The ambiguity of
the horror film Beneath is what allows it to still claim inspiration from a
true story, though we know that many of the film’s more grotesque images cannot
possibly have existed in reality. This is also what helps the audience to grasp
some type of understanding from the ambiguity. I found this construction in the
screenplay to be the most impressive element of the film, which in every other
way seems to be as generic a horror movie as I have ever seen.
The premise of
the film has a group of coal miners trapped six-hundred feet below the surface
after a catastrophic accident causes a collapse that buries them underground.
Included in the group is veteran miner George Marsh (Jeff Fahey), who is
working his last shift before retirement. In a stroke of bad luck, March is
joined by his inexperienced daughter, Samantha (Kelly Noonan), whose feminist
pride pushed her to join the crew and prove her ability to do the difficult
job. The greatest misstep in the filmmaking process comes from the inability to
make any of these characters remotely significant to the ultimate goals of the
narrative.
The actors fail to give us a reason
to care about them, and even though some of the cast is simply incapable of
coming off convincing as a human being, even the talented cast members suffer
under the silliness of the screenplay’s third act. With 72 hours before rescue
workers can feasibly reach them, the group is left in the enclosed space
underground to wait as their oxygen depletes. As they lose their ability to
breathe clean air, the group of survivors simultaneously loses their grasp on
reality, becoming more of a danger to themselves than anything lurking in the
shadows of the caves.
The DVD is complete with a surprising
amount of extras, from making-of featurettes to footage from the real-life
tragedy to inspire this screenplay. There is even a commentary track with
director Ben Ketai, writers Patrick J. Doody and Chris Valenziano, and
producers Nick Phillips and Kelly Martin Wagner. There are also interviews with
cast and crew, featurettes about the screenplay process and the mining
experience taught to the actors prior to filming, and more. If only the film
was as deserving as the extensive behind-the-scenes material would suggest.
Entertainment Value:
4/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 4.5/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
Special Features: 8/10
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