At the Movies - 'Below'

AP Entertainment Writer

From "Das Boot" to last summer's "K-19: The Widowmaker," fans of submarine movies have come to expect claustrophobic madness from the crew, creaking hulls popping leaks, and a few desperate, hushed moments while an enemy ship patrols overhead.

The World War II era thriller "Below" has a lot of the same elements, but adds a supernatural twist: the rattles and clanks may come from ghosts.

Fans of traditional military adventures may find the spookiness hokey, but horror aficionados will likely enjoy the film's murky mysteries.

Bruce Greenwood (who played JFK in "13 Days") delivers a strong performance as a square-jawed skipper ordered to rescue a handful of survivors from a sunken British medical cruiser. Among the rescued are two men and a woman (Olivia Williams of "The Sixth Sense"), which causes a stir among the crew of lonely men.

Director David Twohy, who made the 2000 Vin Diesel movie "Pitch Black," creates gloomy atmosphere out of the cramped setting with long tracking shots that follow characters down the sub's tangled passageways. The dim lighting of the control deck enhances the sense of secrecy and distrust among the ship's officers and smooth special-effects recreate a risky journey by divers to the stalled submarine's outer hull.

Chilling moments benefit from subtlety. When a crew member studies his face in the mirror, the tense music suggests something ready to jump out. Instead we begin to notice that the reflection's movements are slightly off from his.

Twohy, who co-wrote the script with "Requiem for a Dream" filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and writer Lucas Sussman, bogs the story down by having the characters explain what's happening -- long after the plot developments are obvious -- instead of saving their own lives.

No wonder the sub was groaning.

"Below," a Dimension Films release, is rated R for violence and language. Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars (out of four).