Beneath Still Waters (2005)

In 1965, in Northern Spain, a dam will be built to bring progress to the location of Desbaria and the town of Marienbad is near to be completely flooded. Two boys, Teo and Luis, cross the ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Yuzna

Writers:

Matthew Costello (novel), Mike Hostench (screenplay),

Stars:

Michael McKell, Raquel Meroño, Charlotte Salt

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael McKell	...	Dan Quarry
Raquel Meroño	...	Teresa Borgia
Charlotte Salt	...	Clara Borgia
Patrick Gordon	...	Mordecai Salas
Manuel Manquiña	...	Luis
Pilar Soto	...	Susana
Diana Peñalver	...	Mrs. Martín
Ricard Borràs	...	Mayor Luca
Damià Plensa	...	Antonio
David Meca	...	Diver Sargent Eduardo
Carlos Castañón	...	Police Captain Keller
Josep Maria Pou	...	Julio Gambine
Omar Muñoz	...	Luis - 10 Years Old
Santiago Pasaglia	...	Teo (as Santiago Passaglia)
Eva Pont	...	Cult Member

Storyline

In 1965, in Northern Spain, a dam will be built to bring progress to the location of Desbaria and the town of Marienbad is near to be completely flooded. Two boys, Teo and Luis, cross the security boundary to play in the evacuated town and Teo listen to voices in the abandoned church. They find a group of strange people chained in the watered basement, Teo releases their leader Mordecai Salas and is killed by him. Forty years later, in the celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Debaria Dam, the teenager Antonio vanishes in the lake while swimming with his girlfriend Susana and their friend Clara Borgia. The police divers, with the support of the outsider cameraman journalist Dan Quarry that is filming the submerged Marienbad to write a matter about the town, try unsuccessfully to find the body. When eerie things happen in the spot, Dan and the local journalist and daughter of the builder of the dam Teresa Borgia disclose dark secrets about Marienbad, Salas and his evil cult of the...

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Plot Keywords:

dam | lake | grandfather granddaughter relationship | nun | satanic ritual | 

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Taglines:

Fear is rising.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong horror violence and gore, sexual content, nudity and some language

Details

Country:

Spain UK

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

26 May 2006 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Bajo aguas tranquilas

Filming Locations:

Boadilla del Monte, Madrid, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fantastic Factory (Filmax)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the city of Marienbad before it floods, the boys throw rocks at a poster for "El Rostro de la Bestia," which has credits for Paul Naschy and Brian Yuzna. There is no such movie, but Yuzna did direct Naschy in 'Rottweiler (2004)'.

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Goofs

One of the creatures trapped in the sunken city has its hand melted onto its face. In some shots it's the right hand, in others it's the left.

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Quotes

[last lines]
David: I hate them!

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Connections

References Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

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Soundtracks

"El Payaso"
Written by Alfonso García, Valerio Beneras and Daniel Pelayo
Performed by El Retrato and Dirty Princess

User Reviews

How could this go so wrong?

As a longtime Yuzna fan, I was absolutely delighted when I heard of this project. I happened upon the novel on which this film is based many years ago, and it's always stuck with me - there are some genuinely creepy ideas (and moments) in there. Great director, good source material... what could possibly go wrong?

A great many things, apparently.

The acting and dialogue are stilted, the atmosphere (which should just create itself, given the setting) simply isn't there, and the dreadful scene-chewing performance of Patrick Gordon as the villain of the piece deflates any sense of dread one may have had. Even the one decent monster effect is wasted in a brief and poorly-sequenced shot. As much as it pains me to say, Mr. Yuzna seems to have hit a bit of a slump. Do yourself a favour - skip this one and watch "Beyond Re-Animator" instead.