Beneath

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.

Christy (Nora Zehetner) is haunted by her sister Vanessa's death. On her 14th birthday, Vanessa allowed her to drive the convertible. They had an accident and Vanessa got trapped and burnt. During her funeral, Christy was convinced that Vanessa was alive trapped in the closed coffin. In the present day, Christy returns home to attend a funeral. Vanessa's husband John Locke, her niece Amy, and John's strict French mother are still living at home. Christy is having hallucinations and suspects John of malfeasance as Vanessa's doctor but no one believes her. Amy suspects a ghostly presence in the home.

This seems to be a couple of production companies trying their hands at horror. It struggles to be anything new or compelling. It should have been a simple haunted house movie. Christy could stay with the Lockes and forced to stay to save Amy. That's what I assumed it was going for when she has her hallucinations in the house. Then she gets friends, has cops, and flashbacks to the hospital. It's trying to be a shocking story and it does have a great twist. The big Vanessa twist is completely predictable and tiresome as the reveal gets stretched out. The Amy twist is the much better one. This is a weak attempt.

When I saw this was an MTV films production I almost put it back on the shelf immediately - but reading the back of the case made me want to give it a chance. I'm glad I did - in addition to starring a cute actress from the TV show "Heroes" there was an interesting storyline with twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Having come off of a run of small studio/independent/low budget horror movie viewings I appreciated the visual and sound quality. The downside is that it tends to drag a bit (rather odd sounding for a running time less than 90 minutes, I know) and although billed as a horror movie I'd say it was more of a suspense/mystery - not much in the way of scares here but if you're receptive to what I've described I'd say Beneath is a worthwhile viewing.

Safe MTV produced chiller that finds Nora Zehetner haunted by images linked to the horrific death of her elder sister when she was a little girl. The frustrating thing is that the picture is book ended by great horror sequences, in fact the finale is one of the best that horror offered up in 2007 if judged on rug pull and macabre terms, if only the whole middle section didn't meander along without thoughtful scares or adherence to screw tightening genre requirements.

The set up is pretty good, it's a classic spooky house scenario with secret passages and rooms you wouldn't want to be alone in. The inhabitants of the house feature a suspicious but angelic little girl, and a Mrs. Danvers scary woman type. Director Dagen Merrill does his best to bring the frights, but he's heavy handed in execution, while the cheapness of the production unfortunately stands out a mile. That said, there's enough here to warrant interest if stuck for a spooky thriller to watch on a cold night in by the fire. Certainly the finale is worth time spent with the weak middle section. 6/10

Horror flick: girl returns home after traumatic accident earlier in her life and is she possessed and crazy due to the trauma of that accident or is it those around her who are mad? The girl is either a psycho or the only sane one in the asylum. A feast of weird characters are in this play quite apart from the lead. There is the Bett Davis type housekeeper, the child who sees dead people or something like that; there is the sinister male in the house and lets' not forget the deformed and deceased ugly sister who may still be with us....etc Throw in the illusions being suffered by our main star and add in multi layers of other complications then beneath goes even deeper. I almost turned this off a few times only because it had become too confusing, though ultimately all is mostly explained and there are some decent moments. 5/10