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Below (2002) - Supernatural horror set in a unique location, a WW2 submarine
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As both a person who enjoys horror films and as a mammal that is comprised of like 60-percent water, I do have a thing for aquatic terror. We explored this on my last post with 2001’s Dagon, and we venture back out to sea today for Below, released in 2002. Submarines make for a great location in any movie but, for whatever reason, the naturally tense and claustrophobic setting has been rarely utilised in the genre of horror. Never fear, because Below fills that gap in the market like water through a damaged hull.
Video Essay version with clips: https://youtu.be/prV27cEwNg8
Below takes place during the height of World War 2, following an American submarine on a patrol through the Atlantic. The crew are ordered off-course to rescue survivors from another sunken vessel. When they get there, they scoop up three survivors, who turn out to be British friendlies, and shock horror, one of them is a woman. In a nifty single tracking shot that introduces us to our crew, we are treated to all the verbal ways a load of seamen can get excited about a woman. This is as unified as they ever get, as problems quickly arise. Paranoia is directed both at the Germans in the vicinity but also internally within the sub. “Below” does not just refer to the underwatery goodness, no sir. It relates to the various secrets submerged by the characters. Very clever, very clever. The good guys have secrets. The bad guys have secrets. It all floods together in some interesting moral dilemmas, bolstered by the constant potential threat of a supernatural force.
The film was directed and co-written by David Twohy, who is perhaps best known for helming Vin Diesel’s trilogy of Riddick movies. He does well to keep the action pumping and the tension mounting, all within the small locational confines, which was partly shot on a real WW2 submarine. The directing isn’t too flashy but every now and then he sprinkles in a cool shot here and there. Among the other writers was Darren Aronofsky, or as I like to call him, Darrenofsky. Below, which was called Proteus at the time, was originally planned to be his directorial follow-up to Pi. At some point in pre-production, Darrenofsky got a taste for ass-to-ass and chose to make Requiem for a Dream instead. Wise choice.
Just like Requiem, Below has a pretty notable cast. You’ve got the ever reliable Bruce Greenwood as the commanding officer who hates the swinging sounds of Benny Goodman. You’ve got Olivia Williams once again playing a lady totally surrounded by toxic men. There’s an early role for Zach Galifianakis as a guy called Weird Wally. You’ve also got Christopher Fairbank playing Ethan Hawke who has been left out in the sun for a decade. And don’t forget, there’s also a Lock Stock reunion with Dexter Fletcher and Jason Flemyng. It’s a shame Vinnie Jones wasn’t onboard too; if his ghostly reflection tried to attack him, he’d just shove its head between a car door a few times. Would be a much shorter film.
Featuring a handful of twists and some genuinely exciting war action too, Below always has something to entertain you with. The horror elements are sewn into the fabric of the plot quite slowly, which might turn off some viewers. But for me, it just adds a richness to the events. Is the vessel really haunted, or is the extreme duress of their situation completely destroying their minds? It almost doesn’t matter either way, as the breakdown of these unstable soldiers turning on each other in cramped terrifying conditions is all but inevitable. Good stuff for a Sunday afternoon horror.
Top Comment: Great movie, glad your giving it some attention! The claustrophobia and growing stress on the sub are well presented. The fragility of the sub and the cat and mouse game of being hunted are bad enough, but as the supernatural (or delirium) start to ramp up you really feel the horror of being stuck in this hopeless situation. The layers of secrets just add the final sparks to the powder keg that theyre literally stuck inside of.
Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk : TheTrove
Main Post: Phandelver and Below: The Shattered Obelisk : TheTrove
Recos for office chair below 2k? : ShopeePH
Main Post: Recos for office chair below 2k? : ShopeePH
Below Deck Season 7 Reunion Episode 1 Discussion
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In Part One, Andy sits down with Captain Lee and the Valor crew to discuss Season 7's burning issues. Simone questions Kate's management style, Chef Kevin comes clean and the crew spill the tea on a season's worth of steamy boat-mances.
Reminder: this episode airs an hour earlier than the usual Below Deck timeslot. It will air at 8pm ET with a repeat at 11pm
Andy posted this as a WWHL episode in the schedule for the week but it also shows on the Below Deck episodes page. The 8pm episode is not in the schedule for either show, but is listed as Below Deck in the full Bravo schedule. For those of you who buy seasons rather than watch live, no idea what that means.
For those watching on Hayu (in Canada at least), WWHL episodes usually post 2 days after airing and is on the WWHL schedule as coming on Feb 12th. It is not listed as coming soon on Below Deck on Hayu. Slice is airing it live at 8/11
Top Comment: "I'm not gonna co-sign your behavior by being silent about it" go Courtney!!!
I’m Mark Cronin, TV producer, most well-known currently for creating the Bravo series “Below Deck” and I’m in LA ready to do an AMA!
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Today I’ll talk about the power of producing, how to craft a character’s image that the audience will believe, the state of reality TV and where it’s headed and what goes into making a successful TV franchise.
Proof: https://i.redd.it/y7wbhiotin2y.jpg
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Best and worst cast member?
Below Deck Season 7 Episode 10 "Everyone Hates Kate" Discussion
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The crew bonds over a trip to an elephant sanctuary, but Kate’s attitude pushes the others to the brink. A day off at the beach club has Courtney protective over Brian. After being put in her place by Kate, Simone deals with more fires when she learns Tanner has been gossiping about their relationship. The rest of the deck crew realizes they can’t trust Rhylee with information. Captain Lee witnesses firsthand the major dysfunction of his crew after they come home from a day of drinking.
Top Comment: I never want to see Tanner’s blurred flat butt again.
Below Deck Season 7 Episode 12 "Yacht-Pocalypse Now" Discussion
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The crew tries to redeem themselves with returning charter guests after Ashton cancels a beach picnic which throws the entire boat into complete chaos. Rhylee and Ashton continue to butt heads while Tanner and Simone contemplate their relationship. Brian takes Courtney out on a date and is surprised by her reaction. The entire crew goes out to Patong for an explosive night out. After an intense night of drinking, emotions reach a new high causing Kate to make a dramatic decision.
Early post as I have an insane day and don't want to forget.
Reminders: From the episode previews, this episode will be triggering for some.
There have been a few threads lately that included a lot of personal attacks. If you think a post crosses a line, report it or tag/message one of us. Some are just trolls and replying is exactly what they want. You aren't going to change their minds if they truly believe something either. But attacking them (especially based on web sleuthing to find pictures of their appearance or using past non-BD reddit history) is not cool. Keep r/BelowDeck a friendly place, we don't want to have to ban people. Keep it related to the show!
Top Comment: The deck crew is having a problem with Rhylee... hmm Ashton I wonder why that could be... it’s not like you poisoned their minds before she even stepped on the boat... She is far from being the easiest person to work with especially with her difficulty taking direction when being asked to tie a bowline... however time and time again Ashton loses all credibility with me with his delivery to Rhylee each time. He makes little effort to include and when he does it always comes across as a chess game to me: always finding a way to set her off like a self fulfilling prophecy to prove she’s just oh so difficult to work with. And this is all coming from someone who didn’t like Rhylee for most of last season... I almost miss Chandler at this point
Subnautica: Descend into the Depths
Main Post: Subnautica: Descend into the Depths
Official Orlando magic twitter account- “.@evanfourmizz please see below 😂”
Main Post: Official Orlando magic twitter account- “.@evanfourmizz please see below 😂”
Top Comment:
Don’t google Fournier