Below is a period horror movie directed by David Twohy (of Pitch Black fame) and starring Bruce Greenwood, Holt McCallany, Jason Flemying, Dexter Morgan, Matthew Davis, Nick Chinlund (in a rare not-villain role), Olivia Williams, and Scott Foley.
In WWII, the USS Tiger Shark is on patrol in the Atlantic. It comes across the flaming wreckage of a hospital ship, and picks up three survivors: a nurse named Claire (Williams), a British soldier named Kingsley (Morgan), and a badly burned German POW (Jonathan Hartman). The commander of the sub, Brice (Greenwood), is accommodating enough at first, but then it becomes clear that a German destroyer is following them and someone seems to be trying to reveal the sub's position. A new ensign, Odell (Davis) tries to remain by the book about the whole affair, but the commander and the two lieutenants, Coors (Foley) and Loomis (McCallany) seem squirrelly and follow Brice's lead.
So it turns out that Brice assumed command after the actual captain, Winters (Nick Hobbs) died. The circumstances of his death make up the meat of the mystery in the movie, and it turns out it's his ghost that's haunting the sub.
Oh, yeah, it's a ghost story on a submarine.
Below isn't a perfect movie, but Twohy turns a sub into a haunted house expertly. I always say that the key to a good haunted (whatever) movie is giving us a sense of place, and Below does that - we get a sense of the scale of the sub, the various compartments and who's in them, and then as they die off the effective space shrinks and everyone gets pushed into tighter and tighter quarters. Finally, then the sub surfaces and Brice meets his fate, instead of feeling relief at seeing the sky again, everything just kind of feels exposed.
Standout performances from Greenwood, McCallany (now a bigger deal following Mindhunter), and Williams. I actually really like Chinlund as Chief, mostly because he's a voice of reason and that's kind of a different role for him (see: Billy Bedlam in Con Air). Matthew Davis as Odell is fine as a POV character, though I do find him a little bland. The ghost effects are minimal and therefore contribute to the growing paranoia, and I really enjoy Stumbo's (Flemying) conjecture that everyone on the ship is already dead and at the bottom of the ocean.
My Grade: A-
Rewatch Value: Medium
Next up: Blades of Glory
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