Creatures of War #18: Below (2002)
Sunken, but not forgotten
Hey
Two posts this month, who am I??? It’s almost the end of the year and I’ll say it again, 2024 was my worst year since 2020. I don’t have too much hope for 2025 given some recent events1, but I’ll try to be hopeful. It wasn’t all bad, I found a job (that I hate, but hey money is money), I can now look for a job I don’t hate with a safety net, and I’ve actually grown quite fond of my new town. The cherry on top is that I acquired about 30 new horror DVDs for free! One of these DVDs is the very elusive 2002 WWII horror film: Below. I’ve been searching for it for maybe about a year, so finding it feels like a much-needed little victory.
Also omg, my subscribers doubled randomly. Hello new people!
Review
Originally supposed to be a sci-fi movie directed by Darren Aronofsky, Below is a horror film reworked and directed by Pitch Black’s David Twohy. The final cut takes place entirely on a US Navy submarine during WWII. When the crew rescues stranded members of a destroyed British hospital ship, strange events start to turn the submarine into a pressure cooker. I’ll leave the plot at that as I think it’s a good movie to go into blind. Haven’t heard of it? That’s allegedly by design. Twohy was pushed to make the film PG-13 to appeal to a broader audience but declined and stuck with the R-rating. This led the studio to limit the release and promotion of the film, ultimately paving the path to obscurity. I’m glad Below didn’t fade away because it’s already one of my favorite first watches of the year.
Arguably the best part of the film is the set: a borrowed real-life old submarine called the USS Silversides. The level of set detail is a thing of beauty— from the ship’s mechanics to the small personal effects of the crew, it all feels lived-in. A breath of fresh air in our current ocean of greenscreen. I know very little about submarines, but I was surprised by just how many people could fit into one Near the start of the film, a man runs through the sub to announce that there is a woman aboard. He shouts various vulgar (and admittedly misogynistic) phrases as he ducks through the metal corridors and teases his fellow men. The way he moves through the ship not only shows off the sheer scale of the vessel, but also introduces the many personalities in a matter of seconds (even if it’s not classy). I have no way of knowing if Below was accurate in its portrayal of Navy submarine life, but as an outsider, I was fooled. The characters themselves were nothing truly special, but the performances were top-notch (particularly Bruce Greenwood as Brice). The crew followed familiar archetypes (think Aliens) but nevertheless felt very natural.
While not exactly a cosmic horror film, Below has an undercurrent of Event Horizon that is hard to ignore. The blue lighting, the strange captain2, the mysterious demise of a ship, it’s Event Horizon underwater (and I mean that as a compliment). I don’t find Below as scary as Event Horizon, but the R-rating was absolutely the correct move. If this were PG-13 it would fade into the background of every other aquatic horror movie out there. While I wouldn’t say the plot is that unpredictable, the way it unravels has enough twists and turns to keep me locked in. Below is not very gory or action-packed, but plays on a deeper fear of being imprisoned in a situation you cannot comprehend. There’s a particularly eerie sequence where a crew member suggests that everyone on the ship is already dead and hallucinating the events of the film as they drift into the afterlife.
“What if, when we took on that kraut ship, we didn't sink 'em? What if... they sunk us?”
“Oh, that's a good twist.”
Despite what the title may suggest, Below is not a creature feature like Leviathan or Underwater. To me, “Below” suggests something alien lurking under the cold waters, but that is not necessarily what we get. Did that disappoint me? I won’t lie, it kinda did. Add in some eldritch horrors, and it’s a perfect movie. I will say “Below” is a more creative title than its more related movies: Death Ship and Ghost Ship.
Below is not without some critique. There are a couple of outside CGI shots of the sub that are pretty bad, the characters are predominantly men who say shitty things, and the runtime is just a little too long. People have called it slow, derivative, and ugly. I can’t completely disagree, but for the most part, I have nothing but love for Below. I’m very pleased with my DVD and see an aquatic horror marathon in my near future.
Water and air warfare
I’ve always been a fan of planes. Not flying3, but of the machines. I used to work next to an airport and while I waited for the bus I’d crane my neck to watch the planes take off. My favorite plane I saw was a P-8 Posiden, a submarine hunter. It would practice at my local runway, taking off and landing repeatably. Despite being a fan of planes, I know very little about military planes. I hear them fly past all the time, but seeing one made me realize why so many people are into warplanes, especially WWII-era aircraft. Such beautiful machines, but they cause such destruction. I’m reminded of Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises:
“Airplanes are beautiful, cursed dreams, waiting for the sky to swallow them up.”
Much like Jiro in The Wind Rises, all I want to see is beautiful, fast planes, I don’t want to see them used for war. Unfortunately, that’s just a dream.
The P-8 was designed in the early 2000s, but a Lockheed Ventura would have been the aircraft used in the 1940s. Below mostly features ship vs submarine warfare, and this was a popular method of attack, but Allied planes with radar were a huge threat to German submarines.
I think civilian planes will always be my #1 obsession, but I have a feeling submarines and warplanes will sneak into my heart. With the way the world is going, I guess I may be seeing more war machines. I would love to see a P-8 up close, but I’m worried it won’t be in an airshow, but on its way to deployment.
What’s next?
I absolutely recommend Below! If you’re a fan of tense horror, naval warfare, ghost stories, or just semi-niche films, I think you’ll like it. Below is not the most creative or well-made aquatic horror film out there, but I think it needs more love than it gets.
I have no regular schedule for writing, but I do have one post planned: a wrap-up of all my favorite movies I saw in 20244. I also got Outpost: Black Sun as one of my free DVDs and while I don’t love Outpost and had no plans to watch the second one, I feel now I must. When I do I’m sure I’ll do a post on it. Until then, enjoy the holiday season and go plane-spotting if you get a chance.
Here are some movies I think would double-feature well with Below:
The Block Island Sound (2020) - an underrated, low-budget cosmic-aquatic-horror.
Ghost Ship (2002) - probably the most obvious suggestion, but hey if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Leviathan (1989) - or any of the other underwater horror movies that came out in 1989. Big year for submarine movies.
Just look at any news story
Also, Bruce Greenwood looks a lot like Sam Neil
I’m very afraid of flying, but I do watch videos about plane crashes to fall asleep so I’m sure that’s helpful
That could be next week or next month, who knows
Pitch Black is one of the best variations on the "Alien" story ever made. I'd love to see see a Twohy helmed variation of Event Horizon set underwater. Thanks for the recommendation. Thanks also for not overhyping it either.
I haven’t seen this one but Event Horizon underwater sounds like a good time! I was in college at the time and forgot all about this. Also never heard of Block Island Sound and still have never seen Leviathan unfortunately.