As Above, So Below: Review

For anybody unaware, the catacombs which trail all under Paris are really, really big. A certain area of this is legal for the public to venture under the supervision of a guide, but the majority of these expansive tunnels are forbidden. This is because they are so expansive and complex that anybody could quite easily lose track of where they are. In fact, there's several examples of people exploring the illegal areas...and never returning. As Above, So Below plays on this creepy idea, in the form of yet another found-footage horror movie. 

Scarlett (Perdita Weeks)

The film tells the story of a group of teenagers (surprisingly), as they explore the catacombs in order to find an ancient stone one of the girls in the group has been looking for. This stone is supposedly heavily linked with spiritual and unearthly things, which makes the strange sightings throughout the film slightly more plausible. Like most horror movies, the first third or so is largely just introducing the plot and characters. Unlike other horror films however, which have spooky things introduced that will have significance later, As Above, So Below has a lot of boring, pointless moments in the opening act. Sure, there's a couple of eerie scenes which have a little relevance later, but you're urging the film to progress just so the frightening scenes can begin. 

Once the group does reach the catacombs however, the film really steps-up the scares. It's not exactly a 'scream-a-minute', but being a found-footage film, As Above, So Below puts you in the experience more than other horrors might do. This works especially well when conveying the claustrophobic atmosphere which the catacombs would deliver. I thankfully don't suffer from claustrophobia, but even I squirmed a bit when the group had to squeeze through incredibly small spaces. Unfortunately, this first-person perspective throughout the film also means there's a huge amount of jump-scares. These kinds of scary moments are in almost every single horror film, but an over reliance on them just becomes a bit boring after a while. Thankfully, the film also features a few intensely high-tension moments to accompany these jumps. They don't completely make up for the constant jump-scares, but they do a good job of keeping you on edge for lengthy periods of time. 

Horror films aren't exactly known for their outstanding acting (at least modern ones), but As Above, So Below surprisingly features some decent performances. Naturally, there's the stereotypical roles which are found in most movies within the genre, but the guide who takes the group deep underground is a fairly engaging character. When he's freaking out over unnatural occurrences, it makes you feel on edge as well. There's definitely nobody earning an Oscar from this, but it makes the moments of tension that bit more entertaining. 

Verdict
As Above, So Below isn't an incredible movie, but if you're a fan of horror, then it's definitely worth seeing. The unique location of the Paris catacombs makes for some intensely tight spaces, and the atmosphere is consistently scary. The ending of the film is incredibly anti-climactic, but it's a fun film to see in the cinema with some friends. 

"We can't go back...we should just

keep moving..."

Why You Should Play P.T.

During this year's annual Gamescom event held in Germany, a teaser was shown for a 'game' known cryptically as P.T. The game was apparently under development by the unknown 7788s studios, and appeared to be a terrifying horror experience. Well, now that it has been released publicly for some time, everybody has learnt that only part of this information is true. 

P.T is indeed a terrifying horror experience that was released on the Playstation 4 almost as soon as the trailer was shown. But that's where the assumptions end. The 'game' is in fact a demo (or Playable Teaser, hence "P.T"), and is actually a reveal for an upcoming game known as Silent Hills, which is a part of the popular horror franchise by the same name. It was developed by the iconic Hideo Kojima whom is responsible for the Metal Gear Solid line of games, along with director Guillermo Del Toro, and is by far one of the scariest games I have ever played. 

In terms of how you actually go about playing P.T, things are fairly simple. You wake up in a concrete chamber, and go through the only wooden door in front of you. From here, you slowly walk down a corridor in a typical house until you come across yet another door. Going through this will cause you to appear at the first door you came out of, which is instantly disorientating, and quickly makes you feel uneasy about where you are. This required no jump-scares or gore. By simply messing with your expectations, the game already surpasses many recent horror games within the first few minutes. 

As far as a plot is concerned,  P.T's is fairly vague. By listening to a radio broadcast that plays on repeat and finding subtle clues, you can gather that you are in the house of a family whom are all now dead. The father of the house murdered his wife and son, then finally his daughter whom he lured out of hiding. He then went on to kill himself, although it's unclear how much of that is actually true. One of the key things that stands out on the broadcast however, is that the announcer states that the daughter "had the sense to hide herself in the bathroom". Imagine how scary it is then, when you pass a door in the hall and hear crying from the inside. There's plenty of subtle yet terrifying features such as this which keep you on edge throughout your whole experience of P.T. 

