Beneath the Darkness (2012)

Number Rolled: 93

Movie Name/Year: Beneath the Darkness (2012)

Genre: Thriller

Length: 96 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Raincreek Productions, Sunset Pictures, BTDARK

Executive Producer: Scott Mednick, Bruce Wilkenson, Janie Wilkinson, Jenny Wilkinson

Director: Martin Guigui

Writer: Bruce Wilkinson

Actors: Dennis Quaid, Aimee Teegarden, Tony Oller, Stephen Lunsford, Devon Werkheiser, Brett Cullen, Dahlia Waingort, Conrad Gonzales, Wilbur Penn, Amber Bartlett, David Christopher

Travis is a peculiar high school student. He’s had it rough, though. His sister died when he was younger, and things never quite went back to being normal. When his friends decide to check out the strange town mortician, he goes along for the ride.

Selina’s Point of View:

This was not an example of one of Dennis Quaid’s (Vegas, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, The Day After Tomorrow) best acting performances. He got sufficiently creepy at times, but there was no real connection shown between him and his character. In fact, there seemed to be a disconnect between all the actors and their roles. Nothing was believable.

The beginning of the movie took away the majority of the thrills for the rest of the film. The script was predictable and interchangeable for any TV movie thriller out there. Those Bad Lip Reading guys on YouTube could make this movie more interesting easily.

There was only one reason this film got more than a score of 1 for me.

As strange as it sounds, it was comforting. Not good, no, but the feel of Beneath the Darkness was that of an old 80’s horror/thriller. It had less jump scares, subtle horrors, strange observations… in fact, this movie could have been an instant classic if the writer and director had gone in a different direction. If they had played with the mystery more, engaged the viewer.

Instead, they put together the movie version of a grandparent with dementia. At times comforting, but more often heartbreaking.

Cat’s Point of View:

I’ve been a fan of Dennis Quaid (Movie 43, Legion, Footloose) since seeing him in Enemy Mine (1985) when I was little. I was excited to see what he’d do with the role of Ely, the murderous mortician. The film didn’t keep you waiting for the train to crazyville. Right out of the gate, there’s a glimpse into his malignant broken psyche.

I liked that he was set up as damaged and malicious from the beginning. It added to the sense of dread when he was interacting with others, as the film progressed. When was he going to unhinge again? What was this thing that poor guy at the beginning did to him?

Every town has their ghost stories and creepy citizens. For the small town in this film, it made sense that the two would converge with the mortician that just hasn’t been the same since his wife died. Toss in a liberal dash of ‘meddling kids’ and blend well.

Some of the dialogue between the teen friends felt a little off, but the film did a decent job setting up their dynamic with each other and their individual identities.

I was also happy to see Aimee Teegarden (Prom, Scream 4, Call of the Wild) in this movie. I really enjoyed her in the Starcrossed (2014) TV series, which was cancelled before its time.  She had some really good chemistry with Tony Oller (The Purge, I Flunked Sunday School, Field of Vision).

Quaid’s character was frightening, and there were several scenes that had me on the proverbial edge of my seat. Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I’d watch it again, if I caught it on TV.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 5%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 15%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2.6/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 1.5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 3/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer: (If you intend to watch the movie, don't watch the trailer. It's got all the pay-offs and spoilers in it.)