Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Quick Reviews: The Creature Below (2016)

Since only Stuart Gordon can do actual Lovecraft right, what happens when someone does *almost* Lovecraft?  

Let's find out...
In a surprisingly-quick opening, a woman essentially recruits herself for a deep sea dive...when things go awry.
The Equipment is smashed, but she is saved.  
She has no memory of what happened down below.
Fired by the Suit's Creator/Owner, she investigates the event on her own and finds...an Egg!
Now stranded back home, she discovers that something has come out of the egg.

Unfortunately, the Film can't afford *great* Special Effects, so enjoy not seeing much.
What is the secret of this creepy creature?  Will this actually be Lovecraft at any point?
Will this creature doom humanity?  

To find out, watch the Film.
Some good ideas, but some issues with the execution.  Let me just say this again- if you can't do CG good, don't.  
I get that this is a Low-Budget Movie.  That's fine.  They do a good job of not having bad CG most of the time, but commit that sin a few notable times.  

That aside, the actual Film is good.  It is all about one Character going through a slow, steady transformation.  This is as Lovecraft as you can get without being Lovecraft!  

The Monster is not super-unique, but they made sure to do 99% of it with Practical Effects.  They build up suspense by not showing you the whole thing, rather than just looking cheap.  

Its Monster Vision- seen above- is also quite interesting.  That was how Prince saw everything right?  For the most part, it all works.  If you can focus on the good Acting, unique Story and bleak, but interesting, Tone, this one works pretty well.  

Like I said- the distractingly-bad CG at times is the only real downside.  It does something else I haven't seen often- thank Steve Jackson Games in its Credits!
A good Film that unfortunately tries to do too much sometimes.  Just don't do CG if you can't do it right, guys.

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