Coming off of his hit film, The Devil’s Left Hand, is the next fright feature from indie director, Harley Wallen. Wallen captured the attention of the Horror Nation with his original slasher film, Ash and Bone. This time around, Wallen delves into the age-old tale of Vampires. Fans of Wallen’s work will be expecting a fresh take on the ancient lore along with some freshly written characters, all staples of Wallen’s work.
Julie (Angelina Danielle Cama) is just a few short months away from her 18th birthday. She has spent the last few years living in a foster home with less than perfect substitute parents. The teenage girl has a soft heart and affection for wounded things. Fate puts Julie in the path of a wounded creature. What appears to be a desperate soul looking for food and protection, turns out to be a centuries old creature of the night. Rebecca (Kaiti Wallen) is an overworked social agent that is coping with one tragedy after another as she desperately attempts to help children find their paths, such as she did. When Rebecca gets reassigned, her new territory takes her to Julie’s home. The experienced social worker immediately senses that something is wrong with this particular foster home. Bodies begin to pile up near the home, and Rebecca enters a race against time to save Julie from the beast, both human and supernatural.
Once again, Wallen presents a fresh take on a sub-genre that has been bitten to death. The director takes great strides with his shot selection, giving the viewer some breathtaking scenes from ancient Scandinavia to rural Maine. This film is very easy on the eyes. Cama follows up her brave performance from Ash and Bone, with an empathetic turn in this feature. With style, Cama turns Julie from an innocently scarred teen to strong young woman, while personifying the character’s internal psychotic struggle. Actor Yan Birch joins the immortals with a strong and sinister performance as the vampire. The effects team behind this film does a terrific job, they give the Horror Nation a horrifically beautiful new look vampire, that is both terrifying and stunning.
Beneath Us All, is a solid entry into the large catalog of vampire lore. Wallen has continued to put out creatively original work. The talented director has proven time and again that he will deliver a clean, aesthetically beautiful, fun film. Ash and Bone 2 is currently in pre-production. If Wallen can amp up his films with larger budgets, bigger cast, and a tad more pace, we could very well be looking at the next iconic genre director.
Scream Score: 8.1/10