Watching this underrated horror from ten years ago reminds us of Netflix's New Hit Survival Thriller.
The ideal reminder to check out an underappreciated horror film released ten years ago is a new popular survival thriller on Netflix. Though Netflix offers movies in numerous genres, the streaming behemoth often releases new thrillers that keep viewers white-knuckled and on the brink of their seats. While some of these thrillers have well-known names as their stars, practically insuring their success, others have very smaller budgets but interesting stories.
Falling into the latter type, a fresh Netflix survival thriller has become among the most watched Horror Movies on the streamer recently. Along with praise from audiences and critics for its eco-horror depiction, Stephen King has approved of the movie. Fascinatingly, it also features one story point that appears evocative of another cult-favorite understated horror film.
Both Under Paris & As Above, So Below Draw A Terrifying Image Of Paris' Catacombs
Paris's subterranean catacombs serve as the scene for a horrific sequence in the Netflix film Under Paris. In this series, a throng of people gathers around a shark while an activist tries to send it back to the sea. But things quickly go dark when the shark targets the activist, and the people in the crowded subterranean ossuary start to flee. This sequence, which shows how many cannot escape on time due to the low ceilings and tight pathways of the catacomb, effectively causes a sensation of claustrophobia even for a spectator, which makes them target for the shark.
With its portrayal of Paris' catacombs, the 2014 understated horror film As Above, So Below elevates things. The movie veers further toward fiction by picturing the Catacombs as a portal to heaven than it does on merely parping on real-world terrors. It centers on a group of adventurers who travel far into the gloomy Paris ossuaries only to discover they are descending deeper and unlocking fresh rings of heaven and are therefore running across terrible horrors. As Above, So Below also has sequences when characters barely crawl through small tunnels, their anxiety evident as the walls progressively close in throughout its running length.
The sinister past of Paris's catacombs explained
The catacombs in Paris started in the 18th century while the city was rapidly expanding, which also raised mortality given its fast growth. Local cemeteries and graveyards soon brimmed, causing hygienic problems around the French capital. The authorities of the city sought Tombe-Issoire quarries, constructed during Roman times but utilized as the new resting place for the dead bodies, to address this problem. Bodies were straight carried to the catacombs and given a new moniker: The Empire of the Dead when the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution resulted in even more deaths.
Though the subterranean tunnels span 150 miles below Paris, only a portion of the area is accessible to interested tourists. Although just one person is documented to have perished within the catacombs, the subterranean labyrinth is surrounded by numerous horrific stories and legends. For example, several have said they visited the tunnels and even heard eerie noises and saw ghostly apparis. The location's spooky vibe and fit for a horror film are enhanced by some claims to have seen odd orbs of lights and been touched during their visit.
Which film's portrayal of the catacombs most terrifies you?
Although Under Paris is terrifying in and of itself, its terrors do not immediately draw on the catacombs as a narrative technique. It simply emphasizes how the Paris location first serves as the backdrop for multiple people's fatal experiences with a deadly shark and subsequently the site of the main nest for the shark. Although the catacombs' claustrophobic and labyrinthine features accentuate the characters' sense of powerlessness, the main terrors in the movie are related to the shark attacks.
Conversely, directly employs the catacombs as a narrative technique to propel its supernatural horror story like Above, So Below does. Additionally using a found video filmmaking technique, it envelops viewers in the dizzying events of its key characters as they explore the terrifying tunnels. Not to mention, Netflix's Under Paris merely offers a taste of what lurks in the catacombs; As Above, So Below has explicit moments where viewers may see the deceased interred in the ossuaries.
Under Paris Against As Above, So Below: A Study of Two Catacomb Horror Films
Movie; Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score; Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score
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Under Paris | 52% | 32%
Above, so below | 28% | 41%
Though they tackle the idea in somewhat different ways, Under Paris and As Above both employ the Paris catacombs as a location for horror. While As Above, So Below leans into the supernatural and embraces the catacombs as a portal to hell, Under Paris, with its emphasis on shark attacks, presents a more realistic and scary approach to the theme.
Both movies present a striking view of the strange and haunting Paris catacombs. Under Paris is worth seeing for its gripping narrative and exciting portrayal of the catacombs even if it might not be as highly praised as As Above, So Below. Though its Rotten Tomatoes ratings are lower than above, so below is still regarded as a cult classic among horror buffs since its usage of the found footage technique gives the movie some authenticity and immersion.
The Paris Catacombs: An Interpretive History of Mystery and Legend
Beneft Paris's busy streets sits a secret world full of dark secrets and old secrets. Only to discover the truth buried within the city's catacombs, a party of courageous urban explorers sets out and finds themselves against a sequence of horrible obstacles. They have to face their strongest anxieties if they are to survive as they untangle Paris's mysterious past. Fascinating and enigmatic, the Paris catacombs have been the subject of innumerable legends, tales, and mythologies. Once used as a cemetery for millions of Parisians, these subterranean tunnels offer evidence of the city's rich past and ongoing vitality.
Though they are a famous tourist site, the catacombs also evoke mystery and curiosity. For millennia, people have been fascinated and terrified by the mythology surrounding the catacombs—stories of ghostly apparis and strange encounters. The Paris catacombs serve as a reminder of the sinister aspects of past and the continuing might of the human soul. A really remarkable experience, the catacombs are a place where history and mystery entwine with their great passages and unsettling silence.
