The Beast Beneath

I had the opportunity to check out "The Beast Beneath" on its premiere night through After Hours Cinema. As a big fan of Mel Novak and Brinke Stevens, who both cameo in the picture, as well as a fan and follower of the films of Dustin Ferguson, I highly anticipated the debut of this flick. The story is simple in that a sinister monster rises from the earth to attack the locals who pass by. A scientist and his sister are interested in the recent attacks and use their skills to uncover the mystery of the beast beneath. I enjoyed the cinematography and music very much, both fitting the tone and style of the film. Novak and Stevens always turn in great performances and I was impressed with the design and look of the creature itself. I was also pumped when I saw that Shawn C. Phillips was featured in the film as well. Shawn is always a treat to watch! If you dig underground horror movies, "The Beast Beneath" may be for you!

Shot During the Pandemic & observing All the Social Distancing Laws , Dustin Ferguson Pulls Off the Impossible & Churns out a Chiller Feature , in the Style of the 50s & 60s , that we all watched as Kids on the Old Boob Tube ! There's even a 3D Section of the Film ; So Don't Forget Your Glasses ! It begins when an Earthquake opens up a large Fissure in a Natural Park with an Abundance of Visitors , thus Releasing the Dreaded Beast . The Next Morning we meet the Stars : Sensationally Lovely Sheri Davis as 'Cheryl' & the Tall & Talented Eric Prochnau as Her Husband 'Aaron' ; & then the Fun Begins ! The first up for the Serving of the Beast is that Legendary Star of Adult Entertainment Alana Evans as 'Maggie' ; with an Abundance of Monster Fodder to Follow ! Next , we meet Gorgeous Geovonna as 'Rachel' & Traveling Companion , & possibly more , 'Zack' , portrayed by the Slow Moving but Steady as a Rock Tino Zamora . The Host & Star of " After Hours Cinema " , Lee Turner plays 'Jake' , a member of the Sheriff's Department , as he reports to 'Sheriff Brackett' , portrayed by D.T. Carney , a Ferguson Staple . The always amusing Shawn C. Phillips pops up next as the Horror Movie Loving 'Jake' in search of his friend Norman , to watch " ANGRY ASIAN MURDER HORNETS " . Burly Mike Ferguson is 'Tom Lee' the Self appointed Beast Hunter ; & Dark Infinity Himself has a Minor Role ; while Martial Artist & Veteran Actor Mel Novak plays a Belligerent & Self Absorbed 'Mayor George Reid' . Which brings me to one of my Favorite Actresses .... The Aesthetically Irresistible Jennifer Nangle as Cheryl's Best Friend 'Sally' ; & Iconic Fright Queen Brinke Stevens is the Lab Worker 'Charlene Brinkeman ! Despite a Low Budget & Co-Vid Dilemmas , Dustin Ferguson Delivers a High Horror Hit !!!

I usually enjoy movies like this but this one commits the cardinal sin of all bad movies: It's dull.

It's about an hour run time but if you took out all the scenes that are just there to pad the run time, it would be 20 minutes. All the old classics are there, driving scenes, sunrise and sunsets and "establishing shots" that establish nothing.

There's even 4 minutes of credits -- before the movie even starts.

The acting is bad and lifeless. I didn't get the impression that people had fun making this movie, there's no energy.

All the kills happen off screen and there is little to no gore.

Don't waste your time on this one.

Following a massive earthquake in the area, residents of a small Southern California suburb go missing one-by-one, and when the resulting discovery of a long-dormant sea creature as the cause is revealed a couple of locals band together with the authorities to stop it.

There was a lot to like with this effort. One of the better features here is the enjoyable old-school build-up featured here which is quite enjoyable. That the earthquake to open things off is quickly followed up with several nice attacks on the unsuspecting locals, including a solid 3D attack in the surrounding hills and underbrush, makes this quite fun as the ability to sneak up on victims in the same general area is a solid start. Even some of the typical tropes featured here, from the casual blindness about the dangers of the area, the mayor not wanting to take action for fear of how it'll look to tourists and the police trying to control something beyond their control all help to enhance that tone. Once the film moves past this early setup, there's a lot of fun on display as it embraces the cheesier aspects of its storyline. The idea of everyone in town at some point coming to the park and allowing themselves to get caught by the creature allows for a steady if slightly formulaic approach as there's still a solid stream of attacks to provide a great pace to this, especially with the attacks in the final half that focus on slightly more suspenseful tactics and ambushes. As the creature is kept mostly to the shadows, there are enough glimpses to get an idea of what it looks like which showcases a charming and cheesy practical puppet that could've been shown more to add to that setup, there's enough to like here to hold this up overall. There are a few minor issues at hand that resort to essentially nitpicks at the film. The inclusion of padding out the running time at several points here with entire segments from other films or TV shows which is quite odd to keep switching over to these different formats in the middle of the scene. The randomness of the victims coming up to the same area and encountering the creature is something that might be problematic as it's a trend that is noticeable and slightly distracting. As well, the most genuine issue here is the rushed and underwhelming finale that's over so quickly it's hard to register it ended and just rushes through the motions incredibly quickly instead of letting what could've been a solid idea play itself out. This, though, is the one main flaw against the other nitpicks.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence and Language.