105 reviews
- JaylineFrance
- Nov 20, 2007
- Permalink
I thought it was a refreshing horror film, due to the complete crap lately. I have been to the Catacombs in Paris and know first hand how creepy and historical the place is. This movie was obviously a low budget film, yet it captured the damp and horrifying mood of the Catacombs to a T. Also, the actors put out a performance that I thought was quite good.( Pop singer " Pink " wasn't horrible at all) and the directing was well done.
I loved the use of light and darkness throughout the film. In my opinion, there is nothing more terrifying than being in a state of complete darkness. The story of the satanic cult was a little over the top, considering it actually produced a "satan" child. The plot twist , in my opinion, ruined the film. Of course, as in any "scream" flick, there are always some cheezy and predictable parts, but overall, I found it entertaining. Definitely, think the ending could have been thought out a little better. Scratch that, A lot better. Take out the crazy twist, ....much better. Over all though, a good, not great, horror film.
I loved the use of light and darkness throughout the film. In my opinion, there is nothing more terrifying than being in a state of complete darkness. The story of the satanic cult was a little over the top, considering it actually produced a "satan" child. The plot twist , in my opinion, ruined the film. Of course, as in any "scream" flick, there are always some cheezy and predictable parts, but overall, I found it entertaining. Definitely, think the ending could have been thought out a little better. Scratch that, A lot better. Take out the crazy twist, ....much better. Over all though, a good, not great, horror film.
- Jessgarner
- Apr 2, 2008
- Permalink
I can't believe that this film has such a high rating. The acting is dismal, even by B-movie standards, I didn't care about a single one of the characters, there was far too much reliance on strobe lighting and flashing effects and the ending was just ridiculous. The basic storyline was fairly reasonable to start with, an underground club in Paris where illegal parties are held by groups of social misfits avoiding police raids. The setting looks awesome at times and there is no denying that in the proper hands this could've been a hit. Unfortunately it is let down by the overall stupidity of the lead characters and just wanders into familiar territory instead of offering anything new. Do yourself a favour, if you want to a see a claustrophobic horror set underground, watch The Descent before you see this or you'll get that deja vu feeling. Shame really, the first few minutes were great.
- distortedturtle666
- Dec 13, 2007
- Permalink
- rootsandwings-54745
- Aug 30, 2021
- Permalink
- leesimon-26357
- Feb 6, 2021
- Permalink
Few things are as infuriating as great horror settings that are entirely wasted on trite scenarios. Catacombs immense and ominously dark mazes where thousands of ancient dead bodies are stored form the absolute greatest locations to set a horrific story in, but the creators of this movie ruined all the potential they were offered here. Surely this could have been an interesting film, but the unoriginal script almost immediately reverts to clichéd situations, chaotic editing and creating false suspense. The emotionally unstable Victoria travels to Paris, following an invitation from her sister Carolyn, and promptly gets dragged into the wild nightlife of illegal parties thrown in the catacombs underneath the city center. When she gets separated from the group, Victoria finds herself relentlessly pursued by a raving madman and they expect us to believe it concerns an inbred and carnivorous monster wearing a goat head mask. You'll notice right away there are several things wrong with the narrative. Why would the partying sister bother to invite such an uptight individual like Victoria to a place where drugs and hideous Techno music reign? Why would an insatiable killing machine exclusively chase isolated party-goers when there are hundreds of unsuspecting easy targets waiting to be butchered in the room next door? Once Victoria is trapped inside the underground labyrinth, "Catacombs" turns into an intolerably boring and irritating film. She just stumbles around the passageways for hours, praying the batteries of her flashlight won't die which they do a couple of times, of course, and you'll find yourself staring at a black screen throughout very long periods - and suffering ridiculous injuries, like cutting her leg on the spokes of a rusty bicycle. Oh, the horror! This movie is slow and boring, the hectic editing of randomly creepy images is pointless, the soundtrack is god-awful and not a single one of the lead characters is even mildly amiable. Victoria constantly whines and, to me personally, it's a complete mystery why she's such a confused woman. She's young, attractive, supposedly intelligent and free to spontaneously leave everything behind and travel to Europe. So
what the heck is the problem? The French boys serve as dumb screen fillings and Carolyn is positively one of the most annoying horror characters ever. Pink is an even worse actress than singer, for that matter. Throughout almost its entire playtime, "Catacombs" was destined to receive a rating 1 out of 10 from me, but then came the ending which suddenly brought an unexpected highpoint. There are two end "twists", by the way. One is painfully frustrating and caused me to hate the film even more, but luckily there's a second one which turned tragedies around a bit and all of a sudden the film was good enough to increase my rating towards two.
