******

Quote:

Zombies are the middle children of the otherworldly family. Vampires are the oldest brother who gets to have a room in the attic, all tripped out with a disco ball and shag carpet. Werewolves are the youngest, the babies, always getting pinched and told they're cute. With all that attention stolen away from the middle child zombie, no wonder she shuffles off grumbling, "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha."

- Kevin James Breaux

Monday, August 24, 2015

Film Review: BENEATH (2013)



Inspired by a true story (although this is highly debatable) Beneath (2013) is the story of a group of miners who are trapped in a cave after a horrible accident.  Just when they think they will be safe in a survivor’s habitat until the rescue party gets to them, strange things start to happen to. 

Jeff Fahey is George Marsh who has one final day working in the mines before he retires and his daughter Samantha (Kelly Noonan) decides that she would like to know where her father has spent his entire life.  When the miners drill into an open air pocket the cave collapses causing all the miners to be trapped.  They decide to hold tight until a rescue party can reach them in three days but something is down there in the caves with them and Samantha is the first one to notice that something strange is definitely going on.  It’s not long before the tight spaces causes her to experience claustrophobia but she has to pull herself together because someone or something is trying to kill them all and she has to discover the truth before it’s too late.

The film is written by Patrick Doody and Chris Valenziano and directed by Ben Ketai.  This style of film that relies on an unreliable character can get a little bit much but Doody and Valenziano manage to balance this by knowing when to reveal some details and when to hold back.  It also helps that the cast works extremely well together and that Ketai knows how to build tension and suspense throughout the film.  Cinematographer Timothy A. Burton plays a huge part in helping create suspense and atmosphere in this claustrophobic film.  

It’s actually quite a well done film that will probably get overlooked due to the fact that there are probably a dozen films out there with this title.  It’s not very distinctive or original and in general may be mistaken for one of the other films with the same title but if you do discover this film then you won’t be disappointed.

No comments:

Post a Comment