neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Below
	David Twohy Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Olivia Williams, Scott Foley, Holt McCallany, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Flemyng 2002		The premise of "Below" sounds like it came from one of those old DC Comics set during World War II. A U.S. submarine, trolling the Atlantic for Nazi destroyers, picks up three survivors from a sunken British hospital ship, and spooky things start happening under the waves. If there was a comic book called "The Haunted Sub," it might've gone a little something like this. But "Below" is a film by director David Twohy, whose rugged genre-mix of sci-fi and horror, "Pitch Black," was a cool update of the well-worn monsters-chasing-humans-on-another-planet scenario. Twohy's hybrid of wartime sub movie and ghost story was co-authored by creative filmmaker Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream"). It has a dank, believable look and truly suspenseful moments, although its thinly drawn characters are devices out of a "Twilight Zone" episode. It's not "Das Boot"; it's a good popcorn-muncher. Bruce Greenwood as the tightly-wound sub commander, Matt Davis as a noble ensign and Olivia Williams as a nurse rescued from the sea head a solid cast.