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Beneath
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Shout! Factory Review written by and copyright: Anthony Arrigo (16th March 2014). |
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The Film
 Creature features have been a staple of the horror genre dating back all the way to cinema’s early days, rarely disappearing from store shelves. Back in the days of yore, before this thing we call CGI, artists had to make these beasts with their imaginations and bare hands, with wildly varying results depending on who’s pouring the latex. Not that it’s the greatest example of good quality, but the SyFy Channel has been pumping out all manner of animal-run-amok films for the better part of the last decade. The problem with their films, however, is that 99% of the on-screen face time for the monsters is done via low-budget, low-grade computer work. These movies manage to make their titular stars look worse than the ultra crappy, done-on-the-fly practical FX beasts that populated so many movies back in the day. Not even new production with a micro budget settles for cheap CGI to bring their creatures to life, thankfully. “Beneath” (2013), the latest from horror director Larry Fessenden, is just such a picture. The film doesn’t even try to hide the monster, either, proudly displaying it right on the front cover art. Go ahead, show off all that glorious practical FX work. And while those eyes might look a little goofy and googly, don’t let the appearance fool you – this fish has scythe-like teeth and they do draw blood. The unfortunate thing is it’s swimming in a lake about to be invaded by a group of the most aggravating, unforgivable supposed-to-be teens ever committed to film. As the film opens, we’re treated to some news clippings and photographs that suggest something may be lurking in the depths of Black Lake. People have disappeared there. So, naturally, our main group of paper-thin archetypes will be headed there for a weekend of… I don’t know, since nearly everyone seems to hate each other. Johnny (Daniel Zovatto), is a jilted ex-lover of Kitty (Bonnie Dennison), who is attending this lake trip with her current boyfriend and his brother, both of whom she is banging. There’s also Deb (Mackenzie Rosman), the one sensible person of the group, and Zeke (Griffin Newman), a beyond-annoying film student who must film every single thing with a GoPro camera strapped to his wrist. They arrive at Black Lake, Johnny’s elderly buddy Mr. Parks (Mark Margolis) reminds him quite emphatically that going out on the lake is a bad idea, and yet they all set off in a shitty old rowboat regardless. It’s great fun. Everyone is having a few beers, enjoying some swim time, getting a little frisky… and then this massive snaggle-toothed fish shows up. During its initial pass by the group, everyone freaks out and manages to escape the water unscathed. The sensible thing at this point in time would be evacuating the lake as quickly as humanly possible, right? Wrong! What makes more sense is to argue and bicker with your friends, somehow manage to knock the oars into the water, and then upon retrieving them use one in an unarguably jackass attempt to harpoon this toothy behemoth. Hey, look at that, no more oars! Maybe just make a concerted effort to paddle to shore, with all hands on either side gliding the boat to safety. Surely, that’s the next idea. Nope, let’s continue to fight. Oh, hey, one of our friends got her brachial artery nicked by the fish’s hook tooth and now she’s dead. If we dump her in the water, THEN maybe we can use her body as bait to distract the fish so we can all paddle tog… oh, wait, nope. Back to bickering again. I can’t recall the last time I’ve so badly wanted an entire cast of characters to be mercilessly slaughtered. I was rooting for this fish so damn hard. Thankfully, and I’m spoiling nothing here, he eventually manages to off nearly everyone in the cast, with the one lone survivor meeting a different fate; one which is also implausible and terrible. I’m having a hard time understand why any of these people would spend time together. Nobody gets along with anyone else. Hell, the two brothers Kitty is banging make it clear they don’t like Johnny and think he’s a freak, yet he comes along anyway. And it isn’t like this dude was slyly luring them to a watery fate because he’s dumb enough to get himself killed, too. And Zeke. Oh, Zeke. You inhuman moron, incapable of lifting a finger to aid a person literally dying in front of his face because he has to film everything all the time. This only becomes a useful plot point at the film’s conclusion, and when it does you’ll be groaning at the incredulousness of it all. The issue these kids are ostensibly facing is the old rowboat they’re in is slowly sinking after Chompy, the loveable lake fish, rammed it a few times. And like the Titanic, this thing takes its time to go under. It seems like the only time sinking is a problem is when everyone is done arguing and the plot needs sinking to become an issue again. At times I was reminded of the segment “The Raft” from “Creepshow 2” (1987). The major difference being those partiers were actually tolerable, so when someone died you felt a little something other than unbridled joy. Enough about the insufferable humans, let’s talk about that big fish. Fessenden paid homage to “Jaws” (1975) in a scene or two. Can’t blame the guy; everyone loves that damn movie. But this ain’t “Jaws”. The fish, which looks like something from Animal Planet’s “River Monsters” (2009-Present) on steroids, certainly has an intimidating visage. You would get right the hell out of the water if you saw this thing’s signature creepy fin cutting through the water. It does move kinda slowly, though, and I’m inclined to believe a normal person who is a decent swimmer could outpace it and get to shore without much worry. It never moves at a rapid pace, not that it has to since our cast is continually feeding it something – usually someone- consistently. It’s a shame that a beautiful piece of tangible craftsmanship found itself lodged in this turd of a movie. Those things happen in film; it’s nothing new. Some moments in “Beneath” held hope the film was going to go somewhere good, someplace enjoyable, but it just never materialized.
Video
“Beneath” swims onto home video with a pristine 1.78:1 1080p 24/fps AVC MPEG-4 encoded image that certainly impresses with such clarity. IMDb contains no technical details, but this appears to have been shot digitally, though I couldn’t guess with which camera. Outlines on people and objects are razor sharp, with many great details present in faces and clothing. Most of this film takes place during the day – rare for a horror picture – and the spectacular lighting really helps the picture stand out. There are a handful of gorgeous lake shots that looked culled right from a nature documentary. Colors are reproduced excellently, with solid contrast throughout. There is some handheld footage courtesy of Zeke’s GoPro, which only amounts to around 5-7 minutes of the total film. Once we segue into night, black levels are rich and dark, with only minor haze present in a couple scenes. Overall, it’s a very solid picture.
Audio
Audio is offered up in the form of an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track (48kHz/24-bit), as well as an English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo option. This is a very subtle track, with minimal-to-no major activity. Dialogue registered a little low in the mix on my system; could’ve been boosted a touch. At other times, the audio sounded compressed, like some weak ADR was added in later. Rear speakers don’t ever come into play in a meaningful way. It’s not a dynamic track, with a limited range and no presence to ratchet up the tension. A score can sometimes save a bad picture, so it’s a shame this one spent more time sleeping and less time building suspense. Subtitles are included in English.
Extras
The Blu-ray isn’t labeled a "Collector’s Edition", but you wouldn’t know it from the list of extras. As usual, Scream Factory treats every title they can like a rock star, adding all the bells & whistles available. Included are an audio commentary, making-of documentary, outtakes, featurettes, theatrical trailer, and more. Director Larry Fessenden and sound designer Graham Reznick sit down to kick off the audio commentary. There a soothing cadence to Fessenden’s voice, so I quite enjoyed listening to him talk about location shooting (they filmed in my home state of CT), shooting on a murky lake, the massive rig they constructed and floated out to shot on, and more. Reznick chimes in every so often to back up Fessenden’s words and add a few of his own about the music. “A Look Behind “Beneath”: Making the “Fish Movie”” (1080p) is a documentary that runs for 59 minutes and 58 seconds. This “kitchen sink and all” piece starts off showing the production’s beginnings, how the giant fish was constructed, and actors auditioning for their roles before moving on to provide a glimpse at the actual production shoot. Everyone gets interviewed and a lot of ground is covered. Outtakes (1080p) runs for 14 minutes and 38 seconds. “Poster/Premiere” (1080p) is a featurette that shows the making of the film’s one sheet intercut with clips from the red carpet premiere, running for 2 minutes and 5 seconds. “What the Zeke?” (1080p) is a series of short featurettes that runs for 18 minutes and 30 seconds. This is a lengthy reel of Zeke shooting little news clips on location at his school. “What’s in Black Lake?” (1080p) is an interview (sort of) that runs for 11 minutes and 41 seconds. Larry Fessenden does some vlogging that discusses things in the film. “Fessenden on Jaws” (1080p) featurette looks like an old student film, with Fessenden & other guy riffing on Siskel & Ebert and giving a review to “Jaws”. It runs for 17 minutes and 5 seconds. The package also includes an insert with a code to download a digital copy version of the film in HD.
Packaging
The single disc comes housed in a Blu-ray keep case. There’s reversible cover art included, though both are rather underwhelming.
Overall
It’s too bad that fish has to star in this movie. The creature is a great creation, but those kids… my god. I almost found myself wishing this were in 3D so I could at least pretend to strangle them. As if their bland characterizations weren’t bad enough, they make every stupid decision imaginable.
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