Film

Below

Other titles called Below: the series coming in 2026 (Netflix).

A WWII submarine thriller that traps its crew in claustrophobic metal corridors while something — supernatural, psychological, or both — picks them apart from within. Directed by David Twohy with real production design and practical tension, it's an exercise in paranoia and atmospheric dread. For fans of slow-burn horror and isolation narratives who don't mind ambiguity about what's actually happening.

TMDb rating3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like ghost stories where the dread builds from cramped rooms, paranoia and doubt about what anyone is seeing, the way a slow, claustrophobic chiller like The Descent or The Thing does.

Skip it if you want a clear monster or a fast pace, since this one lingers in its tight corridors and keeps its explanations murky for most of its 105 minutes.

What it asks of you: Patience, mostly: it spends long stretches in dim, cramped interiors with men talking over each other, and the scares arrive slowly rather than in bursts.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Das Boot1981

The gold standard submarine film: meticulous, tense, and deeply human. Watches like a masterclass in how to make confined spaces feel genuinely dangerous without supernatural help.

But Nearly three hours, dialogue-heavy in German, and the tension builds through competence and procedure rather than jump scares. Patience required.

Das Boot poster

The Hunt for Red October1990

Submarine cat-and-mouse with real stakes and a stellar cast. Suspenseful, smart, and propulsive — it knows exactly how to keep you engaged without resorting to the supernatural.

But The plot sometimes prioritizes technical exposition over character moments. Can feel a bit dated in its Cold War politics.

The Hunt for Red October poster

Gremlins1984

Joe Dante's playful creature-feature with genuine scares and a tight ensemble cast trapped in a small town. Shares Below's dark humour and ability to make confinement feel claustrophobic and funny at once.

But The tonal shifts between horror and comedy are extreme. If you want consistent dread rather than laughs, this will feel uneven.

Gremlins poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Below

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Ballad of Little Jo1993

Both films are about people trapped (physically or socially) with deteriorating mental states; both refuse easy explanations or comfortable resolutions. The horror is isolation itself.

A woman disguises herself as a man to survive the Old West frontier. Like Below, it's a slow, deliberate study of isolation and psychological survival. Maggie Greenwald's direction is patient and haunting — less about plot than about endurance.

But Glacially paced, shot in muted colours, and offers no catharsis or revenge. It's a film about exhaustion, not triumph. Many will find it bleak to the point of numbness.

The Ballad of Little Jo poster
More like this (8)

The Abyss1989

Another deep-water pressure-cooker: crew isolation, mystery, and the creeping sense that something down there isn't quite right. Visually stunning and genuinely eerie in ways that linger.

But The third act pivots toward spectacle and wonder. If you prefer ambiguous dread to grand revelation, the ending may feel like a betrayal.

The Abyss poster

Alien1979

The template for isolated crews being hunted in claustrophobic spaces. Ridley Scott's direction transforms a metal corridor into a nightmare. Perfectly paced and genuinely scary.

But If you've seen it, you've seen it. Copies exist everywhere now. And the sequels may have diluted your sense of discovery.

Alien poster

Event Horizon1997

Spaceship-as-haunted-house with Paul W.S. Anderson directing genuine atmosphere and unsettling imagery. Shares Below's willingness to blur the line between psychological breakdown and supernatural horror.

But The gore is theatrical and the plot sometimes lurches. Tone can feel unstable — not always intentionally.

Event Horizon poster

The Fog1980

John Carpenter's ghost story set in a small coastal town. Atmospheric, methodical, and creepy in ways that trust the audience's imagination. Minimal gore, maximum mood.

But By modern standards, it's quite slow and restrained. If you want visceral scares, you'll wait a long time for them.

The Fog poster

Sphere1998

Deep-sea research team confronts the unknown in a claustrophobic facility. Shares Below's paranoia and the slow-dawning realization that the real threat might be internal. Underrated.

But The philosophical ambitions sometimes overshadow the plot. Uneven pacing, and the ending divides people sharply.

Sphere poster

Jaws1975

Spielberg's creature-feature is endlessly rewatchable: tension, character, and a monster that stays mostly hidden. If you love Below's confined-space dread, Jaws is where it all comes from.

But Familiarity has worn away some of its terror. The mechanical shark looks like a mechanical shark. You may need to work to stay scared.

Jaws poster

Annihilation2018

Both explore how isolation and confinement (physical space, warped perception, environmental strangeness) can warp a group's grip on reality. The external threat is less important than what the crew does to itself.

A team ventures into a mysterious shimmer in the landscape where reality behaves strangely. Visually gorgeous, deeply unsettling, and genuinely ambiguous about what's happening. Thoughtful sci-fi horror that trusts your intelligence.

But The narrative is deliberately non-linear and withholding. Character motivation feels secondary to atmosphere. Some will experience this as frustrating rather than mysterious.

Annihilation poster

Come and See1985

Both are WWII-set films that use genre (Below: thriller/horror; Come and See: realism) to explore psychological breakdown under extreme conditions. Neither film is interested in heroism or catharsis.

A devastating Soviet war film about a boy soldier confronting the real horror of WWII. Twohy's Below uses Below's period setting; Come and See uses it to ask what war actually does to the human mind. Overwhelming and necessary.

But This is not entertainment — it's an ordeal. Graphic violence, child trauma, and a vision of war as pure dehumanization. Watching it feels like a moral commitment, not a night out.

Come and See poster

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