Something Beneath (2007)

(In French, On Cable TV, January 2022) There is nothing to be learned from Something Beneath except that, often, the reviews are right. Any online source will tell you that it’s a terrible film with sub-average reviews from critics and general audiences alike. In presentation, it seems to be nothing more than a monster-of-the-week straight-to-DVD movie with low production values and even lower ambitions: the kinds of things cranked up by the dozens for low-end content providers. The result is… exactly that. Riffing from much better films, Something Beneath has an environmentalist message (led unironically by notorious right-winger Kevin Sorbo) tying a climate change conference with an environmental threat that gives life to people’s worst fears. Executed on the cheap, the result rarely rises above the roughness of similar films—dull direction and low-end special effects characterize the dispiriting viewing experience. Oh, it’s not quite at the lowest rung of the ladder—Sorbo does make for a likable presence, and the script has occasional moments of inspiration. Still, there’s little here to justify any effort at seeking out Something Beneath. Even at the lowest-effort level (“This says environmental conference and Kevin Sorbo. I wonder if they’ll play the material straight? Might as well watch it.”), it’s not much worth remembering.