Review by Quin
In my review of Abandoned Mine at the end of 2013, I declared mine horror officially dead. I’ve seen two more mine related horror films since then, the first (and better of the two) being an older film finally seeing daylight after having been buried deep underground for a while. That one is called Mine Games (which was briefly re-titled The Evil Within, and then re-titled back to Mine Games again, and it’s now on Netflix). It’s basically a dumbed-down ripoff of Timecrimes but a nice idea. It is also one of those movies that gets better and more engaging as it goes along. The setup is so familiar that you could almost recite dialogue with the actors even if you’ve never seen it before. Early in the film after a van breaks down, one character actually says, “Why don’t we split up and look for help?” The optimists will say, it must be irony. But it’s really not. It needed a smarter script and more nuanced actors capable of making more noticeable decisions with their characters.
The second mine film was a 2014 film called Beneath (not to be confused with the man-eating fish movie that came out a year prior, or a half a dozen other films with the same title) and it should have been better than Mine Games. There are no silly young adults who still behave like teens, the great Jeff Fahey is one of its stars, and mines are inherently scary places that hold a wide array of unknown terror. Unfortunately, Beneath screws all of this up and gives us something boring and ridiculous.
It starts with the usual bit proclaiming that it’s based on true events. It seems like this has just become an industry standard. It doesn’t have to be true, because it’s not a documentary or a news report, but I think these words are supposed to add to the suspense we feel. It rarely does – and the older I get, I just get mad because I had to put my glasses on for that crap. Another review I read on Beneath pointed out that the “based on true events” blurb is the same as saying, “Mine disasters have happened before.” That’s pretty funny, but astute and it can be applied to many a found footage film. Thankfully, Beneath is not found footage. What we see is polished, professional and cinematic. But as I said before, it is just so dreadfully boring.
Jeff Fahey’s character is an older coal miner who is about to retire. He coughs a lot and shows signs that his mind may not be what it used to be, whatever that was. His daughter has never been to work with dad and wants to see the mines from deep inside. So, his last day of work becomes an impromptu take your adult daughter to work day – and wouldn’t you know, that’s the day disaster strikes. The group is trapped in the mine. Oxygen gets low. People see other people turn into demons before their eyes. And the movie really wants us to question whether or not something supernatural is in the mine (think Alien) or if they are all just delirious from lack of oxygen. But, you know what? Who cares?
I’ve always really liked Jeff Fahey. There was a brief time when I was younger when I thought The Lawnmower Man was a good movie. My tastes have changed, to say the least. When he was added to the cast of Lost in season 4 as Frank Lapidus, I was reminded of why I liked him so much. He’s completely wasted in Beneath. Which is a darn shame. The rest of the cast is forgettable as well.
I guess I’ll say it again, mine horror is dead. If you really want to see some good mine films, check out John Sayles’ Matewan or the 1976 Barbara Kopple documentary Harlan County, USA. Each of these showcase the horrors of the coal mining industry. They may not give you nightmares, but they might make you angry. For a slightly more sinister film, that may give you nightmares and make you too angry to sleep, check out the 2005 documentary The Devil’s Miner. It’s about kids as young as 12 in Bolivia that are forced to work in the silver mines of Cerro Rico. These kids have to stop by a statue of the devil (Tio) each day before work to bring offerings so their lives will be spared that day. It doesn’t get much scarier than that, folks. Beneath is for amateurs. For a mine film filled with adult characters creeping through the dark toward Hell, the film is kids stuff.
Beneath is available on VOD from IFC Midnight and it’s streaming on Netflix in the US.