Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Beneath’

Written by Scott Edwards 

​Going to work with my parents was one of the days I was always looking forward to as a child. Getting to see them in action was a dream come true, with the exception of them both working in schools, come to think about it, I never really had a day off from school when mine was off. Battling off my want to yell at them for making me go to school for every day off that I ever had growing up, I will admit, it was a great time watching what they did and it helped inspire a path for my own future…away from schools.

Samantha Marsh has arrived back home, just in time for her father’s retirement party. Being a coal miner for thirty years, George is finally ready to hang up his hat and move on to other opportunities. As the party rolls into full swing, Sam is interviewing all of the miners that her father has worked with over the years, only to find out how much they love him and are hating to see him go.

As the party starts to wind down, Samantha is dared to come and work in the mine for one day, as she has never been to her father’s work before. She accepts the challenge and wakes up before dawn to meet with George and head to the mine. As she enters the old coal mine, she takes notice of all of the safety features it has around it and starts to wonder how many more men do not get killed while doing this dangerous job. With her tour of the mine completed, she starts to shovel coal, just like her father has done for many years, until an unknown rumble surrounds the mine and a cave-in occurs.  

As the miners try to figure out what is happening, they pull everyone they can find together and make a call topside to report the disaster. They are told that it will be seventy-two hours before help can arrive and they need to take shelter in their fallout shelter that is there for this exact situation. As the miners sit and wait, they start to hear screaming coming from within the mine. Thinking they have missed someone in their search, they head out again, only to find that they may not be alone down here in the darkness.

I liked what this movie brought to the screen with the fear of being locked in with no escape, as that is what the description said about it, but watching what it did to each of the characters was just fantastic. As each trapped member of the mining group tries to come up with their own plans of survival, how they are able to come together to make sure everyone is safe shows how much they really care for each other. With the addition of Samantha, a coal miner’s daughter being thrown into the mix, watching and listening to what is lurking the depths of the mine is what really leaves you wondering if she is just seeing and hearing things as she has never been in a mine before, of if there is actually something down there that is causing everything to go wrong. Stay Scared.

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