Down Below: a Film by Spyder Dobrofsky

‘Down Below’ is a soon to be released Grindhouse horror-film by director Spyder Dobrofsky. It doesn’t fully outshine its predecessors in the horror-genre, but it does manage to deliver a viewing exp. that proves to be quite a heap of fun — if you like a heavy serving of “kitsch” with your scary movies.

‘Down Below’ is a low-budget gem (albeit with some imperfections) providing standout performances from Doug Jones, Bai Ling, Alexis Knapp, and David Steen as the mysterious “Mr Monday”. The narrative is somewhat Lynchian in its approach, reminiscent of the director’s smaller pictures: ‘Mulholland Drive’, and ‘The Lost Highway’ – in that it gives the viewer visually disconnected scenes in an attempt to construe the apprehension and confusion the characters are going through. Flashbacks, dream sequences, and nonlinear storytelling are all utilized to abandon.

‘Down Below’ both succeeds and sort of fails in this department. This isn’t a shot at the creative team; afterall a Lynchian tale is a hard one to pin down. Many a filmbuff and critic struggles to define what it is that holds together the glue in a TV series like ‘Crimson Peaks’, when the same approach taken by a different filmmaker is often lambasted by mainstream critics. The term “arthouse” often gets thrown around when discussing films with non-traditional narrative structure or aesthetics. ‘Down Below’ reminds me of a recent horror release that polarized the horror-watching community and in the process managed to create a vibrant social media buzz — ‘Longlegs’.

Both pictures are steeped in symbolism — feature an enigmatic figure as the villain — and both films wait until the final moments to hastily unpack the antagonist’s backstory, in hopes of tying a bow on the cinematic thrust made thus far. Neither film truly succeeds in this department; but what is that old expression, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey” — 

that seems to fit well here. A lot of people still really enjoyed ‘Longlegs’, and I think if the right crowd sees ‘Down Below’ advertised on the Tubi navigation panel…they’ll watch it and get one helluva’ kick out of it.

By the way, it was Ralph Waldo Emerson who made the quote about enjoying “the journey”. So, yeah.

I think there are those that will love ‘Down Below’ for what it doesn’t do — it refuses to spoon-feed you the same story that’s been told time and time again, opting instead to take a chance and let the cards fall where they may. This is a risky decision by the filmmaker: yet, it shows he has a vision and isn’t afraid of taking creative chances. A quality that is sought after in the industry. When it works…

So, most importantly – does it pay off?

Yes. For the most part it does.

 The acting switches from naturalistic to theatrical at odd moments; which was jarring at times, yet this will most likely be endearing to those who love low-budget camp-horror properties which usually have over-the-top, and or clashing performances. These films often lack proper special fx and elaborate multi-cam setups — often resulting in a sort of unintended self-parody. Similar to the positive reaction to 1976’s ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, it is common for horror-junkies to become enthralled with just the fact that the film was finished under such stringent circumstances.

“The Terrifier” is a trash-horror movie that has recently taken off as a franchise; receiving multiple sequels and a very outspoken (and religiously online) cult-following. The movie has a rather low Rotten Tomatoes score but still managed to break through to a larger demographic.

‘Down Below’ definitely has a fair chance of replicating that same underground, word-of-mouth marketing that allows projects such as these to flourish – despite the considerable budgetary constraints. Spyder Dobrofsky made this picture for a meagre $200,000 – $450,000.

Doug Jones

Fans of Doug Jones (Hellboy, Hellboy II, Star Trek Discovery) will obviously be very pleased with his cameo — while wishing for more. His performance is one of the better ones adding some much needed refinement to the picture. Jones doesn’t over- or under-act: he finds a nice area in between and plays to his strength. A soft spoken delivery combined with planned physicality. His physical presence on camera comes off as natural, other actors in the piece don’t hit their mark near as well — becoming a tad awkward in their portrayals. Sadly, he’s only in the film for one scene. Doug Jones plays a “john” who is being entertained by an escort; the same escort that also happens to be the on-again-and-off-again squeeze of our lead “Salem”, played by Spyder Dobrofsky himself.

Spyder Dobrofsky

Without giving away too much about this film, since this movie is yet to be released (the director was nice enough to send me a digital screener. This blog post will go up a day before ‘Down Below’ is available for streaming), so I certainly don’t want to spoil any major story beats or plot points; I’d like to comment on Dobrofsky’s portrayal of “Salem” — the protagonist.

This is a hard role to take on, the character is extremely unsympathetic and possesses few likable traits. There is a degree of foreshadowing that informs the viewer a twist in the final act may reveal Salem’s true nature as benign but until that moment – he’s a very hard character to root for. There is little stoicism in him; a trait generally attributed to the hero of a horror movie, whether it’s learned through tribulations or present at the outset.

But Dobrofsky does his best, providing a plaintive and neurotic performance — working brilliantly to contrast…

Christopher Livingston as Officer Bandini, who ends up filling out the more stereotypical action-lead role.

These two have a host of scenes together, Livingston playing the “disgruntled detective type” admirably, harkening back to old cop-show favourites of the 80s. His no-nonsense demeanor and terse delivery also very reminiscent of grizzled detectives in noir films of the past — even though his on-screen appearance evokes modernity.

Chris Livingston delivers his lines passionately and hits his mark; the sign of a true professional.

Bai Ling

Sultry and sharp-tongued; Ling’s turn as Madame Thorn is an entertaining watch. She wisely cranks up the melodrama and it works. If you’ve ever watched some of the more famous Soap actresses (Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak, Jeanne Cooper) I think you’ll love and recognize some of her fustian mannerisms. She’s also drawing heavily upon Golden Age starlets; exaggerated expressions, breath-y line delivery, and grandiose facial expressions. It is readily apparent that Bai Ling excels at theatricality. Nowadays, Soap Operas and Daytime Dramas are where you usually find this level of bombast — but it also works beautifully in camp-infused horror features.

The rest of the actors did a stand-up job as well, however this review is running long and mentioning them quickly will have to suffice.

 Eric Roberts is a Hollywood veteran and it shows. His scenes are steeped in paranoia and Robert’s conveys this oppressive atmosphere to the tee. His character’s essential to the story and adds an element of mystery surrounding his involvement in the crimes. It’s also really nice to see Eric Roberts in an independent film; shows that he cares about smaller projects and likes to work with up-and-coming artists.

Alexis Knapp

Pink haired escort “Charisma” played by Alexis Knapp gets a majority of the screen time — along with Dobrofsky himself. There are plenty of extended two-shots of the duo in between the expected “over-the-shoulder” camera angle. Knapp does a great job of creating chemistry in the interactions she has with her screen partner. Yet, Salem and Charisma never fully feel like realized characters. I think this is simply a byproduct of not having enough establishing scenes for the two, there are a lot of story threads in the structure of the film, both Knapp and Dobrofsky are working tirelessly in their scenes, and it shows. Alexis still delivers an effervescent performance that I enjoyed watching, I just wish her character was written witg a little more…substance.

Oh well. You can’t win em’ all.

On a final note — as much as I have critiqued this film in some areas, there is a lot to get a kick out of here. If you’re an aficionado of B-grade horror movies; you’ve got to watch this one.

Everybody else, stop being p*ussy and give it a try!

Down Below (premiering on Tubi – Oct. 1st)

Rating 7/10

Digital screener provided courtesy of Spyder Dobrofsky.