Cast: Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Olivia Williams, Dexter Fletcher
Director: David Twohy
Producer: Sue Baden-Powell
Screenplay: Lucas Sussman & Darren Aronofsky and David Twohy
Cinematography: Ian Wilson
Music: Graeme Revell
U.S. Distributor: Dimension Films
Although it's hard to imagine a better match than ghosts and submarines, this story has never previously been told. Consider all of the natural claustrophobia and tension inherent in a movie about men trapped in the bowels of a submerged sub, and add in the possibility that the boat might be haunted. The result would seem to be the formula for a superior horror/thriller. And, while director David Twohy arguably doesn't mine the premise for all it's worth, he gets enough out of it to make it an effective Halloween treat.
As ghost stories go, this one is handled with great subtlety and delicacy – in fact, one could argue perhaps a little too much of both. The haunting of the U.S.S. Tiger Shark becomes a backdrop against which the attempts of several crewmembers to conceal dark secrets are played out. Below features a creepy atmosphere, but it is more suspenseful than chilling, and is unlikely to give adults nightmares.
The film, which transpires during World War II, begins with a rescue mission, as the crew of the Tiger Shark brings on board three survivors of a torpedoed British hospital ship. All is not well aboard the Tiger Shark, however. Morale has been at a low ebb since the death of the captain. The current commander, Lt. Brice (Bruce Greenwood), seems unsure of his position. When the Tiger Shark is attacked soon after the British are brought on board, Brice reacts by accusing a female nurse, Claire (Olivia Williams), of being a collaborator. Ensign Douglas O'Dell (Matt Davis) watches all of this transpire with unease, sensing that Brice may know more about the captain's death than he is willing to acknowledge. Meanwhile, supernatural occurrences begin plaguing the boat, starting with a record player that turns itself on at will.
Twohy, whose previous directorial outings have included Pitch Black and The Arrival, understands the importance of atmosphere, and allows it to suffuse Below. Nearly every scene is shot in dim lighting (or, on occasions, almost no lighting), and the camera moves in such a way that we think, but are not certain, that something out-of-the-ordinary is happening. (Consider, for example, the scene in which Holt McCallany's Loomis observes a reflection that doesn't quite mirror his movements.) There are a few "boo!" moments, but not as many as there could have been. Twohy uses sound to good effect, as the men trapped in the sub hear the eerie, expected echoes of whale songs and sonar pings, as well as some chilling noises that they cannot identify. The model work depicting the sub in action is surprisingly good for a motion picture that was made on a relatively small budget.
Crafting an effective ghost story in the 21st century is a difficult task. Viewers are not as easy to frighten as they once were, and scenes that once would have caused gasps now result in giggles. Most horror movies go too far over-the-top, stifling any chance that they will succeed as anything other than campy gore-fests. By identifying this pitfall, Twohy has avoided it. Below is a psychological horror movie that emphasizes tension over the macabre. And, in the end, the protagonists must determine whether they have more to fear from the spirits haunting the sub, the Germans prowling the waters above, or the men who will do almost anything to keep their secrets buried.
© 2002 James Berardinelli