Naked beneath the Water – August 6, 2005
By Aine

Naked beneath the Water is a film that’s been a long time coming. Originally released as an extremely different film back in 1995, according to writer/director/star Sean Cain, it is still a work in progress. This mostly complete film (score partially finished) is still seeking distribution, but I hold out hope that it will find it soon.

Naked beneath the Water leads us down a familiar road, one where reality television has gone too far in the form of a fictional program, “Public Enemy Number One” where serial killers send in video tapes of their crimes. We get to follow several of these killers on their murderous rampages: The Bathtub Killer, The Shaver, and a few others. I’m a sucker for clever use of words and names, and therefore must mention that the host of Public Enemy was named Sharon Sharalike; awesome!

In the mean time we follow Pelle Svanslos into his downward spiral, coupled with the search for his missing brother, Robert. Pelle starts getting strange phone calls about his brother and then decides to move into the old apartment. More calls ensue as Robert’s fate is hinted at with a possible connection to Public Enemy Number One.

This movie is chock full of great kills, creepy neighbors, insanity and plot twists galore. I’d venture to say it is an imaginative and interesting subject matter, with excellent pacing, and some good acting in parts.

Now not all movies can be perfect, and this one did have flaws. Certain actors started off slow and unconvincing but proved themselves later on as the intensity and mayhem escalated. Certain props, i.e. an ancient telephone, dated the film and made it appear to be stuck in the early ‘90’s; and I don’t mean this in a cool, antique kind of way. I’d have to say that the biggest problem with Naked beneath the Water is that it suffered from what I refer to as, “too big for its britches syndrome.”

All in all it was full of excellent ideas. I would love to see this movie with some of the cast replaced by trained actors, and with a budget enough to smooth out some of the effects and transitions. Still, it stands on it’s own as a step above the low budget horror schlock we’re usually fed and offers sweet relief to the thinking horror fan.

Visit Naked beneath the Water online at Naked Beneath The Water or Velvet Hammer Films.

*pictured above: Jim Wright (actor/producer), Sean Cain (writer/director/star), Melanie Doyle (actress/producer) Myamalgam.com, 2005, All rights reserved.

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