“Beneath,” a monster movie about a giant fish who eats teenagers stranded in the middle of a lake, is now available through pay-per-view and in select movie theaters.
The movie is from maverick indie filmmaker Larry Fessenden and producer Peter Phok and you’re probably wondering why you’re reading about this on ValleyIndy.org.
Because it was filmed in Oxford, silly!
That’s right, Fessenden, whose Glass Eye Pix production company is responsible for up-and-coming horror directors Jim “Stake Land“ Mickle and Glenn “I Sell the Dead“ McQuaid, was deep in the woods of the Naugatuck State Forest in Oxford last year filming the flick, which will air later this year on the “Chiller” cable channel.
Click here to read about how our intern crept onto the set last year.
The movie is scheduled to be screened at the Warner Theater in Torrington on Thursday, July 18.
Reviews for “Beneath” make the plot sound like it’s “The Breakfast Club,” but with less Judd Nelson nostril flares and more flesh wounds.
On Tuesday, Fessenden was interviewed by Entertainment Weekly, where he promised to thank God and Oxford First Selectman George Temple if “Beneath” wins an Academy Award.
(Update: Parts of the previous sentence may have been misreported. Also, we’ve used this joke before.)
Fessenden laments in the EW piece that horror critics don’t really get the movie.
Some critics, Fessenden indicates, seem to be taking a movie about a giant, man-eating fish seriously. The film itself it supposed to be a sort of dark comedy, complete with unlikable, self-absorbed characters (this reviewer hints you’ll probably start cheering for the killer fish).
This review seems especially empty-headed, while this review posted by the folks who run the late Roger Ebert’s website seems to have a better grasp of what Fessenden was going for with “Beneath.”
“Beneath” features Ruthie from “Seventh Heaven“ and the creepy, bell-ringing dude from “Breaking Bad” in supporting roles.
Disclosure: The writer of this article grew up with the guy who did the gore effects for this movie. He didn’t get us an exclusive interview, let alone invite us to the set, nor stop by Derby during filming just to say ‘Hi.’
