Catacombs (film)
Hollywood loves horror movies; and the audience, apparently. While the once popular westerns are almost extinct, horror films, which have been enjoying great popularity since the beginning of “running pictures”, are almost being produced on an ongoing basis.
In the latest incarnation these genres, the horror movie and psychological thriller catacombs, It’s all about a team of researchers venturing into the Parisian catacombs to uncover the dark secret buried in this city of the dead.
Action / Summary
catacombs
The movie starts with the search for the “Rose” in underground tunnels in Iran, by the lead actress Scarlett Marlowe, an archeology professor, also found. She just barely escapes the collapsing vaults.
However, this history is of only marginal importance. It should be suggested that the figure of Scarlett created as a mixture of Lara Croft and Indiana Jones. Probably mainly to induce critics to create a very artificial connection to the most famous archaeologist in film history and a very well-known figure in the PC games sector.
She travels to Paris, where she assembles a team: the documentary filmmaker Benji, her ex-boyfriend George, a leader and his girlfriend (Papillon and Souxie) as well as her friend Zed. The five want in the catacombs the “Philosopher’s Stone“(Supposedly discovered by Nicolas Flamel and given immortality).
She was already looking for her father, and according to the latest findings, he is located about 133 meters below Paris.
On their hike through the narrow tunnels they first meet a group of female occultist the mysterious songs sing, and a little later La taupe (“The Mole”) the buddy of the “Boy Scout” Papillon.
Eventually they end up in a grave containing a preserved Knights Templar, and lo and behold, the “Philosopher’s Stone”.
The protagonist takes it, and realizes too late that it is a trap (just like in Iran, the shop collapses). But that’s not all: in a row, surrealist things, undead, demons … – the whole range.
The film draws its effect in particular from the claustrophobic narrowness in the catacombs (low ceilings, narrow passages and waist-high water), and by the (already in the movie poster, which represents the Eiffel Tower upside down), inverse Relationship of events and actions in the “underworld“To the reality of”overworld“.
The remnants recognize that the stone itself is a trap and must go back to where it came from. Easier said than done, but it succeeds, with the small horse foot, that the way back is now finally cut off and the pest spirits are still close on their heels.
Finally, after a “leap of faith,” they land again on the surface of the earth, with a beautiful view of the church of Notre Dame.
Review / review
Short & Painless
The thrill imparted by the film comes either from the things that could actually happen (claustrophobia, collapses, and encounters with the various unpleasant ones).phenomena“That you meet almost as expected on a journey underground, or directly from the character’s life story (all have unresolved deaths of friends or family members in their past). The idea behind it is that traveling to the lowlands of the catacombs is an analogy to diving into your own subconscious.
The director, who previously shot the films Quarantine (2008) and Devil (2010), uses visual effects that cloak more than they show.
For lovers of restless handheld cameras and shrill dialogues catacombs certainly worth seeing. The film is exciting, without really shocking scenes to show (which is also based on the fact that often only a section is shown). Established classics such as the “Blair Witch Project” (1999) or “Paranormal Activity” (2007), however, the film can not hold the water.
At the end of the day, “catacombs” go into a panicky, fast-paced tempo, which unfortunately is not dynamic, but more likely confusion generated. In addition, the often clumsy and outrageous dialogues rather for involuntary comedy caring and reminiscent of a loose succession of flat jokes remember.
rating
The movie was released on DVD in December 2014, and receives mixed reviews on Amazon (average 3.1 (maximum of 5 stars, 230 reviews); As of April 2016). However, it is noticeable that the film receives as many 5 stars as 1 star ratings.
The rating at IMDB is 6.1 / 10 Points (50,000 ratings).
The film has not yet aired (as of September 2016) on German television.
catacombs
The official trailer
An archaeological enthusiast tries to locate the famous “philosopher’s stone”. The search for the stone leads Scarlett and a group of researchers deep into the unmapped areas of the claustrophobic catacombs of Paris. There they encounter far more than they expected and are facing a tough fight against their own demons.
soundtrack
List of soundtracks
backgrounds
A few details & anecdotes
This was the first production that the Obtained permission from the French government to film in the catacombs of Paris. The film was filmed in narrow, winding tunnels, and the real skeletons that were deposited centuries ago were also part of the decoration.
The “hole“In which the 3 survivors jump to escape the horror, is possibly an allusion to Dante’s Inferno (a chapter of the” Divine Comedy “): To escape from hell Dante has to climb down Satan’s hairy belly and jump into the navel (the – it is said – the center of the earth is where gravity is reversed, the “bottom” becomes the “top” and the fall becomes a leap.
The phone in the catacombs, which Scarlett picks up, is a circa 1940 built Stromberg-Carlson desk phone. However, the handset was replaced with a model from the 1930s and a more modern spiral cable used.
This type of landline telephones was widely used in posh hotels back then, and appears in an immense number of movie scenes; especially those of the category “Film Noir”.
The horror film Catacombs had support shortly after its premiere on April 24, 2014 social networks of the world’s most famous creator Felix Kjellberg (AKA PewDiePie, 47 million subscribers) and his girlfriend CutiePieMarzia (6.5 million subscribers). As a publicity stunt, the two went on a prepared journey through the Parisian catacombs, and were terrified several times (filmed of course and published on YouTube).
Quotes
The best quotes from the movie Catacombs
As above so below, as I imagine the world is so. [Scarlett]
The only way out, go down. [La Taupe]
The path shows the vulture’s wing-beat, with brightest light on the darkest day. [Inscription]
Let those who enter, drive all hope. [Inscription; The quote is originally from the pen of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (The Divine Comedy, Inferno III, 9 (The Hell’s Gate))]
According to mythology, this is the inscription above the gate to hell. [Scarlett]
catacombs
Meaning and history of the term
The German title refers to the location, the catacombs (from Paris). The English title delivers a better one statement in the form of wordplay “As above, so below” (approximate translation: “As above, so below”) is much more profound, especially since “above” also has an association with supernatural, and “below” with subterranean.
meaning
Catacombs are man-made underground vaulted complexes, which serve the burial of the dead. Catacombs have historically their beginnings in the Roman Empire, and were then outside the city limits, since it was illegal at that time (for hygienic reasons) to bury dead within the city limits. In particular, the catacombs of Rome and Paris are popular tourist attractions.
ancestry
The word originally referred only to the Roman catacombs, which served the persecuted Christians as sanctuaries between the 2nd and 4th centuries. However, its significance since the 18th century includes any underground vaults in which burials are buried.
The exact etymology is not sure. Maybe the derivation of a proper name of a “Underground cemetery” or from Italian “Catacombe” mediated by Latin “Catacumbae” borrowed from the Greek “Kata kymbas” With kata For , Down ‘ and tymbos For ,Dig’.
movie reviews
More reviews of well-known films
And for faithful followers of the eerily beautiful thrill, there is a selection of scary horror stories to read, and on a slightly different level, a list (with a quick critique) of the top 30 zombie movies of all time – sorted by year of production.
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