By far the one factor that keeps this experience terrifying without being obnoxious or gratuitous however, is the repeating nature of it all. Every single time you go down the corridor and into the other door, you are placed instantly back at the beginning. This allows you to get incredibly familiar with your surroundings, which makes it all the more eerie when things do begin to change. It happens slightly enough at first, such as the bathroom door being slightly ajar, but soon escalates into frantic running down a seemingly empty walkway in an attempt to escape things which may or may not even exist. P.T is effective not because of what you see, but because of what you don't. It causes intense paranoia which other games could only hope to achieve, and yet has the production values of a modest indie-game. 

So why should you play P.T? Because it's one of the most refreshing, well-executed and terrifying experiences I have ever played. It looks almost photo-realistic which is always a nice feature, but this yet again just adds to the intensely scary atmosphere. It's a game in which subtlety is key, and although you can beat it through a sequence of incredibly precise and convoluted puzzles, I found it much more entertaining just to become immersed in its downright creepy feel. 

The Last of Us Remastered: Game Review

Last year, The Last of Us solidified just how successful video games could be as a medium of conveying complex and intricate stories. It went on to win an unfathomable number of awards both for its story and technical prowess, and has gone down as one of, if not the defining game of the previous generation of consoles. Now, it has been re-released on the Playstation 4 with the sub-title 'Remastered' in hopes to bring in an audience previously unable to play the game, whilst also considerably improving the already impressive graphical fidelity the game possesses. 

On paper, the story behind The Last of Us doesn't really sound hugely original or even engrossing. You play as Joel (Troy Baker) and are given the task of transporting a young girl named Ellie (Ashley Johnson) across America to meet with a survivor group called 'the Fireflies'. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by a handful of humans in comparison to the overwhelming majority of 'infected' - a collection of diseased people who act similar to adrenaline-fuelled humans. Rather than the undead rising from the ground or any other number of reasons for an infection, the reasoning in The Last of Us is purely biological. A non-fictional virus known as cordyceps infects the brain of the host and causes the infected in question to desperately hunt non-infected survivors in hope of spreading the virus constantly. 

Joel (Troy Baker)

But although the story that The Last of Us tells is entertaining in its own right, it's the characters within the story which make the game truly memorable. Joel has survived in this broken world for nothing short of 20 years, and has changed drastically from the loving father we see him as in the game's opening prologue. He is a broken, dark individual whom does nothing but try to survive, which is shown throughout his actions in the first section of the game. When he is reluctantly introduced to Ellie however, the pair form a relationship of distant trust. The story is split into seasons, and across these the relationship of Joel and Ellie really develops just as much as the characters themselves. 

Whilst Joel is jaded and bitter due to his previous experiences of the normal world hugely contrasting the waking nightmare he now lives, Ellie is considerably different. She is aged only 14, and so knows nothing else outside of the bleak existence which she is now a part of. This really shows throughout the story as the couple view things noticeably different. A really good example of this is a section in which Ellie finds a diary of a young girl written before the virus spread, and criticises the issues which the girl writes about, as she has literally no reference point to relate to such issues. Small moments such as these make the characters of Joel and Ellie seem much more than just video game characters, almost as if they were living, breathing people. 

The incredible story The Last of Us inevitably tells is matched only by just how fun it is to play as a game. Being set in a post-apocalyptic America, supplies gathered throughout are scarce at the very best (if played on a hard difficultly like the game should be). Because of this, decisions need to constantly be made as to what is more important - medical supplies or weapons? The combat is meaty and satisfying when engaged in, but the game allows you to quite as successfully use stealth to avoid confrontations altogether, therefore conserving supplies. This constant instantaneous decision-making throughout every chapter of the game makes it stand-out even further from a typical action-shooter, and really stands testament to how incredible the game really is. 

Of course, the 'Remastered' sub-title on the box is there for something, and this would be raising the game graphically to fit suitably on the current generation of consoles released last year. From a technical point of view, the game has been practically doubled in performance. This raises the frame-rate from 30 to 60, which makes the game run at a previously unobtainable level of smoothness, and also raises all graphical features to 1080p. Not only that, but practically all textures within the game have been improved to look even more realistic and believable. All of this culminates to a truly amazing looking game, and one which is likely the best visually on the PS4 currently. Developers Naughty Dog capitalize on this by introducing a 'photo mode' which essentially allows you to freeze the game at any moment and pan the camera to your liking, which shows off the graphical prowess of the game unlike ever before. 

