Below
Released: October 11, 2002 (150 theaters)

Studio: Dimension Films
Director: David N. Twohy
Screenwriter: Darren Aronofsky, Lucas Sussman, David N. Twohy
Starring: David Crow, Matthew Davis, Dexter Fletcher, Scott Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, DJ Perry, Olivia Williams
Genre: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: R (for language and some violence)
Official Website: Belowthemovie.com

Summary: The submarine U.S.S. Manta had a perfect record until the mysterious death of its captain. The next-in-command, Lt. Richard Brice is determined to steer his disheartened crew back to safety. But after three battle survivors board the sub, bizarre and frightening things begin to happen. As the eerie tale unfolds, and crew members begin to disappear, Ensign Douglas O'Dell must piece together the puzzles of the submarine's past before it is too late to resurface alive.

Reviewed by Peter Veugelaers Ó 2003
- Don't be deceived -- get out of cinema quick!

"Below" starts off with promising and intriguing ideas, but delivers short on expectations. A U.S. submarine during World War II is headed for a nightmarish finish, or so you would expect from the theatrical trailer, when strange otherworldly occurrences disturb the already frayed and frustrated tempers of the crewmembers.

It starts with a claustrophobic feel of a closed universe – the sub is cornered in the deep by a German sub above, and the very nature of the setting being vast but with nowhere to run. As well, significant crewmembers are sceptical of the sudden threat of eerie disturbances and do not consider the death of junior crew members as in any way related. With this ambiance built up in the first third of the film, I expected the next two-thirds to establish and develop the "menace" that is lurking. It is a letdown, however.

In fact, it is unclear as to whether there really is a menace at all as the nature of this apparently supernatural attack is massively underused. This is more about the conflicts between characters, which is pivotal to the story, and not between the "ghosts" that haunt the sub. There is a sense that the preternatural manifestations are really distractions to the plot as the real conflict is internal. The first half dupes and deceives us into thinking this will be a suspense horror, but turns out to be more introspective, which creates an uncertain double mindedness.

"Below" contrasts other "haunted house" flicks that have a propensity to invigorate style and gross-out imagery at the expense of subtly, but the problem with "Below" is that you come away with the feeling that there wasn’t enough spectacle and too much subtly.

The intentions seem to be honorable – there is a heart to it (a kind of post-World War II lament in the new millennium about what war does to people) - although it could have been much better and it stands more formulaic and clichéd than portraying anything new in the genre.