Deeper: The Retribution of Beth (2014) User Reviews

I spit on your van

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 29 September 2017]

Mark (Matthew Kevin Andersen) is a reporter for Xice magazine doing a "fluff piece" on two guys in a van who pay women to have sex with them. They film it and put it on line. They pick up a pair of beauties who are heavily armed and opt to make the guys pay for...Okay the title and write up let you know it is "retribution" so it is just the details of which we are fuzzy...not really a twist per se.

Seemed to be a lot of been there done that drama and action with the van being the only difference. The whole premise was inaccurate as reality porn is more scripted than reality TV (if possible). The girls are not random, they are hired porn stars who pretend to be just walking around. Now if they really wanted to write a twist then they should have made Mark the target with his co-worker in on it as some sisterhood thing. Instead they plod through, introducing random characters to kill when things get boring.

Jeffrey Andersen did an acceptable "B" film performance, direction seemed fine, but his script needed work.

Guide: F-word, sex, rape, MM rape, nudity (Uncredited early extras)

Ok Revenge Film, but ONE PROBLEM...

[dwremy · 4/10 · 24 November 2019]

The BIG TWIST(which some may see coming) is GIVEN AWAY ON THE MOVIE POSTER! Why???? It's an ok film, predictable but ok.

Wasn't to bad

[dalemcammond-83796 · 5/10 · 19 July 2021]

Reviews where all over so have this movie a try anyways. It wasn't overall that bad. Not great but not to bad.

Retribution with no depth

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 16 August 2018]

Was drawn into seeing 'Deeper', with a cool poster/cover, a promising trailer, an intriguing premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror/drama/thriller. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws present in those films are here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Deeper' is weak, with so many huge flaws and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is very little to recommend in 'Deeper'.

Lets start with the positives.. The scenery is atmospheric and spooky, and parts are well shot (most schlocky direct to video quality though).

'Deeper' also starts off promisingly, it does intrigue and it does have creepiness.

Going on to the negatives, the story does feel over-stretched and some of it comes over as vague and under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less unsettled and never gaining momentum. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates. Some weren't needed and their placement random, while the chemistry is bland and unfocused.

Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and all of the acting is lacking severely, though Jeffrey Anderson had his moments.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling while the pace and film drags on forever after such an intriguing start and doesn't recover. Even the ending however is botched, due to being so afterthought-like and with no sense of how to end it. Found too many of the supposedly shocking moments not surprising or scary and the supposedly creepy atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Thrills are none, thanks to stodginess and excessive over-familiarity, and found myself never invested in the drama, which tended to be overacted and statically directed.

A lot of 'Deeper' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations when the characters weren't used randomly with no point to them, while too many of the things to make you shocked are far from creative or unsettling.

There is not enough threat here and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, while the horror elements are unimaginative and are more odd than scary, completely failing to show any sense of horror. The thriller elements fail to thrill and are very predictable and the drama is overwrought. Some badly sagging momentum too and a lot of weirdness. The direction is leaden, got the sense their heart was not in it, and the music is ill-fitting.

Concluding, weak with no substance or entertainment value. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Never a movie so pitiful

[rotini-52586 · 1/10 · 23 February 2021]

Just a dumb movie. Really stupid movie in all aspects.

Great poster, but don't watch this garbage

[Killa42 · 1/10 · 27 May 2022]

I'm going to save you some time and tell you what happens. These two men drive around in a white van (as if anyone would get in a white van) and offer girls money for sexual favors. Sometimes, the main guy, takes advantage of the women. One woman who is mental, named Beth, and her friend who is overly quiet decide to taker matters into their own hands and trick the men into going into a forest so that they can force the men to have sex on camera. The same day, a reporter who has nothing to do with it is interviewing the men. The reporter is introduced as a really nice guy whose wife is expecting a baby. The movie seems to hint that he'll be okay. No, ten minutes left of the movie and the protagonist gets shot in the head by Beth. It wasn't as much as a twist as a crappy plot decision. The character did nothing wrong, and he was forced to have sex with the white van guy because Beth accidentally shot the other guy. Then Beth kills more innocent people for no reason. Then, the friend waits until Beth dies to torcher the white van guy. She takes off in a car with a woman who hasn't been in the movie at all. The end. It was horrible. I would've given a DEEPER description. But, this movie was so shallow that it didn't deserve my words. Garbage. At first, it was good, then when the main protagonist was shot in the face, I saw no redeeming qualities in this film. It had no point, no moral, it's just garbage.

its gritty, its rough, and you'll love every minute of it

[taylormilne · 7/10 · 4 December 2014]

I recently had the privilege of sitting in on a screening of 'Deeper', formally named 'X-Bus'. I was impressed. I enjoyed this "Good Plan Gone Wrong" thriller. Andrew Francis and Jessica Harmon both give the performances of a lifetime, perfectly portraying each others foils. A horror movie set in the world of 'gonzo' backseat porn was long overdue, but it happened,and the sensation of being on both sides of the lens, is not unlike being on the receiving end of a loaded .45...intense. I'd compare this movie to titles like 'They Call her One-Eye'(1973), 'Ms 45'(1981), 'Deliverance'(1972) or to be more modern 'Nightcrawler'(2014). Keep and eye out for this one Film Enthusiasts, and remember, don't get into cars with strangers...

