★★ 3/4 out of ★★★★★
Directed by Grégory Beghin
Sonia (Sofia Lesaffre), Henry (Victor Meutelet), and Max (Kassim Meesters) are celebrating the last days of freedom for Henry before he enlists in the military. After a night of heavy drinking, they decide they need to do something big to celebrate not the usual partying in Paris so they follow Sonia’s friend (and maybe crush but definitely drug dealer) Ramy (Joseph Olivennes) on what he promises will be an adventure they won’t forget; they’re going down into a prohibited and unmapped part of Paris Catacombs.
They discover that Ramy is part of a collective of urban explorers who call themselves “catophiles” who are about to explore a part of the catacombs that they just discovered. Almost immediately upon entering the tunnels, the group crosses paths with a group of Neo-Nazi skinheads and what was supposed to be a day filled with exploration and adventure quickly turns into a nightmare. But the NEO-Nazis aren’t the only bad guys lurking beneath the streets of Paris…
Deep Fear has some good stuff going for it, mainly the performances of the three best friends and the substantial amount of gore at the tail end of the film. It is well made but feels like an amalgamation of Dead Snow, Green Room, and The Descent. It’s still a pretty fun film and with a runtime of only 80 minutes, one that is worth checking out.
Deep Fear had its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest and will be available to stream on Screambox on October 11th.
Want more French-language films? Check out podcast episode 151: Francophile Horror for our recommendations!