The catacombs of Paris, a lesser known historical marvel of how Paris' over populated cemeteries were cleaned out and 7,000,000 human skeletons were arranged in a macabre maze underground!
So in 2007 when I heard it was the setting for a new horror movie I just had to see it! There's no cheap CGI, it's filmed on location.
Victoria flies from Boston to Paris to visit her sister, a drugged out drunk party girl. It's the role Pink was born to play.
Pink takes Victoria to a rock concert in the catacombs. And by "concert" I mean an orgy of drugs and alcohol. Predictably Victoria gets lost and chased by a goat headed monster said to haunt the catacombs. This goes on for 80 minutes and it's more boring than words can describe.
At least the ending is a good one. SPOILER WARNING!!! Eventually Victoria kills one of her pursuers only to discover this was all a prank by Pink and her friends. Ha ha ha. What it's a joke is that Victoria really did kill one of the friends out of fear. As Pink is cursing her Victoria beats all of them to death! Amen. They all deserved it for the hell they put her and the audience through.
Can't really think of single reason to see this film as they don't make use of the on location filming in the catacombs. Come on! 7,000,000 human skeletons and they couldn't come up with anything scary?
So in 2007 when I heard it was the setting for a new horror movie I just had to see it! There's no cheap CGI, it's filmed on location.
Victoria flies from Boston to Paris to visit her sister, a drugged out drunk party girl. It's the role Pink was born to play.
Pink takes Victoria to a rock concert in the catacombs. And by "concert" I mean an orgy of drugs and alcohol. Predictably Victoria gets lost and chased by a goat headed monster said to haunt the catacombs. This goes on for 80 minutes and it's more boring than words can describe.
At least the ending is a good one. SPOILER WARNING!!! Eventually Victoria kills one of her pursuers only to discover this was all a prank by Pink and her friends. Ha ha ha. What it's a joke is that Victoria really did kill one of the friends out of fear. As Pink is cursing her Victoria beats all of them to death! Amen. They all deserved it for the hell they put her and the audience through.
Can't really think of single reason to see this film as they don't make use of the on location filming in the catacombs. Come on! 7,000,000 human skeletons and they couldn't come up with anything scary?
This is my first user comment on IMDb and feel I have to make it to prevent people being put off my the low average score.
If you are a horror fan you will enjoy this one. Pink is not the main character, but she does a decent enough job for her part...don't worry they have a proper actress for the lead! Anyway, the location is really cool and it provides a really tense feel throughout. There is a 'Saw' feel about certain scenes which is all good.
The film is also fairly intelligent in parts. They do a good job of conveying the scary feeling of being alone in another country and not being able to understand the language.
And don't be put off by the "bad ending" people have been quoting. Its not that bad, its even pretty cool I think. Its the journey you go on during the film that makes it enjoyable, the ending is not a major problem really.
Hey, why not go for a double bill. Watch this first followed by Them aka "Ils". Would be a quality night of French/Romanian horror goodness.
Enjoy!
If you are a horror fan you will enjoy this one. Pink is not the main character, but she does a decent enough job for her part...don't worry they have a proper actress for the lead! Anyway, the location is really cool and it provides a really tense feel throughout. There is a 'Saw' feel about certain scenes which is all good.
The film is also fairly intelligent in parts. They do a good job of conveying the scary feeling of being alone in another country and not being able to understand the language.
And don't be put off by the "bad ending" people have been quoting. Its not that bad, its even pretty cool I think. Its the journey you go on during the film that makes it enjoyable, the ending is not a major problem really.
Hey, why not go for a double bill. Watch this first followed by Them aka "Ils". Would be a quality night of French/Romanian horror goodness.
Enjoy!
- adam-harding2
- Mar 15, 2008
- Permalink
I watched this movie y'day and must say it is a good one...the lead actress Shannyn Sossamon is natural in depicting her fear and nervousness...BTW i just happened to watch another latest movie of her "One Missed Call" and that too is good... there are many horror movies which deal with gore and bloodshed only, this is not that type, rather kinda chased down by a maniac in a deep dark tunnel can breakdown anybody's nerves... however everything became clear towards the end and you gonna like the climax, its undoubtedly different only that i can say... When I am writing I saw this one got an average rating of 4.7 which is very unfair with this movie...I would say a decent 6.5 should be given... only one comment about the music, it could have been more spine chilling....
