Back in 2000, Ben Ketai was a 17-year-old aspiring filmmaker trying to drum up interest in the local premiere of his homemade psychological thriller “Incarnate.”

He described it then to the Detroit Free Press as “full of enough twists and turns to make ‘The Sixth Sense’ look like a hair-growth commercial.”

“Did I say that? I don’t remember being such an arrogant kid,” says the 32-year-old filmmaker with a laugh.
Ketai, who grew up in West Bloomfield, has spent a decade in Los Angeles, where he worked for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House production company before striking out on his own in horror films and online TV series.

His latest directing effort is “Beneath,” a horror film about trapped coal miners fighting for their lives and sanity. It won six awards, including best picture, at last year’s L.A.-based Screamfest event.

“Beneath” opens Friday, Aug. 15, at Cinema Detroit and also is available through video on demand.

“I want audiences, especially if they see it in the theater, to feel as though they are trapped with these characters and feel as if they can’t breathe with these characters,” says Ketai, who spoke to the Free Press this week. “This is a much more visceral experience than most films you’ll see in theaters right now.”

Read the full article Filmmaker from metro Detroit scores scares with claustrophobic 'Beneath' at the Detroit Free Press.