Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty good haunted submarine movie from David Twohy, 8 Jul 2005
After being disappointed by so many thrillers "Below" benefited by exceeding expectations. The 2002 film from director David Twohy ("The Arrival") takes place during World War II and begins with the crew of the American submarine "Tiger Shark" picking up three survivors of a British hospital ship that has been torpedoed. One of them is a nurse, Claire Paige (Olivia Wilson), whose presence aboard the boat is seen by some as signifying bad luck. But it is clear that this sub already has been running on the down side since the depth of the captain. The new commander, Lt. Brice (Bruce Greenwood) is jumpy, and apparently is telling the newcomers a story about the death of Captain Winter, and he is clearly not alone in hiding the truth about what really happened. Right after the British are brought on board "The Tiger Shark" is attacked by a German ship, while makes Brice think that one of the three survivors in a collaborator. Meanwhile, Ensign Douglas O'Dell (Matt Davis) is trying to make heads or tales out of everything that is going on, especially when things start to get creepy.It is easy to say that "Below" is a combination of a WWII submarine film and a ghost story, especially since that is a pretty interesting combination. But one of the things that makes "Below" work better than most ghost stories is that the possibility of there being some other explanation is quite strong throughout the film. One of the things that Twohy takes advantage of is the role that sound plays on a submarine where you can hear just about anything from whales singing to a Benny Goodman record that suddenly starts playing when the sub is engaged in silent running to a German depth charge bouncing along the outer hull (a marvelously affective sequence). Add to that your traditional oxygen deprivation problems from being stuck in a confined place, and who knows what is really going on at any moment. Submarines are inherently claustrophobic environments and a submerged sub under attack is a natural for sweating inducing tension. If anything Twohy studiously avoids going over the top, mixing up the touches of the supernatural with the various calamities that befall submariners, which you could say is erring on the side of caution. As a result "Below" moves from being moody to being creepy, but without really getting terrifying. Still, to be able to create and sustain a level of creepiness without the whole thing falling apart is pretty good in terms of contemporary horror movie standards. The performances are notably on target across the board, especially Nick Chinlund as the Chief, Jonathan Hartman as Schillings, and Christopher Fairbank as Pappy. There is also a wonderful sequences where the crew explores the idea that the one thing that explains all the bizarre happenings is that they are already dead in what is one of the better "Twilight Zone" moments I have seen since the Zone shut down. Check out the deleted scenes because the second one, the "Hot Fish" sequence, would have been really interesting to work into the film, especially since Twohy claims in the commentary that this was a real nightmare of U.S. subs during World War II. On that basic alone you have to wonder why they would have cut it, even though the explanation given (that it threatened to make "Below" seem like it was more of an action film than a thriller) makes sense.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST GHOST MOVIE IN SOME YEARS, 30 Aug 2007
This film has its share of fans, and I wanted to chime in.
I thought its visual effects were beautiful and functional throughout--this is a ghost movie, but the ghost effects are subtle, and never stoop to goofy atmospherics. Indeed, the ghost images are only a very small portion of the visual effects platter on display. Most of the wonderful miniatures and digital constructions concern themselves with the reality of the submarine and its adventures. And these numerous shots feature very little showing off--like the very best effects, they are tools to transmit the story, first and foremost. This rigid adhesion to story is visible all around, and it's very clear that cast and crew were solidly focused.
"Below" is a basic ghost mystery story (who is the ghost and what does it want), a type of film that is seldom done nowadays. A good number of these have been done over the years, certainly, and so the subject matter is familiar, but the story details/mechanics of "Below" present it all in a fresh manner. Lots of business for the actors to work with.
It's intricate, and demands attention from its viewers, and this is rewarded by what I think is a very watchable and entertaining ride, thanks in no small part to its great cast and tight direction. Yes! it's scary, possibly one of the most frightening films I've seen in years. I hesitate to call it a "horror" film, because its audience identification characters do their best to see that justice prevails, and eventually they pull the audience out of this hellish experience. This optimism gives the film a quality of fairy-tale parable. But it is certainly a white-knuckle suspense thriller.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Sub movie ever made!, 13 April 2007
As with the other reviews going into quite a bit of detail about the film I won't bore you except to say that this films realism, despite its extremely unreal plot, is absolutely amazing! Right from the start it has you on the edge of your seat, through to the very end, never once letting go! Make sure you don't need to pause in the middle because you won't want to! If you enjoy suspense combined with realistic action this is for you! Best Submarine film ever made in my opinion but don't let that put you off if you don't like 'war type submarine films', this is different! Very different!
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