Movie Description
In 1943, the crew of the U.S.S. Tiger Shark, an American submarine in the Atlantic, rescues three survivors of a British hospital ship that came under German attack. One of the survivors, a nurse (Olivia Williams), raises tensions among the all-male crew from the moment she steps aboard. Commanding Officer Lieutenant Brice (Bruce Greenwood) does his best to keep the unruly crew in line, but after suffering damage from a barrage of Nazi depth charges (in a spectacular sequence) a series of increasingly spooky occurrences begin to rattle everybody aboard. A mysterious face that appears in the windows, a ghostly phonograph that plays a Benny Goodman record, and a corpse that seems to talk are just the beginning. Soon it is discovered that Captain Brice has not been entirely truthful regarding an accident that previously happened on the boat.
David Twohy's (PITCH BLACK) unique submarine thriller skillfully combines the conventions of the War and Haunted House genres, using a keen eye for detail to create a very believable and claustrophobic world. Based on a script by Darren Aronofsky and Lucas Sussman (rewritten by Twohy), BELOW doesn't rely on cheap scares. Its supernatural element is secondary to a forceful tale of danger at sea.
| Credits | | Producer: | Michael Zoumas | | Cast: | Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Zach Galifianakis |
Notes
Theatrical release: October 11, 2002 (LIMITED)
Editorial Reviews
"...This is film of great technical precision, in which every shot has been thoughtfully selected for maximum expressiveness and the crisp, creative editing propels the story along..."
New York Times - p.E28 - Dave Kehr (10/11/2002)
"...BELOW has a slamming first hour..."
Los Angeles Times - p.C25 - Manohla Dargis (10/11/2002)
"...There is some cleverness and technical skill at work here in the sorting out of the story's little puzzles as well as in formulating a different approach to shooting a submarine picture..."
Variety - p.22-9 - Todd McCarthy (10/07/2002)
"...Every camera shot looks good....[Greenwood's] performance is an above-average pleasure..."
Entertainment Weekly - p.91 - Lisa Schwarzbaum (10/18/2002)
"...BELOW's got class and visual creativity to spare..."
Premiere - p.106-7 - Premiere Staff (06/01/2003)
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