IMDb RATING
6.1/10
25K
YOUR RATING
The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine in World War II rescues survivors from a sunken ship, only to face a series of mysterious deaths and supernatural occurrences.The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine in World War II rescues survivors from a sunken ship, only to face a series of mysterious deaths and supernatural occurrences.The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine in World War II rescues survivors from a sunken ship, only to face a series of mysterious deaths and supernatural occurrences.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Matthew Davis
- Odell
- (as Matt Davis)
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Its's a bit weird that after all these years the overall rating is 6.1. I am no movie critic but I have watched this movie in my younger years and just did it again. And I can tell that nothing is fundamentally is wrong with it :/ . Acting is OK, story is enticing, effects are decent and soundtrack is befitting the vibe of the movie. Story is quite good too. I have watched every horror movie rated above 7 except black and white oldies and I rate it 6.5 easily.
I enjoyed 'Below' a LOT more than I anticipated. It's a very similar movie in theme to the disappointing 'The Bunker', apart from the obvious difference of being set on a submarine of course. But unlike 'The Bunker' this movie has interesting characters that a)you can tell apart, and b) actually care about their fate. The script, direction and acting are all superior, and it's very effective in conveying the tense atmosphere of a sub in WW2, despite not being made on a mega-budget. I like David Twohy's debut 'Pitch Black', and I like 'Below' even more. It's not only a very well made suspense movie, but also a good war one. I hope Twohy fulfills his promise in projects to come.
Sci-Fi escape drama that will have you on the edge of your seat and cracking your knuckles. When a WWII submarine picks up three survivors of an incident in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in 1943, the crew suddenly experiences mysterious doings in the confined space. It appears this boat is doomed from the start. Typical problems for a submarine movie. Pretty good acting from a diverse cast that includes: Bruce Greenwood, Matt Davis, Olivia Williams, Scott Foley and Holt McCallany. Decent enough F/X and sometimes scary story line holds your interest.
Director David Twohy's BELOW is a gem of paranoia, claustrophobia, conspiracy, and deep sea creepiness.
The USS Tiger Shark submarine rescues 3 members of a doomed British ship, only to be hunted by Germans from above and haunted by ghostly visions, strange sounds, and otherworldly occurrences below. Unexplained malfunctions and tragedies keep happening in seemingly supernatural ways.
Has a dead crewmember returned, or is the lowering oxygen level causing everyone to go insane?
As the story unfolds, we find that not everyone is what they appear to be. As in all of the best of these underwater thrillers, the action takes place in corridors and quarters so tight that movement is severely restricted. This adds to the tense feeling of suffocation, and makes us feel trapped along with the crew.
The Director and cast are flawless in creating a thick atmosphere of terror and madness. Bruce Greenwood and Olivia Williams are especially good in their roles.
Highly recommended...
The USS Tiger Shark submarine rescues 3 members of a doomed British ship, only to be hunted by Germans from above and haunted by ghostly visions, strange sounds, and otherworldly occurrences below. Unexplained malfunctions and tragedies keep happening in seemingly supernatural ways.
Has a dead crewmember returned, or is the lowering oxygen level causing everyone to go insane?
As the story unfolds, we find that not everyone is what they appear to be. As in all of the best of these underwater thrillers, the action takes place in corridors and quarters so tight that movement is severely restricted. This adds to the tense feeling of suffocation, and makes us feel trapped along with the crew.
The Director and cast are flawless in creating a thick atmosphere of terror and madness. Bruce Greenwood and Olivia Williams are especially good in their roles.
Highly recommended...
The relatively low 6-ish average rating might lead you believe this is a poor movie that's not worth your time, and that would be both doing the movie a disservice, and potentially cause you to miss out on something you would enjoy.
There is something of a limit to possible plots with submarine movies to be honest. The elements of anxiety and tension and some of the more obvious risks of being in a submarine at combat are well defined to anyone who has worked as, or with, a submariner or is well versed on those aspects of naval warfare pertaining to submarines. There ARE going to be some aspects of things you've seen in other submarine movies , it's unavoidable.
Nevertheless I feel that this movie, with it's undercurrent of something weird and disturbing going on introduces something to a submarine movie I've not seen before.
If you like movies that put you in tense, creepy situations with no obvious way to escape then this might be your movie.
Overall the acting and script were fine. I watched this again for the second time so I perhaps was left feeling that the tension would have benefitted from being ramped up even more, but I do remember being suitably chilled the first time I watched it.
This is a tense chiller, not really a horror, imo so it's important to set ones' expectations accordingly.
Definitely worth a watch if you like this style of movie. I would rate 7.5/10.
There is something of a limit to possible plots with submarine movies to be honest. The elements of anxiety and tension and some of the more obvious risks of being in a submarine at combat are well defined to anyone who has worked as, or with, a submariner or is well versed on those aspects of naval warfare pertaining to submarines. There ARE going to be some aspects of things you've seen in other submarine movies , it's unavoidable.
Nevertheless I feel that this movie, with it's undercurrent of something weird and disturbing going on introduces something to a submarine movie I've not seen before.
If you like movies that put you in tense, creepy situations with no obvious way to escape then this might be your movie.
Overall the acting and script were fine. I watched this again for the second time so I perhaps was left feeling that the tension would have benefitted from being ramped up even more, but I do remember being suitably chilled the first time I watched it.
This is a tense chiller, not really a horror, imo so it's important to set ones' expectations accordingly.
Definitely worth a watch if you like this style of movie. I would rate 7.5/10.
Did you know
- TriviaSome filming for this movie took place on an actual WWII submarine. The USS Silversides (which is available for tours) located in Muskegon, Michigan, was towed out into the middle of Lake Michigan where scenes with Bruce Greenwood were filmed. The Silversides had some minor re-painting done (rust coloration) but is now back to her original gray color. The rest of the sets and models used in this movie were all based on the look and layout of the Silversides.
- Goofs(at around 1h 22 mins) When the crew comes out of the sub from the forward torpedo room, they walk up stairs. In submarines during the war, there were no stairs out of a ship; sailors climbed up ladders through hatches. They walked through the forward torpedo loading hatch that was opened, and stairs were added to the sub after turning it into a museum ship to make it convenient for tourists to enter and exit the sub.
- Quotes
Lt. Loomis: Sorry about what?
Brice: Uh... she was... asking about Winters.
Lt. Loomis: What'd you tell her?
Brice: The story.
- Crazy creditsThe only thing in the opening credits is the movie's title. Everything else is only shown after the movie is over.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Une vie inachevée (2005)
- SoundtracksSing, Sing, Sing (With A Swing)
Written by Louis Prima
Performed by Benny Goodman
Published by EMI Robbins Catalog Inc. (ASCAP)
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label, a unit of BMG Music
Under license from BMG Special Products
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $605,562
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $201,431
- Oct 13, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $2,622,015
- Runtime
- 1h 45m(105 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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