As Above So Below - Found Footage

Rating: 8/10

Summary: Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) an archeologist, Benji (Edwin Hodge) a documentary filmmaker, and Ben (Ben Feldman) their translator, go on one of the greatest digs in history: a dig for the philosophers stone. They venture down into the Paris catacombs with a group of regulars, and get into a little more than they bargained for.

Usually, found footage films are a bigger source of hilarity than real quality entertainment, and more often than not they are hard to invest yourself in. As Above So Below completely knocked that stereo type out of water. This is one of the most fascinating and engaging found footage, and horror, films I SPOILER not everyone dies).

have ever seen, and that is not at all an understatement. It may just be fascination with ancient civilizations, mysteries and the catacombs in general, but this movie was honestly amazing (even if it did lack in the scare department). The film was also completely original and nothing I have ever heard of, it wasn't the typical scary-ghosty-paranormal-activity-type movie and it didn't even have the ending I was expecting (which is that everyone dies in the end

Now, if you have read and seen the Harry Potter books/movies you know exactly what the philosopher's stone is and what it does. If you haven't it basically has the power to bring eternal life to whoever uses it, and it also has healing abilities, it was created by an alchemist by the name of

Nicholas Flemmel (sound familiar yet? Sorcerers Stone anyone?). Scarlett basically decides she is going to find this stone, not for fame or glory, but because she wants to, or maybe because she has something to prove to herself.

At the very beginning of the film it is made clear that Scarlett knows no bounds, she does what she wants when she wants to, and she will die before anything gets in her way of discovery. Immediately she becomes the most infuriating and intriguing character, she is so head-strong and persistent that you can't help but root for her the entire time. Her relationship with Ben also adds to the suspense, from the start it's easy to tell that they have had history together and the entire film is just waiting for the moment for them to rekindle it. As for the other characters, they remained secondary characters but they were still rounded and complex, each had their own background story that was somehow presented in the film, providing the audience a better understanding of their lives.

The only downfall to providing background to secondary characters is the fact that nothing was really made clear enough. The audience is aware that something haunts each character, and we get a slight

glimpse of it, but no more than that. In order to provide a better understanding of the characters, their personalities, their way of life, etc, it would have been nicer to get more history. If each of their demons had been described or explained in more depth like Scarlett and Ben's, the film would have been much more appealing and probably would have been a 10/10 film.

Overall, As Above So Below is one of the best found footage/horror/thriller/supernatural films I have ever seen, if not the best. It is definitely something I recommend watching. The scare factor isn't very high, but the entire premise of the film is so fascinating and eye catching it doesn't even need to be scary to be a good film. Though, if you are easily scared, this film does have some jump scenes, and pretty gruesome faces and accidents. I highly recommend this for horror fanatics, or anyone who wants to watch something with an interesting story, complex characters,and pretty good jump scenes.

Mr. Jones (2013) - Horror/Thriller/Found-Footage

Rating: 5/10

Summary: A filmmaker Scott (Jon Foster) and his photographer girlfriend Penny (Sarah Jones) move into a secluded town to work on their relationship. But, things change when they realize their neighbor is the famous "artist" Mr. Jones (Mark Steger). They then decide to change their focus and make a film about him, until things start getting strange.

I am a huge horror fan, unfortunately scary movies aren't so scary to, therefore I am extremely critical when it comes to horror films. Mr. Jones, like most others, wasn't too memorable to me. The only thing that made it exceptionally interesting was the plot and turn of events that took place at the end; where the antagonist wasn't at all that. Unfortunately, he ending was not made clear enough and became too hard to follow. Even after looking through various synopsis I still found it hard to understand the

ending. This is where the film lost me, have there been various Mr. Jones' and that is what Scott had become? And what was the significance of the sculptures affecting people in the way that they did? It was clear that they forced people to have terrifying nightmares, but other than that why had Mr. Jones sent them out into the world? This may just be me missing some points of the film, regardless it made the film difficult hard to follow as much as I did actually want to understand.

As for the acting; I was not impressed. As far as horror movies go, it didn't have the worst acting but the actors were not amazing performance wise. The problem, I think, lies with the story. The main characters Scott and Penny were hard to relate to and sympathize with because of their actions throughout the film, ex: Breaking into Mr. Jones' home, Scott stealing the baby sculpture that, and I'm

just taking a wild guess here, seemed like it was put there for a reason and really it seemed absurd for him to even think about taking it. Also the fact that Penny was not at all fazed by Mr. Jones when they were up close and personal. It seems hard to believe that someone would not be terrified of someone who has created such macabre pieces of "art," which to me often times looked like human remains. She did not even question the strange, quiet, and extremely creepy man who, also, took their car keys? For some reason that didn't seem at all suspicious to her.

Overall, I was not impressed with the film but it was fairly entertaining to watch. There are better horror films out their definitely, so I would only recommend this one if you have nothing to do and nothing else to watch. Maybe watch it late at night in the dark to make a little scarier, or if you're easily scared don't do that. I don't know I'm not your mother. As far as found-footage films go, the idea is original, interesting, and far more entertaining than paranormal activity.

Watch Mr. Jones Here