The Dark Below

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1:28

The Dark Below

Released Mar 10, 2017

1h 23m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

14%

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7 Reviews

32%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

A woman struggles to survive beneath a frozen lake long while trying to stay hidden from the serial killer who is stalking her from the surface.

Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Village Voice

The Dark Below could've easily been half the length - and half the waste of time - if Schulze hadn't used slo-mo in nearly every scene.

Mar 22, 2017

Full Review

Frank Scheck

The Hollywood Reporter

While its intriguing setup sounds like it could make for a provocative and original thriller, The Dark Below never lives up to its promise, although it earns points for originality.

Mar 9, 2017

Full Review

Isaac Feldberg

Cut Print Film

Even at a substandard 75 minutes, the film's pace is so punishingly glacial - and its ideas so lethargically executed - that viewers will likely find themselves more fatigued than thrilled by its assorted gimmicks.

Rated: 3/10

Dec 16, 2020

Full Review

Niall Browne

Movies in Focus

Douglas Schulze's The Dark Below is an original and bold film that plays around with narrative conventions and preconceived notions of the thriller genre.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 2, 2018

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

What hurts [the film] is the very aspect that there is no dialogue and no sound, thus the movie feels a lot like a gimmick in the end.

Mar 17, 2017

Full Review

Jared Mobarak

The Film Stage

It's one thing if The Dark Below sought campy implausibility, but it craves legitimacy.

Rated: D

Mar 16, 2017

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Liam D

While I do appreciate the movie for its visual storytelling it's a slow and sometimes boring Thriller even its only a hour and 12 minutes

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/16/22

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Audience Member

Utter garbage. No way could you survive under freezing cold water for that long.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

They need to add a no stars rating.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In the midst of countless remakes and reboots we have an indie horror film that simply slipped under the radar. THE DARK BELOW is a survival horror film feom director Douglas Schultze, it breaks conventions by presenting itself almost as a silent film. It heavy orchestra helped weave a tense and heartbreaking tale using little to no dialogue. The performances are very well done, lots of love and care for the material and respect for the genre. A very tense and original effort in the classic cat and mouse survival horror genre. It was a bit short and i would have loved more. Some scenes id have preferred had some dialogue, I'll admit i respect the hell outta Schultze for keeping with his vision. Third act did get a little slo mo heavy. All for dramatic effect I understand.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Turn your color way down on your TV and it's watchable

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unique and thoroughly entertaining. Highly recommend.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

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Douglas Schulze

Director

Lauren Mae Shafer

Rachel

David G.B. Brown

Ben

Seraphina Anne Zorn

Actor

Veronica Cartwright

Actor

Zachary Levine

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The Dark Below: Trailer 1

1:28

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Synopsis

A woman struggles to survive beneath a frozen lake long while trying to stay hidden from the serial killer who is stalking her from the surface.

Director: Douglas Schulze
Producer: Kurt Eli Mayry, Kathryn J. McDermott, Douglas Schulze
Screenwriter: Douglas Schulze, Jonathan D'Ambrosio
Distributor: Parade Deck Films
Production Co: Dead Wait Productons
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 10, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 9, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.1K
Runtime: 1h 23m