5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 1.5 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
After watching their best friend get murdered, a group of teens struggle to expose a local hero as the vicious killer and keep from becoming his next victims.
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Tony Oller, Aimee Teegarden, Devon Werkheiser, Brett CullenHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 57% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 1.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
I'm a devoted fan of Dennis Quaid, which makes it painful to have nothing good to say about his film Beneath the Darkness. But no amount of viewer indulgence or critical exertion can salvage this dull, derivative attempt to meld small-town gothic horror with a teen scream fest. The script is a melange of cliches, leftovers and loose ends; the direction is plodding and without suspense; and the actors seem lost within the frame. Even Quaid, who could certainly make an effective villain in the right vehicle, fails to generate the requisite terror, because the entire setup is ludicrous—a point the film appears to concede when, in the final scene, Quaid's character breaks the fourth wall and delivers a throwaway punchline that veers dangerously close to Scary Movie terrain.
Cinematographer Massimo Zeri (who is currently reported to be working on a sequel to Raging Bull with director Guigui, if you can believe it) seems to have taken the film's title literally. Much of the action occurs at night, and many such scenes are literally layered in shades of black and gray. The Blu-ray's 1080p, AVC-encoded image handles this remarkably well, with essential detail always remaining visible. What crushing there is appears to be intentional (the film was finished on a digital intermediate). Colors in daytime scenes are decently saturated, but they're frequently muted and autumnal. Zeri saves his more distinctive colors for certain places in Ely's house (you'll know them when you see them) and for surreal locales like the insides of coffins. High frequency filtering and artificial sharpening were not in evidence, nor were there any compression artifacts.
The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track doesn't contain any sonic "gotcha" moments, because the story doesn't provide opportunities for any. Beneath the Darkness was obviously aiming, however unsuccessfully, for atmosphere rather than shock, and for that it relies heavily on the score by Geoff Zanelli (Disturbia). It's a good score, and the track does it proud, filling the listening space from all sides with ominous notes. But a score can only do so much without a decent movie to accompany it. (I don't know whether it was the presence of a mortician as the villain, but I could swear I caught echoes of Phantasm.) Dialogue was clear enough. If only it had been worth hearing . . .
Beneath the Darkness is dedicated to its screenwriter and executive producer, Bruce Wilkinson, who passed away at age 60 shortly after filming was completed. According to his obituary, Wilkinson, a resident of Fort Worth, Texas, was a rancher and attorney for whom making this film was the realization of a life-long dream. Given that sad history, I very much wish I could recommend the film, but I can't. It just doesn't work. Rent if you must.
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1989
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