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Sunday, January 22, 2012

[4.50/10] Beneath the Darkness (2012)


Beneath the Darkness (2012)

Brief review: It's something of a tradition Hollywood to release bad horror movies at the beginning of each year, and Guigui's "Beneath the Darkness" is no exception. Although it has its moments of tension and suspense, those are followed by moments of silliness and contrived 'yeah, right' scenes of ridiculously improbable situations. The story fails to make any impression, simply because we've seen it all before, and the entire script is so predictable, you'll think of yourself as a cinematic psychic or something. Technically and visually, "Beneath the Darkness" is nothing to write home about. The pacing of the film is pretty smooth and the editing is competent, which makes the movie very easy to watch, but Martin Guigui hardly shines with any great directing skills or clever ideas behind the camera. Set in a small town in Texas and completely lacking in visual effects, the production values of the film are so low, you can't help but wonder, what did they spend their $7 million budget on?! The acting is surprisingly decent. Dennis Quaid is quite intimidating as the creepy mortician, who's twisted passion is to bury people alive, and if it wasn't for him, the film would have unwatchable. Tony Oller is okay, if a bit stiff, as the Travis, and Aimee Teegarden gives a solid performance as the charming Abby. Sadly though, all these satisfactory performances can't make up for the sub-par, lackluster execution of this movie.

Overall summary: Well-paced and mildly entertaining, yet too obvious, predictable and unoriginal, Guigui's "Beneath the Darkness" is a rather mediocre horror thriller with a made-for-TV feel to it, that needs to be buried deep in the ground much like the victims in the movie.

12 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Your summary gave me a chuckle!
Whatever happened to Dennis Quaid?

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, it did? :)

I won't spoil anything about the movie, but I can tell that many people in the film were buried by Dennis Quaid. :) Did he bury himself too or did someone else bury him? Don't ask - won't tell. :)

Unknown said...

Dennis Quaid as a creepy mortician? I love the very idea of that.;) Too bad this is such a stinker of a movie. I may have to watch it anyway...as part of a drinking game. LOL

Great summation as always. You had me laughing with lines like "what did they spend their 7 million budget on?!" Love it! :))

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Mel, Dennis Quaid was quite fun to watch as the creepy mortician. The role suited him pretty well. The film wasn't terrible, but it left so much to be desired.

Thanks, sweetheart. Yes, I was really wondering on what did the spend these money? If I had $7 million bucks, I would have done a far better looking movie. :)

✗✗ said...

I may still have to see this since it seems to be somewhat entertaining. It's just too bad that it is so predictable.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Nicole, it was watchable but nothing really special. And yes, it was terribly predictable.

Craig Edwards said...

I wish this was better - because Dennis Quaid in that role does sound pretty tasty.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Craig, I wish it was better too. Dennis Quaid is a fine actor and he did a good job in this one.

Kaijinu said...

I actually snagged a copy of this film a few days ago. I think I'm still gonna watch this.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Kaijinu, not sure if you're gonna like it.

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George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Gary, I'm sorry but I don't understand what you're trying to say...