddick¨(2013) .

Fmovies: This was only playing at one cinema in my area (off my usual track) and when I saw it listed in the paper I thought "Wait, how did I miss that?" But it was rated R (always a plus for me; for one thing, an R rating means the F-word gets used at least twice, so it'll have at least that much realism) and I had read somewhere (probably on IMDB) that it was about submarines, so I thought I'd take a crack at it. My venture was well rewarded.

Set during World War II, an American submarine rescues 3 people on a liferaft, one of whom turns out to be a woman, news of which galvanizes the sub's crew, who seem to know every female slang term ("Brillo pad" was new to me). The movie pays tribute to the German "Das Boot," the best submarine flick ever, as the camera goes darting from one passageway to another as the crewmen are introduced. Then some odd things start occurring.

Helping to win me over was the sheer copiousness of period detail with all the 1940s technology used by the crew to run their boat plus their cigarettes, girlie pin-ups, phonograph records, a Yo-Yo, etc. The actors all rang true except for the young idealistic guy. Lots of great claustrophobic atmosphere; limited but effective use of a certain kind of special effect. One needs to pay attention, such as the mirror scene, where you might think "Is that image duplicating what the guy is doing, or not?" Slow but steady heightening of tension and development of otherwordly aspects. Delightful underwater renditions with plankton & manta rays cavorting. Some drawbacks: too much use of flashbacks, some of which may be "false" (Hitchcock used a false flashback once & always regretted it); too much action occurring off-screen, to where it calls attention to itself. There's a central flashback issue that seems to call for an awful lot of expository dialogue, some of which occurs when one would suppose the characters would be engaged with more pressing matters, such as running out of air.

Given how many other recent movies have cost a lot more money, been given much more ballyhoo but have had much weaker plot, characterization and atmosphere, it seems a shame "Below" must rely entirely on word of mouth, or keyboard. I won't claim I was on the "edge of my seat" throughout but I definitely "bought into" the situation. There's a really lovely closing shot, like a shorter & underwater "Koyaanisqatsi," that no one should find overly corny or contrived.

Bottom line: if you can't find this one in a cinema or reach it before it goes away, keep an eye out for video. The studio made a mistake just blowing the movie off, it deserves better.

In one scene we see a seaman with pet fish in a tank, a nice ironic touch.

Sci-Fi escape drama that will have you on the edge of your seat and cracking your knuckles. When a WWII submarine picks up three survivors of an incident in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1943, the crew suddenly experiences mysterious doings in the confined space. It appears this boat is doomed from the start. Typical problems for a submarine movie. Pretty good acting from a diverse cast that includes: Bruce Greenwood, Matt Davis, Olivia Williams, Scott Foley and Holt McCallany. Decent enough F/X and sometimes scary story line holds your interest.

Below fmovies. 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.

If you have seen your share of genre-movies, there will in this movie rarely be an idea that you have not seen, a cut that has not been there already or a character that is completely new - but it´s the mix that counts and this mix came out very right.

If you are on the edge of your seat, you know what is going to happen but nothing has been shown in the first half of the movie and the suspense just keeps on building, I for one know that I am going to enjoy it to the last second.

Oh, and another thing - although there is only 1 woman in the movie, she is neither token, nor does she fall in love or is killed in the classic shower scene, but she actually is given a role to play - bravo. The only little thorn I can think of is, that I could have done without the very few gory (or at least bloodyish) scenes - was not really necessary. A silouette and some shocked expressions do suffice. Go and watch - not a cheap thrill, a good one.

I enjoyed 'Below' a LOT more than I anticipated. It's a very similar movie in theme to the disappointing 'The Bunker', apart from the obvious difference of being set on a submarine of course. But unlike 'The Bunker' this movie has interesting characters that a)you can tell apart, and b) actually care about their fate. The script, direction and acting are all superior, and it's very effective in conveying the tense atmosphere of a sub in WW2, despite not being made on a mega-budget. I like David Twohy's debut 'Pitch Black', and I like 'Below' even more. It's not only a very well made suspense movie, but also a good war one. I hope Twohy fulfills his promise in projects to come.