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"As Above, So Below" is by no means a perfect movie. In fact, it's probably not even a 7, but more of a 6. However, director John Erick Dowdle gets an extra point for doing what so many other horror directors fail to do: He tries something new, and strikes a chord, even if his movie isn't entirely original. It mixes the claustrophobic setting of "The Descent" (or the cult novel "House Of Leaves"), with an Indiana Jones like treasure hunt and presents it all in found footage fashion – a sub section of horror that unfortunately doesn't seem to go away any time soon.

Still, "As Above, So Below" intrigues, because what the group of young people find, when they go down into the catacombs under Paris aren't the usual horror stereotypes. There are no zombies or vampires waiting down there. No creepy children with black hair. It's something much less defined and never totally explained. Horror movies stick to known patterns and paths way too often, when really it is the one genre, that should know almost no boundaries. John Erick Dowdle plays a little with the possibilities, with ways of manifesting fear. In the end not all of his attempts are successful. The scares aren't as intense as they should be, many plot points are silly, if you think about them.

However, you start to get really uncomfortable as the characters get picked off one by one, and you're locked down there with them. The movie puts you in a deeply uncomfortable place and remains relentless until the very end. Doing so, it tickles a certain existential fear deep within – which is actually the reason why we watch horror movies in the first place: to make ourselves aware of our own mortality and come to terms with that fact that we have no idea what lies beyond this life.

"As Above, So Below" is not a groundbreaking genre movie, and it probably will not stand the test of time. However, in 2014 it's the best and most effective horror film I've seen in many years.

It's quite frustrating being a horror fan. Most of us have grown up watching scary movies, loving the feeling of getting so scared you couldn't fall asleep at night. However, as a kid it is much easier getting scared. The older you get the more you get accostumed with the genre and its thrills. You start to see patterns and the formula wears thin before too long. Horror movies that start off as promising as "Sinister" in its first hour are extremely seldom and when they do come along, our fan hearts jump.

It's not that Scott Derrickson's movie is all that original. Actually, it's more or less another found footage movie with some creepy kids thrown in (more about that later), but the director sets it up so well that you find yourself creeped out and intrigued right from the start. Ethan Hawke's character is given enough depth that we can somehow understand why he would not be taking his family and running away as far as possible within the first five minutes. Derrickson moves things along at exactly the right pace and stays away from cheap scares . The dark house that serves as a setting for most of the film adds a lot of tension, and you never feel safe watching the screen and the movie stays relentlessly tense throughout. Like most good horror movies (see also The Omen, The Ring, In The Mouth Of Madness) there's a mystery that builds up to the horror, like Derrikson had his hand on some kind of scary lever and he kept turning it up with sadistic delight.

This very good start makes it all the more frustrating when Derrickson makes some painful choices in the last third. You know you'e in trouble when creepy kids starts to appear. Too many people making horror movies seem to think that kids are really creepy per se (probably due in part to some of those movies mentioned above). The fact is, they're not, not in this movie at least. These kids are so obviously excited child actors with bad make-up on. As soon as the movie starts to rely on them, you know you can relax. It's like that moment in "Say Anything" when John Cusack and whatshername are tense on a plane until they see the seat belt sign go off and they know there's nothing to fear anymore. We know from this moment that things aren't going to get any scarier and it really kills the movies momentum. It doesn't help that Derrickson throws in some of those scares where a big creepy face pops up directly in front of the camera. We've all been victim to this on the internet when we're tricked into concentrating on an image on the screen and all of a sudden some terrible monster face appears and almost makes you soil your pants. That's okay for the internet, in a movie it's awfully uncreative and lame, and although you probably will jump at those scenes, the feeling will be followed by immediate annoyance and disappointment.

The second, any maybe even bigger problem, is that the movie doesn't have a third act. As in one of Derrickson's previous movies, "The Exorcism Of Emily Rose", the director doesn't seem to know how to end the movie. Just like in "Emily Rose" the final act cannot live up to the great set up that preceded it. The movie ends really quickly without a huge revelation or a big fight or anything. It just ends and leaves you feeling disappointment.

All that doesn't make "Sinister" a failure. In fact, this is probably the best horror movie I've seen all year (not that there's been a lot of competition). It's just a pity that Derrickson couldn't hold up the high quality throughout the movie's entire running time, because then this could have been one of the rare examples of a horror film that satisfies even hard boiled fans of the genre. "Sinister" does make one look forward to Derrickson's next problem, although one can only hope that the man will soon learn how to give his films proper endings.

(Piece of advice: If you can, avoid the trailers before watching "Sinister", as most of the highlights are given away. It surely ruined a lot of fun for me, when I watched the movie and was already familiar with the best bits.)

Oh, Ole Bornedal you continue to break my heart. You showed so much potential with the super thrilling "Nattevagten" in the early 90's and have let me down ever since.

Bornedal newest disappointment is called "The Possession", a movie based on a supposedly true story about a haunted box that does horrible things to its owner. I remember having read about the urban legend on the internet and almost pissing my pants while doing so. When I found out that there would be a movie based on it, I thought this might finally be an original concept for a horror flick.

Unfortunately, "The Possession" doesn't make use of its high potential. Most of it is a clichéd bore. The performances and directorial choices make many scenes unintentionally hilarious. An example for how this movie could have been great but turned out awful is a scene at the morgue. In a dark room the hero finds himself with his possessed daughter and a couple of bodies. An ten year old could have thought of ways to turn this into a memorable, scary scene, but Bornedal simply goes for a quick and lame jump scare.

Was "Nattevagten" a lucky shot? Why do Hollywood producers give promising projects to uninspired directors? How much longer will people think kids are scary? All of these questions are more intriguing than any of the mysteries presented in "The Possession".