Catacombs

Film review Like a rundown house, the major selling point of this yarn is its eerie location.

Alecia Moore (Pink) in Catacombs.

The title takes its name from the catacombs beneath Paris and it's the location that is the real star of this schlock. The underground ossuary was, as the title sequence reminds us, used to bury several million people in the 18th century and, as Pierre Tchernia's Les Gaspards (1974) demonstrated, it's also the perfect backdrop for any horror film. This American chiller has the added curiosity of starring the pop star Pink, who does herself justice in the role of party girl Carolyn. Carolyn has demanded that her square sister Victoria (Shannyn Sossamon) visits from America and upon her arrival in Paris the sisters venture to an illegal rave in the below-city labyrinth, where the legend of a goat-headed monster is recounted. It's fairly entertaining as the storyline is established, but once Victoria becomes the damsel-in-distress the action falls apart. Of curiosity value is a tedious 10-minute sequence showing Sossaman wandering around in the near dark trying to find an exit. It's not exactly a thrill a minute. The conclusion contains a nice riposte to David Fincher's similarly convoluted The Game (1997). However, like a rundown house, the major selling point of this yarn is its eerie location.