Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘7 Below’

Written by Scott Edwards

Taking a daytrip while staying at a resort, five strangers are piled into a van and are being taken to a great destination. Adam and Issac are two brothers that are trying to reconnect after their mother's death has left them with just each other. Bill McCormick and his wife Brooklyn are trying to reinvigorate their marriage and Dr. Lipski is just trying to get away. Along the drive, Adam is startled to see a woman standing outside along the side of the road wearing a white dress with a blood stain on her chest. With no one else seeing this, he thinks he is dreaming and the van comes to a stop at a local gas station.

Courtney is working the counter at the gas station and has no time for the two brothers that are trying to put the moves on her, but finds solace in Bill as he gives her his number while his wife is still sitting in the van. When the group gets their supplies for the long ride ahead, the driver sees the same woman in her white dress standing the middle of the road and swerves to miss her and slams into a tree head on. A gentleman passing by sees the group in trouble and pulls them all of out of the van. With minimal injuries to the passengers except for Bill, who has a concussion, and the driver who is dead, the stranger offers to take the group to his home as a storm is brewing on the horizon.

The group accepts the stranger's help as they do not have an alternative but find out that he may have an alternate motive. With no phone to call for help, Adam takes it upon himself to get back to the gas station to try to get help for Bill who seems to be getting worse from his head injury. Running into Courtney on the side of the road and offering to give her a ride before the storm hits, Adam finds that the road back into town has been blocked off in anticipation of the storm. With another new arrival to his house, the stranger, Jack, is happy to help in any way possible to make the group feel at home. Getting everyone dry and comfortable, strange voices start to surround Bill while he is resting up and he knows what is coming for him and the group, death.

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Bill is found dead on the bed and the group is trying to figure out what is happening around the old house. Strange voices and images infest members of the group and with very little information from the owner, they have to find their own means of survival. Entering a small room in the basement, Adam finds some photos of a family with Jack standing in the background. The pictures are very old but the face of Jack has not changed and Adam finds out a deep dark secret about the house that needs to be shared with the rest of the group before they all wind up dead as well.

7 Below follows a group of six people as they accept the help of a stranger and stay in his house while a storm blows over town. When Bill winds up dead, the group starts to panic, and they try to find a way back into town before something else bad happens. Without knowing what the house is hiding, Adam and Courtney search the estate and find a little room in the basement that may hold a secret to their survival. Being caught by Jack, Adam is let in on the secret of the house and the murders that occurred there a hundred years ago. Jack is happy to give the rest of the group the same rundown on what happened in his house so many years ago, but fails to tell them why they have been chosen to stay the night. 

One of my favorite horror formulas is highlighted in this film and they do not deviate from the rules. It is a dark and stormy night; strangers have to depend on each other, and a spooky house is highlighted. This is very enjoyable film as you have to decide with the group who you should and should not trust. Not being able to leave anywhere at any time should be scary enough but having a house that is centered around a dark past along with dead bodies being piled up, just adds to the horror joy. With the question of who you were in a past life being raised as well, you would be disappointed if you step away from this one before the final credits roll. Stay Scared.

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