- rishi_is_here-1
- Jun 9, 2008
- Permalink
- claudio_carvalho
- Nov 19, 2008
- Permalink
I enjoyed parts of the movie. I am a raver and the aspect of a rave in the catacombs is brilliant. yet actually doing that would be incredibly stupid. any way, it seemed like a lot of running in the dark and screaming, little dialog.i so on and so forth its an OK film. i heard a lot of mixed reviews about the movie...i am indifferent towards whether its good or bad. it appeals to some people and not to others. what can i saw...so do most films. Also i would like to go party in the underground. maybe not in France in the catacombs...but making a nightclub that was under the streets and making it look like the catacombs would be amazing.
Sub-par acting all around along with an especially horrible performance by Pink, even by B-Movie standards. The premise is OK and even the beginning is not completely horrible, but then the action get relentlessly repetitive as are made character is chased and chased and chased some more, which does work for me at times but with nothing unique thrown in there to mix it up a bit then it just gets old fast. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, not only a twist but a twist that makes a little sense and actually works, it doesn't feel contrived and just thrown in at the end to screw with the audience. If your looking for a good horror movie you could do much better, but if you can stomach Pinks horrible attempt at acting for the length of this film (more power to you) then you could give this one a try, but only for it's unique ending.
200 years ago 7 million people where buried in the catacombs under the capital Paris in France.Victoria(Shannen Sossomon) get invitation to Paris from her sister played by famous singer Pink .They go to party in the catacombs with some other friends to Victorias sister.Things start to happen..lots of running and screaming but no scares.Not my cup of tea but not totally crap.I think S.Sossomon is good,the ending fine and some scenes well done.The version I saw was the 86 minutes one.Maybe there exist an unrated version with more power in some scenes as I think the movie was a bit tame considering the story is very gruesome. I give Catacoms 4/10
Have you ever watched the movie "Creep"? It's the one where Franke Portente becomes lost under the city of London with a homicidal maniac chasing after her. Did you like that movie? If so, then it's a good bet that you're going to enjoy the first hour or so of "Catacombs".
In "Catacombs" we have Shannyn Sossamon - an actress with less talent than Portente sadly - who arrives in Paris to stay with her sister (played by the pop star Pink no less) and her wacky French friends. Before she can get over her jet lag she is whisked away to a rave taking place in the catacombs beneath Paris. Whilst drinking with her sister's friends she learns the story of a Satanic cult which raised a child down in the catacombs, fed him raw meat, made him wear a goat mask and convinced him that he was the son of Satan. After she learns this, she becomes lost in the tunnels and guess who she runs into? What follows is around an hour of Shannyn running frantically around in the darkness searching for a way out whilst being chased by Mr. Goat Head. This pretty much sums up the majority of the movie and, to be fair, the catacombs themselves are quite interesting. As the burial site of several hundred corpses, it's certainly an eerie place and somewhere that you wouldn't want to get lost in. The direction is adequate although there was one moment where I was sure Shannyn almost ran into the cameraman.
And then we reach the ending. Oh my God. What a catastrophe.
I won't spoil the ending for you in case you still want to watch "Catacombs" but don't say that I didn't warn you. It's almost as though the writer couldn't think of an ending and asked his eight year old son for advice. It's a shame that the child didn't suggest aliens make an appearance or something along those lines because that would have been far more entertaining than what's actually in this movie.
If it wasn't for that ending, I would have probably awarded this movie a five. However, because of my revulsion for what the scriptwriter did I am forced to knock two points off and award it a three.
Oh dear.
In "Catacombs" we have Shannyn Sossamon - an actress with less talent than Portente sadly - who arrives in Paris to stay with her sister (played by the pop star Pink no less) and her wacky French friends. Before she can get over her jet lag she is whisked away to a rave taking place in the catacombs beneath Paris. Whilst drinking with her sister's friends she learns the story of a Satanic cult which raised a child down in the catacombs, fed him raw meat, made him wear a goat mask and convinced him that he was the son of Satan. After she learns this, she becomes lost in the tunnels and guess who she runs into? What follows is around an hour of Shannyn running frantically around in the darkness searching for a way out whilst being chased by Mr. Goat Head. This pretty much sums up the majority of the movie and, to be fair, the catacombs themselves are quite interesting. As the burial site of several hundred corpses, it's certainly an eerie place and somewhere that you wouldn't want to get lost in. The direction is adequate although there was one moment where I was sure Shannyn almost ran into the cameraman.
