So, this morning I watched the 2010 Chad Feehan as writer / director film, Beneath the Dark. The synopsis sounded good, but I tried it mostly because Jamie-Lynn Sigler beneath(Sopranos, Guys With Kids) was in it. The film also stars, Josh Stewart, who has been in a number of good films and TV shows as well.Okay. The basic idea is that Paul (Stewart) and Adrienne (Sigler) are headed to a wedding. A guy from Paul's college frat is tying the knot. Growing weary on the way, and a little frisky, Paul runs the vehicle of the road. It's decided they will not push it and land a hotel room for the night.The Roy Hotel is run by Frank (Chris Browning). He's a step-and-a-half above Anthony Perkins on a creepy-meter, and the hotel is slightly more modern than the Bates Motel. Once tucked away in a room, Adrienne is still frisky (and while there is no nudity, it is quite hot), only Paul has too much on his mind and cannot perform. Frustrated he heads to the connected diner for coffee where he meets a Man (Afemo Omilami) who claims to be the Son of God.The Man certainly knows a lot about Paul, and Paul's soiled past, and aside from conversation, he tries to have Paul answer some simple questions . . . What Do You Believe In?I can't forget Frank's wife, Sandy (Angela Featherstone). She is not a happy woman. Sandy stalks the bars looking for company. Isn't hard for her to find what she wants. Not bra-less in a thin white tank-top. She shows up here and there. (And is quite sensual in a barfly kind of way). Seems her sole (or soul) purpose is to torment the loser-ness of her husband.There is always homemade cherry pie and fresh coffee. There is a jukebox–while outdated with its selection–that is always ready to play.Beneath the Dark is nothing new. Sadly, I knew the end of the story at the very beginning of the movie. There have been a flood of "identical" big-screen and direct to DVD films with the same ending over the last four years. I could name them. But if you see one — then I have ruined the ending for the rest. I hate that. Hate it. Because the story was as solid as the acting. Both I enjoyed. The dialogue was crisp enough. The filming was simple but effective.If I were to assume you saw none of the other films with the same ending — then this is an excellent movie. If not, then this is a mediocre film. Since the Beneath the Dark is from 2010 — and we are on the cusp of 2014, I am going to assume the ladder and for that, give the movie 5 out of 10 Stars.Zombie Author Phillip Tomassohttp://www.philliptomasso.com

This was a very well done story of redemption and seeing the effects that the choices we have made can have on our lives, as well as others. I won't go into much detail, even though I've clicked the spoiler option, but this movie was well paced, and well acted, as well as being thoughtful and entertaining. This was one of those Netflix suggestions that was actually very accurate for my taste in movies.If you like this style of suspense, don't miss this one. While it does take a while to get going, this gives us time to get to see each of the troubled individuals in the plot, and to understand what they are dealing with, and as the movie progresses we see why this is so important. In a way, this movie reminded me of the Butterfly Effect, just because of the theme it's selling.

Paul (Josh Stewart of the FX TV show "Dirt") and adrienne (Jamie-Lynn Sigler of the much- better known Sopranos) are forced to divulge secrets after they stop at a peculiar motel in the middle of the Mojave Desert and meet some of it's weird denizens. This movie was slow, uneventful, and while not boring, not particularly enjoyable. However the acting was decent and the soundtrack to the film was pretty good.The mystery behind some huge secret had my intrigued, but the pay-off for that wasn't really worth my investment in it.Eye Candy: Angela Firestone gets toplessWhere I Saw it: Showtime Extreme

Rarely do I find a movie that I feel the need to write about.While this is strictly B-movie material, it is still compelling viewing for those who like their suspense and mystery long and drawn out.I went into this movie expecting something very different from what it delivered as I tried not to read too much into it beforehand. From what I did know about it, I thought it was probably going to be something very similar to "Identity" (2003) and hoped it wasn't simply going to rip it off completely. I am glad to say that it doesn't.In the end, I was actually quite pleasantly surprised - as I felt the movie brought something new to quite a well-wrung out sub-genre (motel/diner in the middle of nowhere).Until around the half-way mark, it ticks along rather slowly, building a background for things that are to be later revealed.Around this point we then start to get a better feel for what the real truth behind the creepiness around the diner may be, but it isn't until around the last 15 minutes that the real truth is revealed and even at that, it is revealed in pieces - bit by bit until it reaches the very last scene. It really is rather clever. In many ways this technique actually reminded me of that used in the movie "Memento" (2000).For those concerned about content, this movie could easily have passed for PG-13 had they left out a couple of scenes suggestive of sexual content and the handful of F-bombs which exist throughout it (mostly from the main character nonetheless), as overall this movie is aiming to be heavier in suspense, tension and mystery than trying to be dialogue heavy - though of what is spoken by the characters, if you ignore said profanities, only a select few are throwaway lines.I would probably rate this in around 6.25 - 6.5 stars, except we can't give 1/4 or 1/2 stars here - but it's not quite worth a 7, so I had to go with 6 stars.It's definitely not a popcorn movie, so your average teenager can stay well away - but for those who like these types of "mysterious" kinda flicks, it's worth a watch.