Beneath hits Blu-ray and DVD on March 25th from Scream Factory.
I understand that Larry Fessenden is a bit of a horror icon. Between 20 directing credits and over 60 acting credits, the man has done a ton of work for our generation of horror enthusiasts. I’m not particularly familiar with his wider body of work, however, having not seen some of his more well-known films such as Habit [1995], Wendigo [2001], or The Last Winter [2006] (all of which I’ve heard chatter about over the years). But in spite of my awareness of his horror credentials, I can’t say that Beneath offers much of anything to potential viewers.
We genre fans live in an era where a bonafide practical effect in a film is something to be praised and cherished since even lower-budget fare these days is quick to use a computer to generate their special effects and try to bump up their production value. So from that standpoint, I’m proud to note that the killer fish prominently featured in Beneath is, indeed, a practical effect. An honest to goodness giant fish robot/puppet thing that wreaks havoc on a… wait for it… group of nubile teens headed to an island lake house to party. The only problem is that, after the initial appearance of the killer fish comes and goes and the appreciation of its tangible quality fades, you realize the fish is barely mobile, boring, and unforgivably repetitive. It is almost as if Jaws took place on a tiny lake, and instead of an amazing, character-based story with a slow build and an incredible arc… you get a mechanical “Bruce” shark just eating fools over and over and over again.
That isn’t to say that Beneath doesn’t have a point or an angle. It definitely has something it is trying to say. Johnny (Daniel Zovatto) is actually the instigator of this little trip out to the lake and he is taking his friends to a spot known to be essentially haunted by this supernatural killer fish. He has some kind of medallion to protect him or something, but his very act of taking his friends out to this supernaturally dangerous place shows that… well… Johnny may not be such a good friend after all. And it becomes clear that all of our characters are actually selfish pricks with secrets hidden from one another and agendas all their own. I’ve never actually read the Agatha Christie story Ten Little Indians, or seen the Hitchcock film Lifeboat, but the structure and influence of those types of stories are oft-repeated in cinema and Beneath is a close cousin to that model. Once our gaggle of awful teens gets onto the boat, they cross into some kind of purgatory in which reality (and quality) fades away and metaphor takes over. And they slowly begin to die off one by one, although there is little mystery as to how they met their ends. (Hint: giant fish). Even though you feel like you can see the shore throughout the middle section of the film, it seems like there is nothing our characters can do to reach it. This element is probably supposed to induce claustrophobia in viewers, but it ends up feeling like the movie is just spinning its wheels. And all the while, our characters are further exposing their craven and debased natures and, I guess, acting as a reflection of humanity and stuff. But mainly they just keep getting eaten, or keep making sure others are getting eaten, by this humorously lifeless prop fish.
I didn’t find a whole lot to like in Beneath, but you do have to appreciate when a film is at least trying to explore the darker corners of our souls when loyalty to friends can often mean putting ourselves at risk. And while my nostalgic self wants to love the use of practical monster effects, this fish should’ve probably stayed under the water.
The Package
I do love Scream Factory so very much, and they have created a solid package out of a mediocre-to-poor film. Despite the generic and lifeless fish creature, the film actually looks pretty sharp. It is clear they shot on location on a lake and in a real boat, so that is appreciated. I just wish the film was memorable in any way. The disc is kind of packed out with features that I couldn’t bring myself to watch due to how little I cared for the film itself.
– Audio Commentary By Larry Fessenden (Director) and Graham Reznick (Sound Designer). — A Look Behind Beneath: Making The “Fish Movie” — Theatrical Trailer — Fessenden On Jaws — From The Web: What The Zeke?
– What’s In Black Lake
You also get a digital copy of the film and a cardboard slip case as well.
And I’m Out.