And then we reach the ending. Oh my God. What a catastrophe.
I won't spoil the ending for you in case you still want to watch "Catacombs" but don't say that I didn't warn you. It's almost as though the writer couldn't think of an ending and asked his eight year old son for advice. It's a shame that the child didn't suggest aliens make an appearance or something along those lines because that would have been far more entertaining than what's actually in this movie.
If it wasn't for that ending, I would have probably awarded this movie a five. However, because of my revulsion for what the scriptwriter did I am forced to knock two points off and award it a three.
Oh dear.
People are slating this as a "bad" film however it is a decent enough, unnerving thriller that doesn't quite give the feeling of crushing claustrophobia the Descent does, and doesn't quite set you on the edge of your seat like monster chase films such as Creep does...
Some camera shots are a bit too "arty" for my taste, and detracts slightly from the overall effect seeing as it is a horror film, however it is easy to see what they were trying to achieve with such closed in, minimal light sourced tunneled shots that fade into the distance only as the main character rounds the bend taking the torchlight out of shot.
But overall, a good enough film with a slightly transparent ending that will either have you smiling or groaning!
Some camera shots are a bit too "arty" for my taste, and detracts slightly from the overall effect seeing as it is a horror film, however it is easy to see what they were trying to achieve with such closed in, minimal light sourced tunneled shots that fade into the distance only as the main character rounds the bend taking the torchlight out of shot.
But overall, a good enough film with a slightly transparent ending that will either have you smiling or groaning!
- escape1979uk
- Feb 17, 2008
- Permalink
I went to watch the film giving it a chance. I think it was OK but nothing more. The film at the cinema was quite scary in parts (expecially first part), I was surprised not to see gore and extreme violence like in the most recent films (hostels and similar) but I think on TV won't work as well. It wasn't one of those horrors you laugh at when you watch it the cinema, if you know what I mean. The finale is OK but ruins all the film a bit and makes you no need to watch it again (you will understand this last sentence watching it). My final comment is: "It was alright but I wouldn't watch it again. No plot holes or absurdities (like in many horrors) but maybe a bit weak. If you don't spend too much money to watch it you can enjoy it easily and as easily forget about it.
After reading what people had said about this I was geared up to dislike this film. In fact, I wanted to dislike it. However, I did in fact enjoy this film. It is intense, dreary, disturbing, scary, anxiety provoking and it went by very fast. The lead actress is good. The photography is good. I found the sets very well done. If you like The Decent you'd probably enjoy this.
I will say this; "Pink" comes off as a low class skank to be blunt. I'm sure the French were glad she came back to America. She is the least likable character in the film. She looks like a skank, talks like one and probably smells like one too. But, maybe that is how Pink wanted her character to appear.
Whatever. You can't deny that this film is effective, Pink or no Pink. I think it is worth viewing. Check it out.
I will say this; "Pink" comes off as a low class skank to be blunt. I'm sure the French were glad she came back to America. She is the least likable character in the film. She looks like a skank, talks like one and probably smells like one too. But, maybe that is how Pink wanted her character to appear.
Whatever. You can't deny that this film is effective, Pink or no Pink. I think it is worth viewing. Check it out.
- pekoeworks
- May 10, 2007
- Permalink
A vacuous American teenager popping anti-depressants goes to Paris to stay with her sister. This sister (claimed to be a student at the Sorbonne) turns out to be equally vacuous, with added unpleasantness and stupidity. The thought that either girl would gain anything by staying in Paris is absurd. They spend their time shopping and talking like the 'guests' from Big Brother. They'd have done the same in Newark or Bolton.
The blonde sister (the one from the Sorbonne) takes her dark sister (the depressing one) to a really groovy club called CATACOMBS - believe it or not, it's an illegal club set up by a young 'philosopher' who says fatuous things like 'Death is spectacle.' (He's no Sartre.) The club is situated in... wait for it... the actual catacombs under the Paris streets. Is that creepy and weird or not? Not.
