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Overall Rating : 5.5/10
Directed By : Tomm Coker, David Elliot
Shannyn Sossamon (One Missed Call (2008) )
Alecia "Pink" Moore (Recording Artist)
Emil Hostina (Pumpkinhead: Ashes to Ashes)
Sandi Dragoi
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Feburary. 13, 2008
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| PLOT Victoria is making her first trip to Paris to visit her sister. On her first night in town, she is swept into the Parisian underground rave scene, literally under ground into the city’s catacombs. It is here, among the bodies of the dead which have rested undisturbed for centuries, that the easily frightened Victoria finds herself lost in the darkness, pursued by someone or something more terrifying than she could have ever imagined… |
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| THE REVIEW In CATACOMBS, Victoria, a young woman has just landed in the big city of Paris France to visit her Sister Carolyn. Not long after arriving, instead of letting her rest, Carolyn and a group of her overly energetic friends whisk her off to a rave party, but this isn't just any rave. Carolyn and her friends enjoy having their parties along with other young locals deep within the underground catacombs of the city, catacombs that have served as the burial grounds for 7 corpses within a span of 200 or so years. Amongst mounds of stacked skeletal remains, the ravers party until they want, and it's no big deal for them - but for the newly arrived Victoria, the surroundings are frightening. To capitalize and at have fun at Victoria's expense, and to exploit her obvious fear Carolyn and friends tell her a tell of a legend that belongs to the very catacombs in which they are occupying. The story told consisted of a cult-like group who bore a child out of incest and as it grew they made it wear a goat skull mask and bred and taught it to be a vicious killing machine. As predicted Victoria doesn't believe the story, but they all insist that it is indeed real. And also as predicted, later in the night when Victoria gets lost, all alone, deep within the catacombs, she begins to be hunted and stalked by a maniacal killer that resembles the one from the legend in which she was told. From what I have read about CATACOMBS(not to be confused with the 1988 slasher flick of the same name), is that it has has it pretty rough. It was first intended to be ran in the US theatrically, but after a brief international theatrical run ended up bombing and not turning out as well as the folks in charge had hoped, the plans for theater showings here were eventually scrapped. Seeing potential in the film, FEARNET picked up CATACOMBS' rights in order to show it on their cable network, instead of seeing it go straight to DVD. Well as the second effort to resurrect any potential profit of some sort also failed, the filmmakers began to show the film for free on their website for the film prior to where we are now - it's DVD release. Seeing as there was so much hassle with this particular film, prior to seeing it, I began to question if there was anything of quality about it, surely there was I thought, since it had garnered so much initial interest. Shot in Romania, which in the film Romania is dubbing for Paris(probably for budgetary reasons), the scenery is beautiful and from the very beginning the setting seems perfect for a Horror film. To add to the look, the film has a somewhat grainy and "European" appearance, which aids in the overall look and feel of the film - and it especially works best for the darker scenes which happen to be present for most of the film. The plot is really basic on the surface, a group of young friends decide to go to an all night rave, deep into the underground of the big imposing city - the film revolves around one of the individuals' Sister who is new to Paris and the group's wild party scene in general...so you know for a film to have a spooky atmosphere around it like some dark catacombs....you just know that something will happen to the new girl- and something does happen. It isn't long before the film gets to where it's going, the point of the story is there's a lot of ways to get lost in the catacombs of a city(and it's extra scary when those catacombs are ornamented with about 7 million skeletons), and the naive character of Victoria does and is being chased by a maniac wearing a goat skull mask. The dark scenery and the claustrophobic feel of the catacombs(which in reality is a very well built soundstage), and the certainty of just what well happen next, actually offers up a pretty decent and enjoyable story....at least for the first half of the film that is. The back-story of the cult raising a sort of freakish maniac from birth is indeed interesting. and of course the stalking and killing part is what Horror flicks or made of, but there was something about this film that really had me enjoying it - but as I said, at the midway point however, CATACOMBS loses steam. It loses steam by way of becoming a little repetitive, I mean just how long can we watch a girl running and screaming while basically running in circles down long stretches of path before we essentially get bored with it? At least throw in some twists and occurrences. Speaking of twists, CATACOMBS does in fact have a twist in the form of what i'm guessing the filmmakers thought was a very shocking ending, but for me as a Horror movie enthusiast...it wasn't. The reaction to this film has been mixed, but it seems that at least the one thing that everyone agrees on is that they did not like the ending. As for me, I thought it seemed a bit awkward, out of place and ultimately rushed. It also didn't seem all that original to me at all, as it immediately reminded me of an altered version of APRIL FOOL'S DAY's plotline, and if you have seen APRIL FOOLS DAY, you know what I mean - I won't further explain in interest of not spoiling this film for those who wish to check it out. The acting here is quite good, especially by the main stars Shannyn Sossamon(Victoria) and singer Pink(credited here by her real name, Alecia Moore, as she portrays Carolyn). Sossamon has played a wide variety of very different characters and recently starred in the remake of ONE MISSED CALL, so we know what type of actress she is, but I myself wasn't sure about the casting of Pink. She has cameoed in films such as CHARLIE'S ANGELS : FULL THROTTLE as a singer or host, which isn't a far stretch for her, but CATACOMBS marks the first time in which she has ever played a character of any significance. I have to say that despite my initial assumption, Pink was actually pretty good here as she portrays the character very naturally, as if it was much like her own personality, and it works. CATACOMBS which is a film from the producers of SAW fails to capture the raw intensity of a SAW film, which they were probably aiming to recreate here. It does begin with a "bang", I guess you would call it, but it slowly starts to decline into that all too familiar level of mediocrity that plague so many recent Horror films. |
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| GORE
METER 2/10 All I can remember is a slit throat and a broken leg. There was also a scene of child birth that wasn't that graphic, this is another film that has a questionable unrated tag....i'm not too sure it deserves one. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 2.5/10 Just a bunch of techno/rave music, mixed with traditional suspense scoring - it didn't do much to add to the film. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM In the end, CATACOMBS is a film that could have and should have been a lot better - I was certainly expecting a better film. The first half was really looking to be that film I expected but before I knew it, I found myself bored with it as it became a lot less eventful. I have a feeling that some will like CATACOMBS more than others, so I say give it a shot and judge for yourself when it comes to this one. The DVD will be available Feburary 19, 2008 |
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