‘It’s been waiting… inside you.’
From Beneath is a 2012 Canadian horror film about a young man that is bitten and infected by a strange leech-like organism.
Written, photographed, edited and directed by David Doucette, the Retaliation Films production stars Lauren Watson, Jamie Temple and Blake Retter. The film was also retitled Lake Fear for its British DVD release by New Horizon Films.
Plot:
Sticky and hot from the long drive to visit a relative at their newly acquired, remote, rural farmhouse, Sam and Jason, a young couple on vacation, decide to swim in a pond they find at the end of a freshly cut path. While swimming, Jason is bitten by a strange leech-like organism. When he attempts to remove the creature, part of it rips off and crawls inside his leg. Back at the house, Sam’s sister and her family have yet to return.
As time progresses, the injury on Jason’s leg worsens into a rapidly spreading infection, and strange clues begin to reveal that there may be more to their host’s absence than it previously appeared. It soon becomes a race against time to discover what happened to Sam’s sister and her family and what lies in store for Jason, faced with his physical and emotional disintegration…
Reviews:
“There’s very little blood or gore; just close-ups of Jason’s leg wound as it gets worse, dripping green pus and Jason hallucinating a couple of times where blood flows out of Sam’s mouth. The acting is also a step below amateurish […] and the sound recording is technically sub-par. Do yourself a favor and spend the 82 minutes doing something else, like trying to clip the nails of a rabid raccoon while blindfolded.” Critical Condition
“Lake Fear is quite a chore to watch, and despite David Doucette wanting to make something claustrophobic and unsettling, which is laudable, the movie is just plodding and silly. It also has a terrible soundtrack – I’m assuming the musicians were friends of the director.” Dark Eyes of London
“It´s decent entertainment for the moment but in my opinion it had huge potential but now it feels more like a drama than a thriller as there is too much talk and too little action as the characters relation falls apart. The creature/creatures are severely underused which I guess is due to the restraints of the budget.” Independent Flicks
“Lake Fear carries a pervading sense of unease – and credit to the two leads for establishing a taught feeling of helplessness and isolation. We’re not privy to aesthetically pleasing visual delights here (save for a gorgeous bathroom based blood-dripping scene), but with some aural creativity and tight pacing, Doucette’s film delivers a genre treat that exceeds its generic-looking expectations.” The Schlock Pit
“Though From Beneath never tries to hide its genre roots, it’s not so much your typical monster movie but relies much more on the tension of its situation – two characters pretty much stranded at a secluded spot – and the strength of its two characters/actors … and the film works quite fine because of that, replacing sensationalism with subtlety for the most time…” Search My Trash
Cast and characters:
Lauren Watson … Sam
Jamie Temple … Jason
Blake Retter … Dan Kentley
Nicole Smashnuk … Sarah Kentley
Jasmin Hawkesboyd … Sandra Kentley
Bella Hawkesboyd … Elizabeth Kentley
Filming locations:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Technical details:
82 minutes
Full film free to watch online:
