Rent Below (2002)

Gripping - Below review by sb

FILM & REVIEW Always been a fan of the submarine genre - always something very cinematic about a bunch of guys ( and it’s almost always just guys) sealed into an underwater metal tube who often go from the hunter to the hunted. This uses all the familiar tropes with an added ambiguous element. A USS sub under Brice (Greenwood) is sent to pick up some survivors from a U-Boat attack.It was a hospital ship and the survivors include Claire Paige (Willams) and the presence of a woman on board heightens the already existing tension. They come under attack almost straight away and seem to be betrayed and discover one of the patients is German. He is shot but that is only the beginning of the difficulties as events take on a ever more dangerous course with the implication that other forces may be in play. It’s revealed that Brice hasn’t always been in charge and a singular event has been covered up that they may all begin to regret. As I say it uses all the normal submarine movie stuff but by implying that there may be a supernatural element that is tied into a previous guilt really ramps up the tension and grips throughout. Good solid cast keeps you engrossed and although at time Twomey can overdo the jump scares it has an increasing sense of dread that at times reminded me of Event Horizon……very effective indeed - 4/5