FAQ

While in Paris visiting her sister Carolyn (P!nk), anxiety-ridden Victoria "Vic" (Shannyn Sossamon) is invited to a secret party being held in the Paris Catacombs. Among the stories told to Vic about the catacombs is one about a lunatic goat-headed antichrist inhabiting the tunnels and killing people. When Vic is inadvertently separated from her friends and lost in the catacombs, she finds herself stalked by this goat-headed lunatic.

Catacombs is based on an original screenplay by David Elliot and Tomm Coker, an American comic book artist and film writer. Coker and Elliot also directed the movie.

Catacombs are underground tunnels used as burial chambers. The Paris catacombs were originally limestone mine shafts under the city but were converted to burial tunnels in the late 18th century when the city ran out of burial space and the water supply was compromised. Millions of graves were dug up, and the bones and skulls of the dead were transferred into the corridors of the tunnels.

At the start of the movie, it does say that the movie was "inspired by true events." It's true that there have been news reports about cataphiles (those who love catacombs) and urban explorers holding secret parties in the Paris catacombs. It's also true that there have been reports of people living in the catacombs. With 168 miles (270 kilometers) of catacomb tunnels, it is not far-fetched to think that people have gotten lost down there. Based on these truths, it's a hop, skip, and jump to add a legend about a lunatic goat-headed antichrist chasing an anxiety-ridden young woman in the dark catacombs of the dead.

Some of the streets and monuments (e.g., Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, and the Paris Opera House) were obviously filmed in Paris, but the majority of the movie, including the Catacombs, was filmed in Romania.

After a chase through the tunnels Vic hides behind a wall column, armed with a mining pick. When the pursuer approaches, she strikes out blindly with the pick and hits him. Suddenly, there is a shaft of light. Carolyn and her friends appear, all laughing. Carolyn reveals that it was all a prank. The lunatic goat-headed antichrist was just Hugo (Cabral Ibacka) in a mask. The whole prank was Carolyn's attempt to help Vic deal with her issues and get her off the anti-anxiety pills. Hugo then notices that Jean-Michele (Mihai Stanescu) is missing. They find him lying on the ground dead, felled by the blow from Vic's pick. Carolyn screams at the exhausted and terrified Vic, who lashes out with the pick and kills Carolyn and her remaining friends. In the final scene, Vic is shown mounting from the Metro in front of the Paris Opera House, sodden and bloodied. In a voiceover, she says, My sister sent me a postcard. All it said was "come to Paris...It'll be good for you." Forty hours after I arrived, she and everyone I had met were dead. She catches a taxi and asks to be taken to the airport.