Anyway, the two girls meet some French boys and drink absinthe. They dance around with a crowd of other people. Before we know it, the dark, depressing girl is lost in the catacombs and is being chased by a mad axeman wearing a goat mask... She runs around in the catacombs for the rest of the film. We're supposed to be getting REALLY SCARED. I was looking forward to being terrified or at least mildly frightened - but nothing much happened except an increasing feeling of ennui.
The dark girl's lines are of the 'f**k! s**t! help! oh God is anyone there?' variety. Eventually she meets a French man called Henri (like many American tourists she is unable to pronounce this and insists on calling him 'Henry' - as if he were Ray Liotta in 'Goodfellas'). 'Henry' helps her, but she simply ignores the fact that he can only speak French and she only English. She keeps asking him dumb questions in English and shows her gratitude to her rescuer by calling him 'asshole' and 'jerk' when things go wrong. Her intelligence really shows through when 'Henry' produces what a 5-year old can see is a street map of Paris. Our 'heroine' asks, 'What's that? Is it a map? IT'S A STREET MAP!' When 'Henry' suggests a way of walking through the catacombs to escape from the man with the goat mask, all the heroine can do is to complain,'Oh my God, it's so FAR!' Perhaps she thought she could phone for a cab instead - or get the subway.
Hardly surprisingly, there are no 'stars' in this grand entertainment. It isn't horrific in the least. The ending is quite clever, but to sit through the preceding hour and half to get there is asking too much of anyone. If you want a stylish, witty, and genuinely disturbing film set in the sewers and underground railways of London, watch Gary Sherman's DEATHLINE from the early Seventies.
This film was dead before anyone stepped foot in the catacombs. Less frightening than an international webcast by Lyndon Larouche - and nowhere nearly so funny...
The blonde sister (the one from the Sorbonne) takes her dark sister (the depressing one) to a really groovy club called CATACOMBS - believe it or not, it's an illegal club set up by a young 'philosopher' who says fatuous things like 'Death is spectacle.' (He's no Sartre.) The club is situated in... wait for it... the actual catacombs under the Paris streets. Is that creepy and weird or not? Not.
Anyway, the two girls meet some French boys and drink absinthe. They dance around with a crowd of other people. Before we know it, the dark, depressing girl is lost in the catacombs and is being chased by a mad axeman wearing a goat mask... She runs around in the catacombs for the rest of the film. We're supposed to be getting REALLY SCARED. I was looking forward to being terrified or at least mildly frightened - but nothing much happened except an increasing feeling of ennui.
The dark girl's lines are of the 'f**k! s**t! help! oh God is anyone there?' variety. Eventually she meets a French man called Henri (like many American tourists she is unable to pronounce this and insists on calling him 'Henry' - as if he were Ray Liotta in 'Goodfellas'). 'Henry' helps her, but she simply ignores the fact that he can only speak French and she only English. She keeps asking him dumb questions in English and shows her gratitude to her rescuer by calling him 'asshole' and 'jerk' when things go wrong. Her intelligence really shows through when 'Henry' produces what a 5-year old can see is a street map of Paris. Our 'heroine' asks, 'What's that? Is it a map? IT'S A STREET MAP!' When 'Henry' suggests a way of walking through the catacombs to escape from the man with the goat mask, all the heroine can do is to complain,'Oh my God, it's so FAR!' Perhaps she thought she could phone for a cab instead - or get the subway.
Hardly surprisingly, there are no 'stars' in this grand entertainment. It isn't horrific in the least. The ending is quite clever, but to sit through the preceding hour and half to get there is asking too much of anyone. If you want a stylish, witty, and genuinely disturbing film set in the sewers and underground railways of London, watch Gary Sherman's DEATHLINE from the early Seventies.
This film was dead before anyone stepped foot in the catacombs. Less frightening than an international webcast by Lyndon Larouche - and nowhere nearly so funny...
- donaldking
- Mar 13, 2011
- Permalink
- Leofwine_draca
- Dec 22, 2015
- Permalink
Was waiting hoping for a good title but I wish I could get my money back for watching this poorly made movie that is probably written by a 15 year old. The story is lame and its "inspired by true events" like they would say but if there where killing in the catacombs then wouldn't we know about it? Anywise this movie is a waste of good time and money I would avoid it if only I knew. I was expecting something good from the director. Not much from pink and didn't get anything. And lets not speak of the acting. Story : 1/10 Acting : 4/10 Sound : 7/10 how long it stays interesting : 3/10 If anybody els feels the same as me I wouldn't blame them what I don't get is what do people see good in this movie?.