Ellie (Ashley Johnson)

A final feature which is arguably just as good as the main story itself is the multiplayer featured in The Last of Us. It manages to intricately replicate the same tense and concerning tone found in the single-player, and also contains a unique ranking system which makes progression feel like a real necessity as opposed to a commodity. Not many people seemed to check out the multiplayer for The Last of Us last year when it was released on the Playstation 3, but the community definitely seems to have embraced the hugely entertaining gameplay this time around. 

Verdict
The Last of Us Remastered is undoubtedly one of the best games ever released. Not only does it feature arguably the two best protagonists found in a game, but also boasts fun and engrossing gameplay which mimics the desperate tone created by the plot. If you are a fan of incredible stories or just amazing games, then you probably already own The Last of Us in some form. If you don't however, you should definitely buy it, as it is inarguably one of the greatest video games released. 

"I've struggled a long time with survivin', but no matter what 

you have to find something to fight for." 

The Inbetweeners 2: Review

The Inbetweeners 2 takes place a little while after the first, and starts with Niel (Blake Harrison) and Simon (Joe Thomas) visiting Will McKenzie (Simon Bird) at his university. Unsurprisingly, none of the lads have grown up very much since the last instalment, and Will is still as much of an outcast as he ever was. The absence of loud-mouthed Jay (James Buckley) is soon filled however, as Niel gets an email letting him know that Jay is living the high-life in Australia, supposedly surrounded by supermodels and lavish leisure. So, due to their current boring lives, Niel, Simon, and Will all jet off to Australia to see their only other friend. 

Jay (James Buckley)

Did we really need another Inbetweeners movie? Not particularly. But although sunny Australia doesn't differ hugely from the seedy town of Malia from the previous film, there's plenty of geographical comedy featured. Will's criticisms of aboriginal traditions is definitely a highlight, and one which just wouldn't fit within the context of the previous instalment. Aside from an Australian gag here or there though; things are largely the same as before. Will is trying to win the affections of a girl whom has very little interest in him, Simon is stuck with a psychopathic girlfriend, and Niel is yet again completely unaware to anything around him. 

That's not to say that more of the same is an awful thing though. If you're a fan of The Inbetweeners from either their TV show or first film outing, then you'll definitely find lots to laugh at in the sequel. There were numerous times when the entire cinema was laughing, cringing, and sometimes a mix of both. The humour is far from intellectually engaging, but nobody ever expected it to be. Expect countless filthy sexual references, comical nudity, and even a little bit of faeces thrown in for good measure. 

Will McKenzie (Simon Bird)

In fact, when the film does attempt to deliver a little bit of drama, it feels more awkward than anything else. You can't be expected to really empathise with and care for individuals whom were previously urinating on each other's faces, so why did the film feel the need to try and shoehorn in some emotion towards the end? Aside from this short segment of attempted 'drama' however, The Inbetweeners 2 manages to consistently keep the jokes flowing and laughs consistent. 

Verdict

The Inbetweeners 2 isn't as memorable as the first movie, but is definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the series. As I myself have seen every episode and the entertaining first movie, I'm speaking from a slightly biased point of view, because I went in knowing exactly what I was in for. Put simply, if you've never enjoyed this kind of humour, I doubt that this sequel will win you over. If you do however love the crude, rude and immature comedy that The Inbetweeners delivers (like myself), then you'll definitely not regret seeing this. 

"You know why they call it Down Under?

Because that's where your face spends most of the time."

Blade Runner: Review

Blade Runner takes place on a futuristic Earth, on which cybernetic human-like robots known as 'replicants' try to live. These replicants were created to carry out off-world manual labour, but evolved to the point where they are self-aware and even develop their own emotional responses to the world around them. Because of this, detectives known as 'Blade Runners' are hired to "retire" them, which consists of nothing but execution. The story follows a blade runner by the name of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he is tasked with "retiring" four rogue replicants. 

Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford)

From the very opening shot, Blade Runner establishes an incredibly atmospheric and unique tone which it maintains perfectly throughout. The film opens to a stunning shot of a futuristic city and is accompanied by an almost hypnotic soundtrack, both of which are present for the entirety of the film. These two features alone make the film completely unique from other cult sci-fi movies from the 80s, which is an impressive feat as it's done through cinematography alone. The constant darkness in which the city of Blade Runner takes place is perfectly executed, as it allows the constant yet minimalistic lighting to really contrast to the rest of the environments. On more than one occasion the lighting of a scene beautifully compliments the on-screen events and soundtrack. This is found in other movies, but not to the extent of Blade Runner. 

