As Above, So Below
Universal Pictures | Release Date: August 29, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
39
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
12
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
72
Film.comAug 29, 2014
The film’s finely tuned middle act, a fast-paced and quick-witted journey into (possible) madness, eventually gives way to an unsettlingly over the top final section that relies far too much on larger setpieces and supposed “big scares” that are never as good as the smaller, weirder stuff. Read full review
67
HitfixDrew McWeenyAug 30, 2014
For sheer craftsmanship, As Above, So Below is the type of horror film you should see theatrically. It's really well-made, even if it ends up feeling a little familiar by the end. Read full review
63
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenJun 1, 2022
Potential abounds in As Above, So Below—a sort of “Indiana Jones and the Haunted Catacombs”—though the many ideas at play never fully come together. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsSep 4, 2014
Novel enough to be worth the price of admission, but you'll think twice before getting back in line for a second visit. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJordan HoffmanAug 29, 2014
One of the world's top disturbing tourist attractions is now finally getting the spooky film it deserves Read full review
60
Total FilmMatt RisleyAug 25, 2014
Boasts sporadically electrifying visuals but a frustratingly messy mythology. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Aug 29, 2014
What’s the point in shooting a horror movie in the catacombs if it’s just going to end up looking like every horror movie not shot in the catacombs? Read full review
50
Village VoiceChuck WilsonSep 2, 2014
As Above, So Below is sometimes creepy but mostly silly, which is too bad because the film's cramped subterranean setting is inherently unnerving. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyKyle AndersonSep 1, 2014
Like other movies of its ilk, it's missing a very simple bit of next-level Hollywood technology: a tripod. Read full review
50
The PlaylistDrew TaylorAug 31, 2014
It offers a handful of effective moments and some characters that are fun to watch squirm through muck and bones, but not much more than that, especially when the films spins out of control towards its conclusion. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezAug 28, 2014
The film predictably alternates in scaring its characters by tapping into their deepest fears and having them rub shoulders with the relics of a past that insists on being undisturbed. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeAug 25, 2014
It all makes for clumsy-fun escapism, not bad as end-of-summer chillers go. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleWilliam GossSep 3, 2014
While its characters attempt to go deeper, As Above/So Below’s stabs at scares and sentiment only seem that much shallower. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriAug 29, 2014
There are moments of welcome tension amid the inchoate lunacy, but these in turn merely highlight why the rest of the film doesn’t work. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 28, 2014
There are some interestingly contrived moments of claustrophobia and surreal lunacy, but this cliched and slightly hand-me-down script neither scares nor amuses very satisfyingly. Read full review
40
The TelegraphMike McCahillAug 28, 2014
These catacombs are just an echo chamber into which any rubbish can be pumped, and while this gives carte blanche to production designer Louise Marzaroli, the relentless flow of subterranean non-sequitur becomes at least as trying as the whirling, jerky non-cinematography. Read full review
38
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreAug 29, 2014
It’s more unpleasant than scary, and ever so slow in getting up to speed. Read full review
37
Washington PostMark JenkinsAug 30, 2014
As Above, So Below is inherently absurd, but it would be somewhat less so had it fully committed to just one of its ridiculous premises. Read full review
30
The DissolveNathan RabinAug 30, 2014
As Above/So Below purposefully generates a certain air of mystery by keeping the exact nature of its protagonists’ experience enigmatic, but for a film that takes place underground in tightly enclosed spaces, it’s surprisingly thin on suspense and palpable physical danger. Read full review
30
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisAug 30, 2014
This quivering effort from the director John Erick Dowdle only increases in impenetrability whenever anything mildly curious occurs. Read full review
30
TheWrapDan CallahanAug 29, 2014
It's clear from the start that Dowdle isn't taking any of this seriously. The same cannot be said for the game and luckless cast of young actors, who are so whiny and hysterical right from the start of their plunge into the tombs that they win hearty unintentional laughs throughout. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterJordan MintzerAug 20, 2014
This low budget effort from director John Erick Dowdle and writer-producer-brother Drew Dowdle provides a few late scares after plenty of eye-rolling setup, with said scares due more to the heavy sound design than the action itself. Read full review
25
USA TodayClaudia PuigSep 4, 2014
As forewarned, so avoid. Read full review
10
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 30, 2014
An entertainment-free sinkhole of Dramamine-worthy nonsense. Read full review
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