** and 1/2 out of ****
Blair Witch Goes to Paris in this latest found footage horror fest which is no great shakes, but it isn't too bad either. It is definitely watchable with some haunting moments. An archaeologist (my new crush Perdita Weeks) leads a group into the catacombs beneath Paris in search of a fabled philosopher's stone. Little do they know that this maze of bones is haunted by the souls of the dead, leading to each member of the group having to confront the physical manifestation of their personal demons.
It's a given in horror movies that the characters dismiss warnings and peculiar incidents along their journey, but here it's done to a laughable degree. So, there are some unintended laughs.
As Above starts off slow and isn't too involving at first, but as it moves along it becomes much more gripping, leading to a tension filled final act. Director John Erick Dowdle (Devil, Quarantine) filmed in the actual catacombs beneath Paris and that makes the film all the more effective. The catacombs are creepy and unnerved me a little with a feeling of claustrophobia. Not many horror movies are able to do that, so that is worth something.
