Beneath (2007)

Touches You

The Worst Film Ever

Really Surprised!

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

when I saw the 'MTV Films' logo pop up at the beginning of the movie. This production company are well known for making teen-focused trash like the JACKASS movies, but BENEATH seems to be their sole foray (so far) into horror movie territory. Let's hope they don't make any more attempts in the future! This is an utterly predictable, completely routine and altogether dull movie. It looks and feels familiar from the outset: a maladjusted but pretty young heroine, who often suffers nightmares and hallucinations, returning to her small town and discovering some dark secrets amongst the townsfolk. Such films have propped up the Hollywood film industry since the 1970s and BENEATH proves to be a familiar and depressingly poor addiction to that genre. Despite the prevalence of plot twists in the narrative, everything that happens is easily guessed and the wannabe-shock ending is worth nothing more than a yawn and raised eyebrow.In some places the story seems to have been inspired by JANE EYRE but classy this isn't. Instead it's a film filled with clichés, from the good-looking deputy sheriff type character to the wide-eyed heroine stumbling around in the dark. Nora Zehetner (BRICK) makes a game effort as the heroine but she can't do much with the all-too-familiar material. The worst part of the film is the flashy direction, which is so clichéd as to be unbelievable: all sudden jump cuts during the so-called 'scare sequences', flashes of people writhing in beds and the like. The most unpalatable part of the film is the twist ending, which left me with a bad taste in the mouth. It just tops off an altogether uninteresting movie.

I decided to watch this movie based on its description. It seemed like an interesting movie. Digging into your past is usually a good thing, so why not? The ambiance of this movie is good enough. Lighting is good, even in dark scenes. Colors really set the mood in this one. Sound was also good, as well as the music to set the mood. The acting was great and quite believable.The storyline was also good. You have a woman who goes home to the location of a horrible car accident that has traumatized her in order to make sense of life. They did a good job letting the audience get to know the main character, as well as other main characters. The flaw in the storyline is there is no explanation for her supernatural ability to see what her sister has seen. I wish they would've explained that in more detail.This movie did not trigger a lot of emotion for me but it was entertaining nonetheless. I felt bad for the main character and especially for her burned up sister. If you have time after an evening of PvP'ing in World of Warcraft, pop in this video and enjoy!!

In Edgemont, Montana, the teenager Christy Wescot (Nora Zehetner) is very connected to her beloved sister Vanessa Locke (Carly Pope). On her fourteenth birthday, Christy asks Vanessa to drive her convertible car, but she has a car accident, hits a rock and is thrown off the seat; however Vanessa is trapped in the car that explodes and she survives disfigured and totally burnt. Christy is sent to Pine Bluff Psychiatric Care Center for treatment while her sister is treated by her husband Dr. John Locke (Matthew Settle) at home with the assistance of the nurse Claire Wells (Eliza Norbury). When Vanessa has a heart attack and dies, Christy has a breakdown in the funeral service telling that her sister is alive in the coffin. Then she moves to California for the pre-med, but is haunted by nightmares and weird visions. When the caretaker of the family Joseph (Don S. Davis) dies six years later, Christy returns to Edgemont for the funeral and has a cold reception by John and his mother. However, her niece Amy (Jessica Amlee) that is afraid of "dark things" behind the walls of the house asks her to stay in the town for a couple of days and Christy's friend Debbie (Nicole Anderson) welcomes and lodger her in her house. Christy has mysterious blackouts with strange visions and decides to investigate the death of her sister that she believes had been buried alive, disclosing a dark secret, while the locals believe she has borderline personality disorder."Beneath" is labeled of horror, but it is actually a thriller with some touches of supernatural mysteries. The intriguing story and the characters are well-developed, the acting is above average and in the end "Beneath" is not a masterpiece but a good movie and worthwhile seeing. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Sombra da Morte" ("Shadow of the Death")

Anyone who is nitpicking at this movie over ridiculous things such as "do school websites list past students' phone numbers" and "this character would've/should've/could've not let the younger sister drive" should be ignored.Films are made for viewers willing to allow the film to take them where it will. If the film is imperfect, the real film lover will still attempt to see it for what it wanted to be; for what it's actual *point* was. That is, of course, assuming there is one.On the other hand, there will always be the wannabe Sherlock Holmes of film fandom, who will pick at the silliest details as if a movie somehow needs to be a fully provable mathematical truth.Silly.On to the film.I must say, it is a typical thriller with horror elements taking place in a typical old house with typically hidden "creatures" and such, where the main character attempts to uncover a mystery until in the end -- surprise. If you want to understand what this film's atmosphere is like, think of "A Tale of Two Sisters" and "The Others" (with Kidman).Is the movie super-successful at what it does? I wouldn't say so. I will say, though, that it was certainly not a failure either. In fact, "willing viewers," as described above -- in other words, those viewers who have managed to retain their childlike sense of wonder and innocence when they sit down to watch a film -- should be left completely unaware until the final revelation.And let me tell you, mate, if you have any kind of compassion for the characters you see on screen and think the value of cinema lies partly in you allowing yourself to become emotionally involved with them (as opposed to analyzing their every action like some goofs will inevitably always do), you will be horrified at the ending. Bleedin' horrified. Not that it's particularly "scary" in the typical horror film sense, but because of the human suffering and injustice involved.Ignore the yapping cynics and enjoy this perfectly acceptable entry into the spooky-family-in-an-old-house-with-a-dark-secret roster. However, allow me to still add that that if you are looking for a movie along this theme and want one that is *really* well done, watch "A Tale of Two Sisters" instead.