Beneath
(2013/MPI/IFC Midnight DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B+ Film: B+
Darkness
Awaits
Ben
Katai's Beneath
(2013) is a white knuckle thrill ride from frame one. Spinning an
isolation horror story on its head, Beneath
has great character development, production value, intense moments,
and horrifying visuals that put The
Descent
to shame. Another reviewer compared the film to Gravity
which I can sort of see, only instead of focusing on just one
character for the majority of the film here we are pitted against a
psychological meltdown as well as a group waning in numbers.
Trapped
underground by a massive collapse, a crew of coal miners struggles
for survival- and sanity. Inspired by actual events: at a coal mine
in a blue-collar town it's the last day of work for veteran miner
George Marsh (Jeff Fahey). His daughter Samantha (Kelly Noonan), a
feisty environmental lawyer whose politics are bitterly opposed by
her father, celebrates the occasion by accompanying him underground.
She's escorted by old flame Randy Bennings (Joey Kern); no sooner do
they descend to the coal face, however, than a drilling machine
malfunctions and punches through a supporting wall.
A
cave-in kills several workers and several others go missing. The
crew foreman, Mundy (Brent Briscoe), is grievously injured. The
shocked survivors retreat to a claustrophobic rescue chamber. While
they wait for surface workers to reach them they hear terrifying,
almost-human sounds from the bowels of the mine. After arguing among
themselves, they leave the chamber to discover the noises' source.
Their frenzied efforts find nothing - except evidence of a similar
disaster more than 90 years ago. Meanwhile: Samantha begins
experiencing horrific visions. Several of the men panic, are
separated from the group, and murdered-- gruesomely - by unseen
assailants. As the air runs out and the death count rises, those who
remain fight to separate their worst fears from reality.
Sound
and Picture on the disc are standard for DVD presented in standard
definition with a 2:39:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio, the film
is overall pretty dark but not very grainy which is nice. Sound on
the disc is a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track and subtitles in English
SDH and Spanish. Total run time for the film is 89 minutes - perfect
in length for this type of thriller.
Extras
are massive including Commentaries,
Interviews with key cast and crew members, Lessons from Below:
Miner's Education, Featurette, Breaking News Reports, Newsreel: the
19, and a trailer.
If
you are a fan of isolation horror then I would definitely suggest
giving this one a watch!
-
James Harland Lockhart V
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv
