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Release: May 3rd, 2013
Rating: N/A
Run time: 90 min
Starring: Daniel Zovatto, Bonnie Dennison
Director: Larry Fessenden
Official Trailer: Beneath
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A giant rubber fish is terrorizing a bunch of teenaged jerks, who all have way too many issues. This sounds like something that would turn out to be a bad joke, but surprisingly enough, I guess I was in the mood for rubber fish, cause I thought Beneath made a nice little splash… sorry, that was an awful pun…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: Six high school seniors celebrating with day’s excursion find themselves on rowboat attacked by man-eating fish and must decide who must be sacrificed as they fight their way back to shore.
Tatlock’s Quick ‘n Dirty Recap: Six “friends” who are celebrating their recent graduation, head out to a lake to party hard. Once out on the water, they soon realize they are not alone, as a giant rubber fish is stalking their every move and just waiting for someone to take the plunge and jump in. Once the rubber fish gets a taste for blood, things start to get fishy between the friends, as they decide who to sacrifice, in order for them to make it back to shore. Unfortunately for them, they are all mean spirited, hateful idiots, that don’t know how to deal in stressful situations involving a giant rubber fish. Cue backstabbing mayhem, as I cheer for everyone to die! Yay!
Tatlock’s Opinion: First things first, this is one movie where you’ll definitely be cheering for the giant rubber fish, as these annoying little brats deserve everything they have coming to them (well, except for maybe the nerdy kid with the camera. That was just cruel how they treated him.). The thing is, that’s exactly what the movie wants you to be doing, hating these unlikeable teens. It’s trying to show you, that no matter how much you think you’re friends with someone, given the choice between getting eaten alive by a rubber fish, or throwing in the weakest link, you’ll choose the weakest link.
What’s funny is the rubber fish isn’t really the bad guy here, as it just kinda swims around, bangs in to the boat and bites whatever they put in the water, especially those yummy oars. The real bad guys are the friends themselves, as they all start to turn on each other and decide to watch out for themselves, instead of teaming together to make it to shore. In fact, there are several times where they could’ve made it, but anger overrules and clear headed decisions are pushed under the surface. The rubber fish isn’t the only thing hiding below, as the true feelings for each other, that resides just beneath the surface, float up and everyone turns on everyone, resulting in more death than necessary.
Now, I don’t want to make this movie sound like it’s some Oscar worthy bait, as it has it’s fair share of problems. For one, the rubber fish does look pretty darn fake and rubbery, however I do praise the filmmakers for avoiding going the CGI route and instead doing some true prosthetic work, even if it doesn’t look the best all the time. Another thing, the acting can be a little sketchy at times and as I mentioned above, you’ll be shaking your fists at some of the stupid things these people do. Still, I guess that makes the movie more fun when they finally do get eaten alive. Muhahahaha. Also, don’t expect the story to explain anything, as this giant rubber fish’s existence is left a mystery come the end. There are blatant story points that show one of the characters knows about the rubber fish, as he has photos of the rubber fish and even a special necklace that keeps the person wearing it safe, but that’s all you get, no explanation as to why.
Verdict: Beneath was a nice little surprise treat. It’s not common to find a low budget, straight to DVD modern horror film, that comes out being enjoyable nowadays. So, colour me surprised when I thought this boat trip would be worth recommending to you all. Definitely give this one a dip, as I think you’ll enjoy the swim, problems and all. (Okay, I’m done with the puns, as they starting to give me a sinking feeling.)
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