Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

Below 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 19, 2024

David Twohy's "Below" (2002) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include audio commentary by David Twohy and actors Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Zach Galifianakis, and Nick Chinlund; deleted scenes; making of featurette; and vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Tiger Shark

Any director who chooses to shoot a film like Below instantly faces two big, serious problems. The first is that there are many other films like it, and the good ones, which are quite a few, have hardcore, very vocal fans who are always willing to explain why they are special. They are usually right, too, and they are because these films work with familiar material. Some tweak a few things here and there, but the core material is always the same. It is broken into three parts. In the first part, an event creates a dangerous situation. In the next part, a group of people, trapped in an enclosed environment, go to work to figure out how to exit the dangerous situation. And in the final part, another event, always linked to a crucial revelation or development, allows the entrapped, whose number has been dramatically reduced, to exit the dangerous situation. Because this core material is always the same, what the good films do with it that makes them special is easy to identify, and this is why their hardcore fans are rarely wrong. Death Ship, DeepStar Six, Leviathan, and Deep Rising are very, very close relatives for this exact reason. So, a director who chooses to shoot a film like Below must figure out how and what to add to this core material to make it special. It is not easy.

The second problem is that the bag of tricks is practically empty now. Alien monsters, time bending, and supernatural forces have all been exhausted. Perhaps more importantly, the most effective of these films produced a memorable atmosphere made possible by old-fashioned cinematic magic, which required talented people to create and build things. The most recent of these films are made with powerful computers faking the same things. Despite Hollywood insisting otherwise, memorable atmosphere is allergic to digital work, in all of its variations.

In Below, all events take place sometime during WWII and on an American submarine that has lost its captain in an awful accident. Its replacement (Bruce Greenwood), who is knowledgeable and experienced in the art of war, has continued the submarine’s original mission and, in the process, engaged a big German ship in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game. Following a surprising rescue mission, the men on the submarine begin struggling with bizarre bouts of paranoia, and the looser their grasp of reality becomes, the more they lose control of it.

Apparently, Daren Aronofsky was expected to direct Below after working on its screenplay with Lucas Sussman and David Twohy. However, when Aronofsky committed to directing Requiem for a Dream, Twohy took over. What exactly happened after that is unclear, but it is not difficult to guess that the film Aronofsky would have directed is not the film Twohy delivered.

In its current form, Below is impossible to describe as anything else but an underwhelming B-film with a disappointing imagination. It has a fractured narrative with a range of plot holes that are impossible to overlook, while its atmosphere is a byproduct of gotcha sounds and noises and average at best visual effects. It tries to be stylish, particularly in its second half, but it only manages to appear as artificial as a streaming production.

The origin of all serious and consequential problems is the screenplay. Or, quite possibly, Twohy’s interpretation of it. The overlapping of horror material and historic war drama just does not work, so most of the time it very much looks like the surprisingly stellar cast is moving forward and trying to create excitement out of thin air. It does not help that there is zero ambiguity as to where Below plans to go and how it intends to get there.

Twohy was able to use cinematographer Ian Wilson, who lensed Neil Jordan’s best film, The Crying Game. Unfortunately, Wilson’s contribution is unimpressive.

Below 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Below is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A"locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-22 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #26-35 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

In native 4K, the quality of the visuals is something of a mixed bag. A lot of the darker material, and there is plenty, easily creates the impression that delineation, clarity, and depth are very good, which would not be surprising considering that Below was completed in 2002. However, a lot of material featuring decent lighting reveals oddly sharp visuals. Some of these visuals look borderline digitally sharpened. There is plenty of stylization and visual effects that make it difficult to tell exactly what is going on, but I cannot write that I liked what I saw. Colors look great, as they should. They are lush and stable, perfectly balanced. The Dolby Vision grade handles the darker material well, but even if there are some inconsistencies, it would be very difficult to detect them given the contemporary nature of the production. Image stability is excellent.

I spent time with the 1080p presentation as well. I tested some of the areas where I think that some visuals become too harsh. They can appear even harsher in 1080p. Not by much, but if I had to choose, I would definitely go with the native 4K presentation as the more satisfying one. An example can be seen here.

Below 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Below works with a lot of sound effects to create a spooky atmosphere, which the 5.1 track handles wonderfully. (The whispers, in particular, sound great). I would describe dynamic intensity as excellent, too. However, a lot of the sound effects are repetitive, so after a few, you will know what to expect further down the road. All exchanges are clear and easy to follow.

Below 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this audio commentary was recorded by director David Twohy and actors Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Zach Galifianakis, and Nick Chinlund.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this audio commentary was recorded by director David Twohy and actors Matt Davis, Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Zach Galifianakis, and Nick Chinlund.

• The Process - this archival program presents footage from the shooting of Below at Pinewood Studios in England, as well as clips from interviews with David Twohy and cinematographer Ian Wilson. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Deleted Scenes - presented here are three deleted scenes, which can be viewed with commentary by David Twohy. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).
  
  1. Creepy Comic
  2. Hot Fish
  3. Red Flare Ending

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Below. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Below 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As a director and writer, David Twohy is associated with several very good films, so it is difficult not to speculate that Below should have turned out like them. Perhaps it could have been a very good film if Daren Aronofsky, who co-wrote it with Twohy, had directed it too, which apparently was the original plan for it. In its current form, Below is a full of cliches thriller that desperately tries and fails to be something else. I did not like it. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a new 4K makeover of it, struck from the original camera negative. Most viewers will probably conclude that it is great, but I think that it could have been more consistent.