Plot
Driving to a wedding in Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert, Paul and Adrienne pull off the highway and into Roy's Motel and Cafe...
Release Year: 2010
Rating: 4.8/10 (795 voted)
Director:
Chad Feehan
Stars: Josh Stewart, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Chris Browning
Storyline Driving to a wedding in Los Angeles through the Mojave Desert, Paul and Adrienne pull off the highway and into Roy's Motel and Cafe. This roadside artifact proves to be a strange and surreal place with an unsettling mix of travelers, who force our couple to discover the secret hidden between.
Cast: Josh Stewart
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Paul
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
-
Adrienne
Chris Browning
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Frank
Angela Featherstone
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Sandy
Afemo Omilami
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The Man
Trevor Morgan
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Jason
Christopher Gessner
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Max
Robert Maxhimer
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Billy
Jeannetta Arnette
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Shirley
Grainger Hines
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Tim
Sandy Martin
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Colleen
Carlease Burke
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Beatrice
Chris Hayes
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Cameraman
Melissa Bacelar
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Shawnee
Wade Feehan
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Pledge
Quotes: Frank:
[about his girl friend]
She's good. Like purity. Paul:
Most nurses are.
User Review
Effective, but familiar
Rating: 5/10
This film begins like so many others of its genre -- namely, a young
couple on their way to a far away destination pull into an eerie,
almost deserted motel where things aren't what they seem.
If you think you've seen it before, likely you have. Beneath the Dark
has strong echoes of the 2003 John Cusack film Identity, though it
pales in comparison. Ahh, what to say about this movie? I enjoyed
watching it, but then I am a fan of the suspense genre which has been
in a serious state of drought lately. Is it a good movie? Not really.
Is it a bad movie? No. The plot line does catch your interest as you
watch the two very different back stories of the young traveler and the
motel manager unfold. The narrative of the film makes the viewers
expect the inevitable connection, which is mildly interesting once
revealed. However the entire conceit of the movie is nearly immediately
obvious. I suppose in a world where twisty thrillers have been around
for so long, it is far more difficult to pull off true surprise. Yet I
feel that the director/writer Chad Feehan missed the opportunities to
misdirect the audience. One can only hope Chad was not trying for an M.
Night Shyamalan production.
The film used so many clichés, that it could have been the product of a
university class on the genre: the isolated motel in the Midwest and
the slightly off motel manager are photocopied directly from Psycho.
The jukebox that plays the same song over and over is also lifted.
(Didn't we see that in a number of Rod Serling productions?). Yet all
is not as grim as this review seems. Mr. Feehan studied well, and
utilized these and other familiar elements effectively.
So a sense of mild suspense persists throughout the movie. The ending
is a bit of a let down -- but the journey was fun.
Bottom line: If you like this genre, this movie is serviceable. I
certainly wasn't sorry I watched it, although I thought that the motel
manager needed to be cast with a stronger performer. If you have
nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon, punch this one up. Keep your
expectations low and you might enjoy it.
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