Beneath, the Horrors of 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day'

Every year we had to endure Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.  No one said anything....but what a pain!  Mom's would empty out daycare centers of their little girls, who would bring their addictions to being entertained to the workplace.  Moon-bounces and cook-out grills would take up half the parking spaces, and most employees would not be available to do what they are actually being paid to do.  Since I worked for the federal government, I saw this day as an excuse to rip-off the taxpayer of a day's pay.  However annoying, most of these occasions did not result in ax-wielding creatures, cannibalism, explosions, and murder.  This brings us to today's film, 2013's "Beneath."

In defense of George (Jeff Fahey), his daughter is a 26 year old babe.  It is his last day as a miner after a 35 year career.  Sam (Kelly Noonan) is a new environmental lawyer, and she wants to see what her dad was up to over the last 35 years.  NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!!  What could go wrong? All right, stupid question.  Cave in!  About 10 miners trapped well below the surface.  The survivors have a safety module with air where they can wait for the rescue. Uh oh....that's too easy.  George and Sam's old BF, Randy (Joey Kern) keep her calm.  Content to ride out the cave-in in the module, our survivors aren't as safe as they think.  Screams are heard outside and movement is detected.  George, Randy, Sam and a couple of others then go on a search and rescue...but for who (...or what)? 

Then some corpses are found....impaled with a pick-ax and gutted.  Shapes move beyond the shadows, and our survivors realize they are not alone.  George tells of a cave-in over 50 years ago where the miners were never found.  Legend has it that they survived and ate each other.  Might they still exist?  Sam is a trooper, but she is afraid.  As they make it back to the module, more eerie sights and sounds emanate from the darkness and sabotage hits.  Their five days worth of oxygen is gone.  Sam becomes a classic damsel in distress as a supposed mole-man chases her with a pick-ax. The last 30 minutes turn most gory, and you will be reminded of the original "My Bloody Valentine." An experienced horror aficionado will probably guess what is going on, but not all is what it seems. There is good news..at least Sam (unlike the little girls of federal employees) knows her dad did not go to work to play on moon-bounces and eat snow-cones. The ending is creepy and will have you agape.  

Perhaps a metaphor for the evils of Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.  Or perhaps a good old-fashioned slasher/horror flick.  The acting is good, and the horror is claustrophobic.  Director Ben Ketai does an effective job delivering carnage and keeping the viewer guessing.  Those who have endured Bring Your Daughter to Work Day will know exactly why this film begins with the caption, "Based on True Events."  Available on Netflix, enjoy "Beneath."