DVD Release
How many of you out there have tried to find this film? I’m telling you this damn thing is absolutely nowhere to be found! Blockbuster and Hollywood don’t carry it for some reason but they carry Lionsgate’s Lommel films…go fucking figure!
Beneath Still Waters is the newest Brian (Bride of Re-Animator) Yuzna film adapted for the big screen from a Matthew Costello of the same name and critics have been less than kind. I’d seen several reviews for this film and none were extremely positive. There was a lot of talk about “wasted potential” and what not but I was still determined to see the damn film after waiting so long to see it. Lionsgate has been sitting on this flick for quite awhile now and it had me wondering whether those critics were right. Perhaps Beneath Still Waters was a dud and that’s why Lionsgate had held onto it as long as they could? Course that doesn’t make sense when you consider the sheer amount of garbage Lionsgate is choking the horror market and rental shelves with.
I know…maybe the film was misunderstood? Maybe it was actually brilliant, just underappreciated, like May? The only way I’d know was to rent and thankfully Netflix rents this flick so I scooped it up this week in order to check it out for myself. What’s the worst that can happen?
Personally, I thought Beneath Still Waters was fun; there were some crazy, decayed zombies, twisted, freakish demons and an undead cult leader reminiscent of Julian Beck’s Rev. Kane from Poltergeist II! Yeah the film does require a bit of patience and a healthy attention span but the story really was kind of interesting in a “good but not great” way. It’s forgettable but still entertaining.
The small town of Marienbad is no more. A damn was quickly constructed forty years ago by the townsfolk and buried the town beneath the waters of the damn forever. Nothing but memories and an underwater ghost town remained. The new town, Debaria, is preparing to celebrate its forty year anniversary but not all is looking up after Clara Borgia’s (Charlotte Salt) friend Antonio (Damia Plensa) drowns in the lake.
While the town searches for the missing body of the presumed dead young man, photojournalist Dan Quarry (Michael McKell) does his own diving in order to get some shots of the submerged Marienbad and discovers a curious geothermal glow emanating from one of the buildings. Unfortunately, he’s caught up and swept away in a nasty undertow just as he runs across a massive fissure on the damn itself!
Dan’s gone but certainly not out though and when he’s able to escape the undertow, he’s “recruited” by the local police department to help divers locate the body. Investigative reporter Theresa Borgia (Raquel Meroño), Clara’s mother, joins forces with Dan to uncover the secret of Marienbad and just what may be killing all of the townsfolk. The answer to the mystery lies with a dangerous cult leader named Mordecai Salas (Patrick Gordon) and Theresa’s late father Roberto Borgia (Antonion Portillo), the last mayor of Marienbad and the one that ordered the town drown in a hurry all those years ago.
What is their connection? What does Mordecai want with Clara?
Marienbad shall rise again and Mordecai plans to pass along an ancient evil to Clara but Dan and Theresa will do their best to stop him or die trying.
Beneath Still Waters really wasn’t as bad as some people have made it out to be. Honestly, I thought the previous film Yuzna produced under his Fantastic Factory imprint entitled, The Nun, was actually pretty cool and Beneath Still Waters is no exception. It was beautifully lit & shot, the FX and creature effects were exceptional and there was a story. Sure, some aspects of the story were a bit hazy and could have used a bit more clarification but it wasn’t really all that hard to follow for the most part and I was occasionally freaked out by the creatures in this. In some rare cases style over substance can win me over and I’d say it did this time around.
The acting in Beneath Still Waters was generally good with only some goofy Euro-acting surfacing every now and then but it wasn’t anything I’d say was “bad.” Astute horror dweebs will probably notice the still hot, though slightly matronly, presence of Diana Peñalver better known as Paquita from Dead Alive (aka Braindead). She didn’t get a major role but still made quite an impact later on in the film. I’d also like to point out that Raquel Meroño (Barabara in Dagon) is incredibly hot and sort of reminded me of a younger, hotter Spanish version of Tanya Roberts.
One thing I found refreshing about Beneath Still Waters were the creatures. There were no silly, cartoonish CG beasties in this film; Yuzna gives viewers the real deal creatures in all their rubbery, twisted glory! That, in my book, is a major plus.
Unfortunately, Lionsgate is as Lionsgate does and the only thing those that enjoyed this film can expect to be treated to is trailers. There are no special features of any kind on this disc which is kind of a bummer but I take great pleasure in knowing the Russians didn’t get any on their release either.
Yeah…I’m petty. So?
Beneath Still Waters may not ever be considered Yuzna’s best work but it was far more interesting and entertaining than a lot of the shit moldering on rental shelves these days. It shared quite a few similarities with Carpenter’s The Fog, which I didn’t like, so The Fog fans may want to give this flick a shot as well whenever, if ever, their local video store rents this film. Good luck finding it!
