I’m usually very open to anything Larry Fessenden directs or appears in. The man has a very unique visual style and is never prone to offering typical horror or dramatic entries. “Beneath” is such a sad state of affairs, because director Fessenden is so much better than what “Beneath” offers horror fans. Fessenden’s horror films tend to be unsettling, uneasy, and eerie, but “Beneath” is a shrill and downright awful film from beginning to end.
Director Fessenden is so much better than what transpires as “Beneath” wants to be a straight faced B movie monster picture, and a depiction of the cruelty of humanity that feels like it’s never going to end. Normally I’m a fan of films that reveal the hidden bile of people in a horrific situation, but when you have a terribly funny killer fish wreaking havoc on them, it’s tough to take it remotely seriously. It’s especially funny considering most of the characters yell and bargain with the killer fish like it’s some sort of sentient being that understands English. That’s especially confusing since the writers can never decide what their fish is. Sometimes it’s a sentient beast that lives in the lake, sometimes it’s a random force of nature, and sometimes it’s a monster striking down a group of really despicable people for being downright obnoxious.
Six high school pals are planning a final get away before they graduate high school. For reasons we never figure out, they’ve managed to convince their friend Johnny in to taking them in to the woods for a camp out. But first they have to travail across the large lake that parts the area. Johnny is the keeper of the lake (or some ridiculous nonsense like that) and is warned not to bring them out there by an older friend, but Johnny wants to score with an old flame named Kitty, before school lets out. For some reason Kitty is the attention of lust for everyone on the trip, since she shockingly managed to romance and sleep with everyone in her social circle.
Even the women. So while the fight for survival rises and becomes ever more violent, Kitty plays mental Olympics on everyone to ensure her own survival, all the while Fessenden anxiously tries to scare us with this terribly concocted fish monster. As I’ve said before, “Beneath” is just a riff on “The Raft” segment from “Creepshow II.” Except that segment was only about thirty minutes in length and packed in more scares, grue, and sense of isolation than “Beneath” attempts in its entire ninety minute run time. Or perhaps director Fessenden is trying to deliver his own spin on “Jaws 2.” Who knows? And really, who cares? The film is drawn out with a lake that changes dimensions to fit the pacing of the movie, character deaths that mean almost nothing to the narrative, and a climax that’s both silly and painfully padded for the run time.
Scream Factory gives the film a better treatment than it deserves with an audio commentary from director Larry Fessenden, and a “Making of the “Fish Movie” featurette. There’s also an interview with director Fessenden on his thoughts on the classic movie “Jaws,” and a pointless webisode called “What the Zeke?” based on obnoxious supporting character Zeke. As well there’s a featurette calls “What’s in the Black Lake?” and the theatrical trailer. Odd since I don’t recall it ever having a theatrical release. In either case, I remain a fan of Fessenden’s, and he is so much better than “Beneath.”