Did I really sit through this

[Lucky131975 · 3/10 · 10 December 2020]

This movie was very dull and predictable. It looked promising although my expectations are usually low when I'm watching anything on certain streaming services. Not really sure why the reporter was in this really didn't have a part that made sense wasn't necessary to move the story forward just gave a psycho somebody else to kill. Could've been a great movie if done by another person with the right production company.

A horse designed by committee ends up being a camel

[gsgreene · 2/10 · 1 November 2023]

This movie was written as if by a group of five writers where each wrote a line in turn and after an hour was told they had to wrap it up in ten minutes.

There are so many questions I have. What was the point of the woman magazine writer in this movie. Similarly, what did the male writer really add to this story? To simply add to the confusion of the two women's original plan? This could have been developed so much better differently. If Beth was so hell bent on killing bystanders indiscriminately, why did she keep the journalist around as long as she did? It was story line that was decided by the writer to ultimately not develop.

At one point there was emphasis on how the two girls met. Nope big nothingburger. As if this was a separate story line that was scrapped, but the beginning of the story left in this film.

The journalist asks Beth at one point, Q. "Did he hurt you?" A. "Oh yeah, you could say that." But he never did, turns out she was an outsider. Once again, as if this was a separate story line that was scrapped but this part was left in the script.

What was the point of the hunter?

If the makers of this movie wanted to develop a revenge movie, why did they have all of the extraneous characters get killed off (hikers, hunter, writer) and yet, the porn actor driver that you develop a distaste for in the first ten minutes of the film, get killed immediately with little to no fanfare or development.

Finally, on a production level, didn't the shaky-cam die its rightful death sometime around 2000?

This movie sucked.

Sexploitation Film or Film to Bring Awareness to Crimes Against Women

[esteemdancers-1 · 8/10 · 15 September 2016]

This movie is graphic and is not easy for a person such as myself who does not like movies Rated R or worse for violence, drug use, bawdy language and sex but this movie just seemed like it was going somewhere with a hidden them of impact - so I watched it. I must admit that I fast forwarded through a lot of the graphic violence and gratuitous sex but still didn't lose the flow of the story. My final assessment of the film is that it had a important message to send out to we the consumer to hopefully help us become aware of problems that exist within our society for women even in today's so called "enlightened" society. Regardless of the woman's profession - there are men in that same profession who are willing to assault their coworkers. The movie left me feeling somewhat soiled but I still found it hard to not want to keep watching to know what is this all about - the plot? I am glad I didn't turn it off and did watch. It was a good movie with a lot of "hold your breath" moments and "OMG what is going to happen now". A good thriller. In my opinion, an important social problem revealed through watching this film.

Very good exploitation revenge thriller.

[LeatherCajun · 9/10 · 15 September 2020]

I was quite surprised with how good this movie was. It is revenge trash exploitation, but the acting is very very good, the plot proceeds with enough surprises to keep you guessing a little bit, the pacing and direction are good, the violence, both psychological and physical, have impact. Almost no one in this is completely innocent, or completely guilty. There are titties and rape and shooting and mutilation, so not for everyone. But, if you like movies like Texas Chainsaw, or Saw, you should give this a try. Much, much more intelligent that those movies and much better acted.

The ending sucked

[sheliawells825 · 9/10 · 3 July 2021]

I truly enjoyed this movie. But the ending was awful. When the news lady at the end said there were three deaths and three people seriously injured and two were missing. Who were the three that survived? Beth/Jessica Harmon shot the two hikers, she shot the hunter, she also shot Mark Tallion/Matthew Kevin Anderson and then Beth was shot by Steve Colter/Andrew Francis, so which three survived? We know that Steve Colter survived. So, out of the eight main characters, which other two were seriously injured? Steve Colter was one, did Mark Tallion & the hunter survive their gunshot wounds? And was Sam/Elise Gatien included anywhere in the three survivors? I'm thinking no, because she left & she was not injured at all. I hate endings like this. I hate that Mark Tallion who was innocent in the whole mess got shot. I was rooting for him to get away to his wife & baby on the way. Like I said, the ending sucked. However, I did like the fact that Steve got what he deserved. Although it was too brutal.