A group of teenagers are going to need a much bigger boat in Larry Fessenden’s tense thriller BENEATH
BENEATH (Larry Fessenden, 2013)
IndieScreen, 2899 Kent Ave. at South Second St., 347-227-8030, July 16, 19, 20, 9:00
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St., 212-924-7771, opens Wednesday, July 17
www.beneaththewater.com
Jaws and Friday the 13th meet Lifeboat and Lord of the Flies in indie filmmaker Larry Fessenden’s latest thriller, Beneath. Made for Syfy’s Chiller TV channel, where it will be available on demand beginning July 16 — it is also being released theatrically in New York City this week — Beneath is the first feature film Fessenden (The Last Winter, Habit, Wendigo) has directed but did not write; the occasional actor and musician also served as producer and editor, while the script is by Tony Daniel and Brian D. Smith. The story takes place on a Connecticut lake, where a group of teenagers have gone to celebrate high school graduation. Sexy blonde Kitty (Bonnie Dennison), athletic meathead brothers Matt (Chris Conroy) and Simon (Jonny Orsini), camera-obsessed nerd Zeke (Griffin Newman), demure brunette Deb (MacKenzie Rosman), and pouty townie Johnny (Daniel Zovatto) head out on a rowboat to cross the Black Lake, but they soon learn that they’re going to need a much bigger boat, as there’s something lurking in the water that prefers not to be disturbed. As the teens battle the evil, giant piranha/monkfish, deep, dark secrets float to the surface, leading the kids to fight amongst themselves as much as their mechanical tormentor. Fessenden clearly has fun playing with genre clichés, although there are still plenty of moments in which viewers will find themselves yelling at the screen because of stupid decisions or gigantic plot holes, but he does a good job given his restrictions — because this is essentially a basic-cable movie, there is no cursing or nudity, and the tense action has to have carefully timed pauses built in to allow for eventual commercials. Still, Beneath is an involving, claustrophobic tale in which the characters’ true individual natures emerge as their fear of death grows. To find out more about the history of the lake, a prequel comic book is available, written by Daniel and Smith and illustrated by Brahm Revel. Beneath opens July 17 at the IFC Center and will also be shown July 16, 19, and 20 at IndieScreen in Williamsburg, with Fessenden participating in a Q&A following the July 16 screening.