Below (2002)

August 8, 2023 8:44 AM

[TRAILER] The submarine U.S.S. Manta had a perfect record until the mysterious death of its captain. The next-in-command, Lt. Richard Brice (Bruce Greenwood) is determined to steer his disheartened crew back to safety. But after three battle survivors board the sub, bizarre and frightening things begin to happen. As the tale unfolds, and crew members begin to disappear, Ensign Douglas O'Dell (Matthew Davis) must piece together the puzzles of the submarine's past before it is too late to resurface alive.

Also starring Olivia Williams, Zach Galifianakis, Scott Foley.

Directed by David Twohy (The Arrival) from a screenplay by Twohy, Lucas Sussman, and Darren Aronofsky.

66% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

JustWatch.

kaibutsu was kind enough to support MeFi with a donation. Their request was for six films about submarines. I'll be using the tag #SubCinema

Donate $25 or more to MeFi and you can MeMail me a request for a themed day of your own. I'll fill up the sidebar on FF with six movies that fit your theme.

posted by DirtyOldTown (7 comments total)

Below is so underrated. It is really good for what it is: a ghost revenge story on a sub.
posted by Kitteh at 9:39 AM on August 8, 2023 [4 favorites]

I very much enjoyed Below when I caught it years ago - a fairly silly premise (if you can have a ghost ship, why not a ghost sub?) that was suprisingly elevated by the execution. It's also the first thing I recall seeing Zach Galifianakis in, before he got much more well known with Ferns and Hangovers and such, and his character is a delight.
posted by FatherDagon at 10:04 AM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

This and Pitch Black were what turned me into a fan of David Twohy. He's a master of doing just what you say, FatherDagon - taking B-movie material and making it considerably better than it's got any business being. I really admire that.
posted by Naberius at 11:08 AM on August 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

Pitch Black was pitch perfect.
posted by Kitteh at 11:14 AM on August 8, 2023 [2 favorites]

I really dug this. Time to watch it again!
posted by Mister Moofoo at 4:40 PM on August 9, 2023

So I know I've seen this, but like many other movies completely forgot it. I'm watching it now.

I've decided since this part of an effort to drive mefi donations up, I will donate 5 dollars for every DOT movie review part of that effort that gets me to watch a movie. So far? Up to 10 dollars.
posted by miss-lapin at 12:03 PM on August 10, 2023 [1 favorite]

Well that was a helluva ride.

I need to point out that Darren Aronofsky was one of the writers, which may also have elevated this film.
posted by miss-lapin at 6:25 PM on August 10, 2023