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Cast: John Adams, Toby Poser, Zelda Adams
14-year old Echo and mother, Ivy, a tarot card reader, live a quiet life in a rural area. When reclusive Kurt moves down the road to restore an abandoned farmhouse, an accident leads to Echo's murder, and suddenly three lives collide in mysterious and wicked ways. Kurt assumes he can hide his secret under the ground. But Echo burrows into his head until he can feel her in his bones. As she haunts his every move, trying to reach her mother from beyond, Ivy must dig deep to see the signs and prove that love won't stay buried.
Ivy and her 14-year-old daughter, Echo live in a remote area surrounded by open land and woods. Kurt is new to the area, he just bought an old run down farm house and is remolding it.
One night while her mother is have a reading Echo decides to head out and do some sledding. It is dark out and her mom does not want her outside at night alone but the teen does it anyway.
Meanwhile Kurt had been in town and on his way he stopped for something to eat and to have a few drinks. He heads home about the same time Echo is outside and his driving is impaired from drinking too much. The road is dark and he does not see Echo and he hits her. He thinks she is dead so he panics and puts her in the back of his truck and heads home. Right away he decides to bury her but the ground is frozen so he instead takes her inside the run down home and places her body in the tub. Then Echo begins to move and is still alive but for whatever reason Kurt decides to suffocate her to death.
He then waits a few days for the ground to thaw out and he buries her but only a few feet down. From there things start to go wrong for Kurt as he begins to see and hear Echo. Meanwhile Ivy begins to receive some contact from Echo as well. Will Kurt confront Ivy about what happened to her daughter or will Echo herself solve the mystery?
'The Deeper You Dig' is a horror/drama that was done on a very low budget but you wouldn't know that from seeing the film. It is well directed, the locations are beautiful and the acting is realistic and powerful. The film is a family affair, it was written and directed by John Adams and Tobey poser who happen to be husband and wife in real life. They also star in the film as Kurt and Ivy a long with their real-life daughter, Zelda Adams who is spectacular as Ivy.
The film is a slow burn but it is deliberate. The family drama is center stage but when the supernatural elements leak in it goes from being in your head to getting under your skin. I don't think this is a film for everyone but for those that like Independent cinema and/or art house films this is one for you.
'The Deeper You Dig' is a smart, captivating and an imaginative film. The way it displays its horror is one of a kind making it a refreshing and an original film. 'The Deeper You Dig' is out now on DVD. I highly recommend this gem of a film. It shows you don't need a large budget with big special effects to make a powerful film. Hollywood could learn a lot from this talented family.
Released by Dark Sky Films
**** 1/2 Out Of *****