All of these aspects combine to create a truly living, breathing, and bustling city. And of course, this city needs to be inhabited by equally engaging characters. Luckily, this is 100% the case, as every character featured in Blade Runner has a distinctive look and feel which makes them memorable. For example, each of the replicants has a very subtle but clear glimmer to their eyes which you'd only catch if you knew it existed before viewing. However, none of the sci-fi technology or characters are ever created with excess, meaning that, despite the film being over 30 years old, it doesn't feel very aged whatsoever. 

Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer)

Not only does Blade Runner feature a memorable and iconic protagonist in the form of Deckard, but it also contains one of my favourite villains in any movie. The leader of the replicants goes by the name 'Roy Batty' (Rutger Hauer), and is by far one of the most sinister yet jovial characters I've seen in a film. Similar in a way to that of Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight, Roy has a very powerful on-screen presence and is almost a villain that you can't do anything but love, despite his fearful nature. 

Verdict

Blade Runner is inarguably one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. Its age is redundant when compared to just how enjoyable and engrossing it still is, and the use of many practical special effects means that it doesn't look overly dated anyway. The music is genuinely incredible, and the story is unique and interesting. I have literally no complaints about this film, and it is one which any fan of science fiction or movies in general should watch immediately. 

"All those moments will be lost in time...
Like tears...in...rain..."

Guardians of the Galaxy: Review

Let's be honest: before the movie was announced, nobody but a small minority knew of the Guardians of the Galaxy. I for one was completely unaware of their existence, which is why many were confused at Marvel's decision to make a film revolving around the seemingly B-movie Avenger team. But with the huge success of this film mere days into its release and the acclaim its already received, I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from the Guardians. 

The film begins with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) - a 'ravager' whom collects ancient relics and objects of value and then sells them to the highest bidder. Peter also goes by the alias of 'Starlord', and is ambushed by some thugs while he is acquiring a small orb which is supposedly worth unimaginable amounts of wealth. It turns out this orb contains an infinitely powerful stone which is capable of immense destruction, which isn't the best news when it's being contested by the sinister Ronan (Lee Pace). Ronan wants the stone so he can exact violence upon planets, and so Starlord must team up with the other Guardians to keep it from falling into evil hands. 

Peter Quill / Starlord (Chris Pratt)

Although the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy is fairly engrossing and entertaining throughout, it isn't the aspect which is most memorable about the movie. Many Marvel films incorporate humour in some form to keep things relatively light-hearted, but Guardians does it to such an extent that it wouldn't be a stretch to call this a comedy movie. There were countless moments which made the entire cinema erupt with laughter, which is usually a rarity rather than a common occurrence when other Marvel films are brought into question. This doesn't detract from the urgency of the plot however. Even during some of the funnier moments, the film never fails to convey a sense of urgency and meaning to the story - despite the comedic tone - and this isn't a 'the best moments were in the trailer' affair either. In fact, the funny moments shown in the numerous trailers for the film were probably the flattest in the whole movie, which should definitely be commended in this age of trailers revealing far too much. 

Another thing which Guardians of the Galaxy has going for it is its soundtrack. As of late, I've rated the effectiveness of a movie partly on its soundtrack being catchy and memorable, as I would value this just as much as solid acting (which the film also features). Luckily, Peter Quill was born in the 1980s, and so he carries around a cassette tape which features classics such as 'Ooh Child', 'Ain't no Mountain High Enough', and of course, 'Hooked on a Feeling' which was featured in the original trailer for the film. This inclusion of 70s and 80s pop music makes the movie stand out from typical space-operas, and is another welcome feature which conveys the sense that the film never takes itself too seriously. 

Groot (Vin Diesel) 

The only real complaint which I have about Guardians of the Galaxy is that the film focuses largely on Peter Quill / Starlord within the Guardians, leaving the other members considerably mysterious in comparison. Obviously the source material for the film such as comics and graphic novels would expand the other's back-story, but it's unfortunate the film doesn't do this quite as much. Hopefully this means that future instalments will delve into their respective pasts, especially as the brief things hinted at sound pretty interesting. 

Verdict
Guardians of the Galaxy is probably one of the biggest surprises to come out of Marvel in a long time. It manages to elevate the Guardians from relatively unknown and then some, and is definitely worth your time. With the huge success of this film, it's a safe assumption to expect more in terms of a sequel, and hopefully an inclusion in a future Avengers movie. As with every Marvel film, a post-credits sequence is present, but it features by far one of the strangest cameos I've ever seen in a movie. 

"So here we are: a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac. 

But we're not going to stand by as evil wipes out the galaxy. 

I guess we're stuck together, partners."