This week’s Cutting Room is going underground.

As Above So Below

Beneath the streets of Paris lie the Catacombs, miles and miles of dark, narrow passages lined with the bones of six million bodies. When a team of urban archaeologists venture into its depths to unearth an ancient artefact they find instead that the deeper they go, the more of their own personal demons are unearthed and that, as the poster somewhat ominously points out, the only way out is down.

Why we’re looking forward to this: While we can almost hear the groans when we tell you that this is another found footage movie, though one with multiple camera angles thanks to each of the archaeological team having their own head cams, we think that As Above So Below stands out from the pack because it was actually filmed in the Catacombs in Paris (unlike 2007’s Catacombs which was shot in Romania using sets based on the genuine article).

If you’re fortunate enough to have seen them in the flesh (so to speak) then you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about, but if you haven’t then As Above So Below will serve as an incredible virtual tour of this unique tourist attraction. Built in 1875 to provide a final resting place for six million of the city’s former inhabitants, the long and claustrophobic corridors of bones and skulls, some of which are in grotesque arrangements that are morbidly artistic, are far more impressive than anything Leatherface or Giger ever created.

The location alone should make for an interesting watch because having been down there ourselves a couple of times we can confirm that the Catacombs are both breathtaking and creepy, but the film itself is looking like it could be more than just a third rate rip-off of The Descent. In fact it feels a little like the much underrated Event Horizon in the way it appears to be messing with the minds of the archaeologists as they search for their elusive relic.

The trailer hints at much brain bending, what with pianos and burning cars seemingly turning up in places where they really shouldn’t, and the suggestion that the Catacombs may have turned themselves upside down has our inner disaster movie geek child grinning like a lunatic at the thought of our Indiana Jones wannabes undertaking their very own paranormal Poseidon Adventure if they want to escape.

Whether the interesting location and intriguing trailer live up to our expectations remains to be seen, of course, but right now As Above So Below is looking promising and may even tempt us to check it out on the big screen.

As Above So Below was released in cinemas on 29th August and is out on DVD/Blu-ray on 26th December.

RICHARD COSGROVE