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Posted By: CallMeRoxxie at 12:58pm, October 22, 2008
I agree with most of the reviews. Not a great movie, but not a bad film. The film had a lot of potential via the interesting story line with it's non-American location and glimpse into the present day sub-culture of ravers/drugs and young adults with paranoia and anxiety complexes.
The flashlight chasing is a great filming-style, in short bursts that is. Not 45 minutes worth. Horrid flash backs to Blair Witch and Cloverfield
had my finger inching to the fast-forward button.
My opinion is that they put too much detail into the small items (which I did appreciate) that didn't get much screen time and not enough into the majority of the film.
I liken this to "The Devil's Chair". I enjoy films about unstable people being pushed to their limits just as much as the next person, but I think it would have made a better monster flick. The "joke" the supporting cast played would have made a better film than Catacombs as a whole with it chasing in the dark/scared actress/twist ending. I would love to watch a movie about a cult in underground Paris raising the anti-christ child rather than a chick running from a made up story of it all.
I don't feel like I wasted my $4 for renting it or regret my 90-something minutes spent watching it. But it definitely leaves a lot to be desired.
It’s a scary world in the pit of direct-to-video horror releases—not because the films are scary, but how terrible some people are at thinking up movies. Catacombs may be one of the better ones, however. There is nothing wrong with the plot itself whatsoever, and I thought the plot twist really made the movie. The way the plot unfolds isn’t terribly done, either. Where the major flaws start coming in is when all you see is Shannyn Sossamon running, running, and then running again. If they cut the runtime down to the length of a short film, this truly would have worked, but at full-length is just gets tiresome.
I’m not sure why, but in the end, it just felt typical and a little safe. Yes, there was some gore, and it tried to have the up-beat punk style throughout, but in the end it’s exactly what you’ve seen before: a boring horror rehash . . . with a clever ending. I’m just tired of these kinds of movies—and I’m not just talking about direct-to-vieod-horror, I’m talking about big-release films as well. I’m tired of movies that just rehash what our grandparents thought of as horror, but isn’t scary anymore. I want true horror. Sadly, very few films get what true horror is. Catacombs tries, but it doesn’t, either.
Overall, I guess it’s worth a watch if you see it free somewhere like fear.net. It is not worth the price of a rental. I love Twisted Pictures because they’re one of the few producers out there who really understand how to be disturbing, but I’m not sure why this was released by them. Regardless, if could have been worse. That doesn’t mean it’s worth watching.
Posted By: Ralph Wiggum at 11:10pm, October 2, 2008
The concept is an interesting one, Parisian teens party in the miles of catacombs above the city, however the story itself leaves much to be desired. The character played by Pink is an obnoxious bully who presents as unlikeable from the moment she is introduced. The 'twist', as well as Pink's reaction to her sisters retaliation, is unbelievable at best. At worst it's an hour of pointless roaming in the catacombs only to be explained as some kind of elaborate trick.
I'll be harsh and say that this film had very few redeeming features, not even some gory deaths. No idea why it received an MA rating here in Australia.
SPOILERS!
-The guy with the badly broken leg lunging attempting to beat the lead female. Unbelievable...
-Pink's angered reaction when her sister kills the prank ringleader. Unbelievable...
-The lead females nonchalance as she slaughters all involved. Once again, unbelievable...
Posted By: coldblood at 4:58pm, September 22, 2008
I really enjoyed this movie, I'm not sure why it has gotten such a bad rap. It has scenes of great tension, a great killer, and an ending you don't see coming. I don't want to give away the ending so I won't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Give this one a chance - it is good stuff.
Not as bad as I expected after reading all of Mr Disgusting's review of it. I agree with only parts of what he said, such as suing for eye damage. That damn strobe light effect was way too much and since I had a hard time watching through those parts it took away the enjoyment of that part. The story has been done before in 1997 by David Fincher and Propaganda Films called " The Game" Starring Michael Douglas. There isn't nearly as much blood and gore, but the psychological mind fuck and even down to the brother sets him up from the start is all present in the film. Back to this film they all got what they deserved and what happened to the guy she left behind with the broken leg? I did not see him in the group at the end?
It was o.k all the way to the end which gave it a little oomph to not make me completely hate it. The script is clever and the filming is not awful for a straight to video. The only thing wrong about it is that it is very uninspired and it lacks audacity. Horror movies have to not be afraid to to offend us. This one backed into the shadows hoping to scare with just the skulls and weird noises. Lets all go hide in our beds because something goes bumb in the night. Please, were all horror fans here and we've seen it all before. the director didn't trust himself or maybe thats the only potential he has. The ending was smart but overdramatic compared to the rest of the movie. it didn't seem to fit.
PromNight2008, by the time I read your Username, and that you listen to Pink, and after I've read your terribly inacccurate and ignorant reviews of such great films as "The Shining", the original "The Birds", and "Inside" your review has lost all credability. The one movie I can say you are on the right track with is "Catacombs". (Except for the Pink part.) Infact this movie could have been spectacular, as this is the most original monster/villian incarnation I have seen since Alexandre Aja's 2003 version of "The Hills Have Eyes." Unfortunately, nothing much happens. The Catacombs of Paris would have been the perfect horror setting had the movie been perhaps a little more ambitious. The Minotaur/Labyrinth like idea was dramatic and unsettling but never played out to it's full capacity. Overall I was extremely disappointed with the direction of the movie, as it is obvious of it's more than ample budget, and acting potentiallity. But... what even upset me more was the terribly sketchy ending. Talk about blowing what little one has left away on comic relief. The only cool part is when our heroine claims the lives of all these "jokesters" to end the film with nothing left to end on. Could have been magnificent, ruined by uninspired directors.
It took me three sittings to finish this. Shannyn Sossamon is not the worst actress I've seen, but is definitely not strong enough acting wise to carry a movie (almost) on her own. She's proved this in this, and One Missed Call, which was equally terrible.
Alicia Moore (P!nk) was decent, surprisingly, and the only thing that kept me watching. I enjoy her music, but I never thought she'd be a halfway decent actress.
Aside from that, this movie lacks tension, character development, strong acting, and the twist is predictable. So, why did I finish this movie, you ask? Because I sure as hell don't trust anyone's review if they say "I turned this off after twenty minutes! lolzzzz!!! it sukkddd". If you can't finish a movie, your opinion loses credibility, and I wanted to remain as credible as possible to anyone who was reading my review. In short:
This film had a hot girl. Which is a great start, but the film just sucked. Producer from saw or not, it sucked. I love Paris and I like a film being set outside of the US because if you really think about it Europe is far older than our country which makes for much more evil and distrubing shit to happen.
But this movie was so "DARK" as in bad lighting, that you do get a head ache. Oh by the way this movie also has the singer "PINK" in it. I just thought I would mention it and no she does not get naked or close. I don't think there is any real nudity in the entire film.
So hey if you like boring horror with no interesting characters check it out, if you just love the actors maybe, but for everyone else forget this movie.
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