Wish you were here? European destinations to fear!
Virtually travelling to Europe can be just as terrifying as going there in person; depending on your suspension of disbelief. Before you head off on any journey, it makes sense to be proactive and acclimatise yourself to the culture of the place you are visiting. The following is a compilation of places in Europe that have not paid so well for optimistic adventurers…
Paris: the city of lights, of love, of romance… and of the dead. It is a European capital that attracts lovers to celebrate their blossoming relationships; but is also the location of where you might want to think twice about visiting, if As Above, So Below is anything to go by…
France
As previously mentioned: the Catacombes de Paris that lie beneath the bustling metropolis of the city steeped in history and elegant haute couture fashion, have previously drawn attention to the horror genre with the Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures Catacombs (2007), starring Shannyn Sossamon and Alecia Moore (otherwise known as the punky singer Pink). The two-hundred mile labyrinth housed the excess of bones and human remains from the condemned, overflowing cemeteries, including the Cimetière des Innocents between the 18th and 19th centuries.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
As Above, So Below is a found-footage horror that sees a group of explorers (including Perdita Weeks and Ben Feldman) faced with visions of horror that soon become their own fearful manifestations which have come back to haunt them. Their search motivated by a morbid curiosity transports them into their own version of hell.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Germany
German Expressionist directors have produced nightmarish ghouls and gothic horror tales in the experimental, anti-realism movement with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922). Suspiria (1977), from the masterful Italian ‘Giallo’ director Dario Argento, uncovers a private dance academy in Freiburg (near Munich) to be a malevolent coven of witches by visiting American ballet student Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper).
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Another highlight on the tour of torture includes The Human Centipede: First Sequence (2009). Written, directed and co-produced by the twisted mind of Tom Six, three tourists are kidnapped by a sadistic German Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser) who surgically conjoins them into a triplet, attached by the mouth and anus.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Italy
The canals, bridges and side-streets of Venice may entice you to go for a wander off the beaten track. However, you could encounter a dwarf in a red anorak with a penchant for throat cutting: Donald Sutherland found this out to his peril in Don’t Look Now (1973). If only he took heed of the film’s title he may not have pursued the vertically challenged killer. Although the harrowing story in which husband and wife John (Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) are mourning the death of their daughter, the hope that she may still be alive clouds their judgement in their dangerous and foreign surroundings.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Argento’s vernacular style pops up again with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970). This time in his place of birth: Rome. American writer Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) witnesses the murder of a woman and is lured into an investigation as the bodies continue to pile up. Englishman Marcus Daly (David Hemmings) is also attracted to become an amateur sleuth in Turin when he sees a medium killed by a gloved villain in Deep Red (1975). You are more likely to survive a holiday jaunt to Italy if you are English-speaking and your life is a movie directed by Argento.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Slovakia
Taking in the historical architecture and picturesque views are a major part of the sightseeing experience. But when you have been on your feet all day and want to re-charge your camera, an adequately comfortable abode is welcomed. Hostels are a cheap choice to get some shut-eye and nowadays there are countless blogs and online lists of quality establishments for backpackers to trust. Or you could assume attractive and promiscuous locals in Bratislava will point you in the right direction to a non-hostile Hostel (2005).
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
‘Torture porn’ is graphically realised in Eli Roth’s urban legend of locals capturing naïve Western tourists and selling them on the black market. Harvesting organs is not the worst thing that could happen to you: mutilation is on the menu. Psychotic businessmen carry out their disturbing fantasies with chainsaws, hammers and anything else that severs or ultimately annihilates their bound victims. As opposed to Deep Red or The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, an English or American accent will fetch your captors a high price to be the tortured plaything. Smile and say no to strange people and too-good-to-be-true hostels.
United Kingdom
England may not even be the safest place to venture. The ‘Rage virus’ turned the United Kingdom into an infected island of flesh-eating zombies in Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic horror 28 Days Later (2002). We may all wish for a quiet walk along the Waterloo Bridge during peak time on the way to work or avoiding the queues to get a peek inside Buckingham Palace; but to be completely deserted (apart from undead stragglers) would be just a bit too unnerving.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
From the Yorkshire Moors to Central London: An American Werewolf in London (1981) delivers a bite worse than its bark for two Americans David and Jack (David Naughton and Griffin Dunne) who are attacked by a rogue beast. Warnings of “Beware the moon, lads” and “Keep to the road” do not deter them from continuing on their treacherous ramble in the foggy marshland. London Zoo, the Underground and an adult cinema in Piccadilly Circus are soon added to the werewolf’s feeding ground when the survivor, David, lets his inner wolf loose into the city streets.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
As Above, So Below is out in cinemas now. Watch the Red Band trailer here
Words by Antony Smith