The Parisian catacombs might be one of horror’s most promising, but least explored sinister locations. Just the thought of there being a huge system of graves connected by tunnels underneath the busy streets of Paris is an odd concept. That people seek to explore them, spurred by morbid curiosity, seems like the perfect beginning to a horror film, and yet few have done it. The most memorable attempt in recent years is John Erick Dowdle’s 2014 found-footage film As Above, So Below. Next up to prove how creepy the location can be is Deep Fear from director Grégory Beghin.
Opening in the tunnels themselves in the year 1989, Deep Fear immediately announces that there’s something down there. From the creature’s point of view, the camera stalks and attacks a graffiti artist, dragging them through one of the tighter tunnels and away. The sequence is a great way to kick off the film. It asserts that there is something lurking beneath without explicitly explaining what that threat is. There’s also the added bonus that the POV camerawork through the tunnels immediately channels Fincher’s Alien 3.
Once this first victim has been dispatched, the story jumps forward to 1991. Friends Sonia (Sofia Lesaffre), Max (Kassim Meesters), and Henry (Victor Meutelet) are spending a couple of days together before Henry enlists in the army. The trio have been friends for years and upon meeting them, this feels true. The cast either knew each other prior to the project, or worked hard to create that ease with one another. Through a few simple exchanges and looks the audience is instantly caught up with the dynamics of the group. Max for example is the most cautious of the three. His risk-averse nature means that, although clearly in love with Sonia, he has never told her. Henry is the joker and a would-be Casanova, and Sonia is the focal point and pseudo-leader. The ease of communication means that Beghin doesn’t have to spend too long setting up dynamics and can jump straight in.
Beghin doesn’t waste any time in throwing the threesome into the line of fire. There’s a dream sequence early on that might be one of the most well-executed ever. It’s a nightmare about a home invasion, one that evokes extreme tension and could be the foundation for a very different genre film. The dream reveal is unexpected, but also a massive relief, cutting through the thick air of dread. What its inclusion achieves is unsettling the viewer and making them uneasy about what is to follow. Desperate to make Henry’s last day exciting, Sonia employs the help of Ramy (Joseph Olivennes) to come up with an idea. Ramy’s solution is to take the trio underground, but before long the fun turns to horror as they encounter all manners of terror down below.
Having established a perfect environment for nerves to be shredded, by the time the group ventures down their first tunnel, the audience is fully invested. The tunnels themselves are not like those glimpsed in As Above, So Below. Rather than corridors lined with skeletons, the group encounters more industrial-looking structures. Much of Deep Fear is heavy with urban iconography. This is a version of Paris unlike the idyllic presentation that many link with the city. The Paris on display here is gritty, grimy, and covered in graffiti. There isn’t a trace of the overly romanticised Paris to be found here and Beghin’s honesty about the underbelly of the city is to be commended. By making the setting so urban, there’s also the notion that this environment could be hiding under any big city.
The horror under the streets begins strongly as Sonia, Max, and Henry come face-to-face with a very human threat. As with the earlier dream sequence, this interaction is potentially one of the stronger aspects of Deep Fear, so much so that when the story moves in a different direction, one can’t help but be a little disappointed. From here on the group uncover an abandoned bunker and the plot falls into fairly standard horror territory. Without spoiling exactly what is waiting beneath, the foe is tied to a specific group of evildoers whose appearance in genre films has become oversaturated in the last couple of decades. Once this menace has been unveiled the hard-wrought tension dissipates. As the characters fall into conventional decision patterns and behaviours, the viewer oddly begins to feel safe.
Deep Fear isn’t quite the all-out scare-fest that its earliest moments suggest it could be. That being said, these early sequences are so vivid and well constructed that you’ll find yourself flashing back to them for days. A film that gets under the skin in unexpected places, Deep Fear, on some level at least, lives up to its name.
Deep Fear
Summary
Once the subterranean threat is exposed. Deep Fear struggles to maintain its thrill factor. What comes prior to that though is likely to haunt your dreams.
Deep Fear was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest 2022.
